How Vacancies Occur
When a Vacancy Occurs
Holding an Election
Appointment Conditions
Timelines for Appointment
Publicity about the Appointment
Recruiting and Informing Candidates
Applications and Candidate Information
Criteria for Appointment
Candidate Review Strategies
Voting on the Candidates
Announcing the Appointment
Length of an Appointment
Orienting the New Trustee
Student Trustee Vacancies
Resources

Sample Documents:

Attachment 1: Sample Recruitment Publicity (Word)

Attachment 2: Sample Letter to Interested Applicants (Word)

Attachment 3: Sample Application Form (Word)

Attachment 4: Sample Written Application Questions (Word)

Attachment 5: Sample Interview Questions (Word)

Attachment 6: California Education Code Sections 5090-5095 (PDF)

---

From time to time, vacancies occur on a board of trustees, and boards must either schedule an election or appoint a person to fill the vacancy. The decision of who to appoint is an important one: the person selected should be able to represent the community well and to contribute wisely to board processes. The appointment process must be done in a timely manner and in accordance with law and regulations. Filling a vacancy through appointment or election is governed by Education Code Sections 5090 – 5095 (Attachment 6).

The following information is designed to assist the chief executive and governing board in the appointment process; however, it is not a substitute for legal advice. Districts are encouraged to consult with counsel to assure compliance with the law. 

How Vacancies Occur 
Vacancies usually occur due to resignation or death of an incumbent. Other conditions, such as moving out of the district or ceasing to fulfill the duties of the position, are detailed in Government Code 1770.

When a Vacancy Occurs
The effective date of a resignation is the date that is specified in the written resignation or, if no date is specified, when the written resignation is filed with the county superintendent of schools.

When a vacancy occurs, the board has up to 60 days to make a provisional appointment or order an election for the position (Education Code 5091). As soon as the board knows of the vacancy, it should adopt a resolution or otherwise take action to do one of these two things. If the board does not fill the vacancy, the county superintendent is required to order an election to fill the vacancy.

There are certain conditions which limit the board’s decision to either order an election or make an appointment as stated in Education Code 5093:

• (a) There shall be no special election or appointment to fill a vacancy on a governing board if the vacancy occurs within four months of the end of the term of that position.
• (b) … if the vacancy occurs, or a resignation specifying a deferred effective date is filed with the county superintendent of schools, during the period between six months and 130 days prior to a regularly scheduled governing board election and the position is not scheduled to be filled at such election. In such a case, the position shall be filled at a special election for that position to be consolidated with the regular election. A person elected to fill a position under this subdivision shall take office at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board following the certification of the election and shall serve only until the end of the term of the position which he or she was elected to fill.
• (c) If a special election pursuant to Section 5091 could be consolidated with the next regular election for governing board members, and the vacant position is scheduled to be filled at such regular election, there shall be no special election.

Holding an Election
If the legal conditions are met and the board decides to order an election, the election must be held on the next regular election date. Special elections are allowed if a petition is submitted by the voters after a provisional appointment has been made. Conditions for special elections are specified in Education Code 5091(c) and (f).

Making an Appointment
Persons applying or nominated for the position must meet the legal qualifications for members of the board stated in the Constitution and other laws. They must be residents of the district (or area, if the district has trustee areas) (Education Code 72022).

The person appointed to the position shall hold office only until the next regularly scheduled election for district governing board members.

A provisional appointment confers all powers and duties of a governing board member upon the appointee immediately following his or her appointment.

The provisional appointment must be made by a majority public vote of the board members at a public meeting. Private ballots are not allowed.

Timelines for Appointment
If the board wishes to appoint a person to fill a vacancy, it has 60 days from the effective date of the vacancy to do so. Therefore, time is of the essence for publicizing the position, recruiting applicants (optional), reviewing applications, interviewing candidates (optional), and making the appointment. A sample timeline of the process is:

Week 1	Publication of vacancy as required by law. CEO and board, ad hoc committee, or board chair finalize steps in the process, the timeline, and application materials and criteria for selection.
Weeks 2–4	Publicize position and recruit candidates (optional; see suggested strategies). Receive applications.
End of Week 4	Final deadline for receipt of applications in the CEO’s office, preferably no later than 30 days after the vacancy is announced.
Weeks 2–5	Board or board ad hoc committee develops/reviews selection criteria and questions to ask candidates (if interviews are held)
Week 5	Announcement of names of applicants and distribution of materials to board members for review.
Weeks 5–6	Informational meeting(s) for candidates, organized by CEO and staff (optional).
Week 6	Ad hoc committee or board meeting to screen applications and select finalists for interview or further consideration (optional). If committee is used, it would report to the board to determine the finalists.
Week 7 or 8	Board meeting to hear presentations from the candidates, interview finalists, and/or discuss the applications review. Select and provisionally appoint the trustee.
Week 8 or 9	Publish the notice of appointment. Call and/or send appropriate letters to those who were not selected.

Publicity about the Appointment
Education Code 5092 requires that there be publicity about the vacancy that includes posting a notice of the vacancy in three public places in the district and publishing a notice in a newspaper of general circulation. Government Code 6061 states that publication shall be for one time. The posted notice of vacancy should include instructions on how to apply for or nominate someone to be a candidate for appointment.

The Board may wish additional publicity. The required notices may include additional details or encourage interested people to call for more information about the college, board roles, and trustee responsibilities. The announcement and further information may be sent to local news media, placed on the college’s website, and distributed to community leaders.

The need to appoint a trustee is an opportunity to educate the community about the governing board. The announcement, press release, or other information therefore might include what is expected of board members in fulfilling their jobs and how boards contribute to effective colleges (See Attachment 1 for sample language).

Recruiting and Informing Candidates
Every board would like a good pool of qualified applicants who support the work of the district and have the interests of the community in mind. Foundation boards, college advisory committees, and community leaders are excellent sources of potential candidates. In addition to the required public notice, activities to recruit include:

• Send announcements about the vacancy and information about the role of a trustee to people who might be or know of good potential board members.
• Solicit names of good potential candidates from current trustees, community leaders, and college organizations. Call or send those who are identified a letter with application information.
• People who indicate an interest should be encouraged to learn more about the position. See the sample letter to potential candidates and applicants (Attachment 2). The district office may provide or arrange:
  • Information about the board role and trustee responsibilities, including compensation (if any), conflicts of interest and disclosure requirements, and expectations.
  • Individual meetings with the CEO.
  • Candidate group meeting with the CEO and other staff.
  • Packets of information available from the League, including the brochure “Board Candidate Information” and selected chapters from the Trustee Handbook.
  • District information, including board meeting agendas and minutes, board ethics and operations, college catalogs and general reports, and summaries of long-range plans.

The recruitment process should be conducted in such a manner that reflects well on the college and the board. The primary contact should be the CEO or his/her designee in the district office. Trustees should maintain their neutrality and support for an open process.

Applications and Candidate Information
The purpose of the application package is to gain sufficient information to determine which candidate to appoint or which finalists to invite for further consideration. See Attachment 3 and Attachment 4 for a sample application form and questions.

First, applications should be reviewed to ensure that interested people meet the legal requirements. The district should check addresses to make sure residency requirements are met. Those who do not meet eligibility requirements should receive a letter indicating why they are ineligible to be appointed.

Boards may also request one or more of the following materials to gather additional helpful information:

• Letter of interest
• Application form
• Letter or statement that outlines qualifications and experience
• Resume
• Questionnaire

Criteria
The board determines the criteria used to select the appointee. A board ad hoc committee may be used to develop and propose criteria to the entire board, or the discussion may take place in the board as a whole.

The selection criteria may be used to help trustees review applications to choose their top candidates, select a number of finalists to be interviewed, and decide who to appoint.

Possible criteria are:

• Interest in and commitment to service to the community;
• Interest in and commitment to public education and student learning;
• Knowledge about and commitment to the role and mission of community colleges in the communities they serve and in the context of all higher education;
• Willingness and ability to represent those who live in the service area; mindful of the perspectives of diverse constituencies;
• Willingness to advocate the district and its interests to the community and state;
• Knowledge and background related to the issues considered by the board (e.g. community needs, funding, education, district operations);
• Ability to work as a member of a public governing board; understands that the board, not the individual trustees, has authority;
• Ability to articulately express perspectives and respect the perspectives of others;
• Willingness to work cooperatively with others and in partnership with the CEO;
• Time and energy necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of being a trustee;
• Willingness and time to engage in ongoing professional development;
• Commitment to fulfill the ethical and legal responsibilities of trusteeship, unencumbered by private agendas; and/or
• Qualities, background, and stature that will enhance the standing of the district in the community.

Reviewing Candidates
The law is silent on how a board is to review candidates. However, a number of strategies have been used to review applications and select the candidate. Identifying strategies and reviewing applications may take place in an ad hoc board committee, which would then report to the board in a public meeting for final action, or the board may hold the discussion at a public meeting. Some strategies are:

• Each trustee receives and reviews applications and background materials about all candidates.
• Trustees may use rating sheets to rank the candidates or simply identify their top choices for the position using the criteria established by the board.
• The board determines whether to select a certain number of finalists for further consideration, or whether to interview or hear from all eligible applicants.

Selection of finalists occurs at a public meeting. A board committee may be used to recommend finalists, but the decision is made at a board meeting.

Selecting finalists may be based on the extent they meet the criteria for selection. One approach is that all trustees identify their top choices; those who are selected the greatest number of times become finalists for the position.

Further review of all candidates or the finalists may be done by inviting them to a) be interviewed by the board, b) make presentations to the board, and/or c) submit additional background materials for further board review.

Choosing a certain number of finalists to be interviewed may depend on whether there are a large number of applications and/or the amount of time the board has to conduct interviews or hear presentations. The board may choose to interview or hear presentations from all applicants who meet eligibility requirements. The latter choice ensures that all who are interested have full opportunity to speak to the board and reinforces that the appointment process is open to all.

A positive, public discussion of the candidates fosters a positive image and promotes good community relations. The board benefits by focusing on the strengths of the applicants rather than on the weaknesses of any one person)

Interviewing and/or Hearing from Candidates
It is optional to interview or hear presentations from candidates, but most boards decide to do so to learn more about the candidates and ensure the process is open. Interviews or presentations must take place in a public, properly noticed meeting.
Candidates may be invited to make a short presentation to the board (3-5 minutes) on why they should be appointed to the board. Candidates may also be interviewed after or instead of the presentation. Suggestions for the interview process include:

• Conduct interviews in the same manner for all candidates.
• Provide the questions to candidates prior to the interviews to ensure that all have the same time to prepare.
• Determine the order in which candidates are interviewed (or make presentations) by lot, alphabetical order, or some other neutral method.
• Vary the order in which candidates respond to questions; e.g. ask a question and ask each candidate to respond. Then ask the next question and vary the order in which candidates respond.
• The board president may ask all questions, or board members may take turns asking questions. It is wise to set time limits for candidate responses.

Attachment 5 provides sample interview questions.

Voting on the Candidates
The appointment, which is provisional, must be made by a majority public vote of the board members at a public meeting. How each trustee votes is a matter for public record; no secret ballots are allowed.

It is not necessary to vote on the candidates at the same meeting that they are interviewed. If time allows, the vote may be schedule for a subsequent meeting so that trustees have time to reflect on the candidates.

Announcing the Appointment
The law (Ed Code 5091, Gov Code 6061) requires that notices of the provisional appointment are posted within 10 days in three public places in the district of the actual vacancy or the filing of a deferred resignation and the provisional appointment. Notice of the appointment shall also be published in a newspaper of general circulation.

The notice shall state the fact of the vacancy or resignation and the date of the occurrence of the vacancy or the date of the filing of, and the effective date of, the resignation. It shall also contain the full name of the provisional appointee to the board, the date of appointment, and a statement that unless a petition calling for a special election, containing a sufficient number of signatures, is filed in the office of county superintendent of schools within 30 days of the date of the provisional appointment, it shall become an effective appointment. (If a petition is filed, then a special election must be held.)

In addition, the announcement of the appointment should be sent to the county superintendent of schools/office of education, the county elections office, the Community College League of California and other agencies that maintain lists of elected officials. Additional publicity may include press releases to all newspapers in the region, other news media, and local governing bodies.

Length of an Appointment
A person appointed to fill a vacancy holds office until the next regularly scheduled election for the board. An election is held to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. See Education Code 5091(e).

Orienting the New Trustee
Appointed trustees deserve the same orientation that is provided to newly elected trustees, which often includes sessions with the CEO, certain administrators and faculty, staff and student leaders; college tours, and resource materials.

Upon receiving the name of the new trustee, the Community College League will send a packet of information, including a Trustee Handbook, to the person. Appointed trustees also receive a special invitation to the Effective Trusteeship Workshop held in late January/early February.

Student Trustee Vacancies
Education Code 72023.5 provides that student trustees are chosen by the students enrolled in the colleges of the district in accordance with procedures prescribed by the governing board. Students are elected in spring and take office in May or June. Vacancies may occur through resignation or if a student trustee fails to maintain eligibility for the position.

Governing board policy and procedures should address what happens when the student trustee position becomes vacant prior to the end of the term. Options include, but are not limited to holding a special election, delegating authority to the Associated Students to recommend candidates for appointment to the board or to make an appointment, identifying a specific A. S. officer to fill the position, or leaving the position vacant (particularly if the vacancy occurs during spring semester).

Resources
Districts may rely on local counsel to ensure compliance with applicable law. The League maintains records of newly appointed and elected trustees. Contact cclc@ccleague.org for contact information to obtain samples from districts that recently appointed a new trustee.