BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 331
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 25, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
O'Donnell, Chair
AB
331 (Levine) - As Introduced February 13, 2015
SUBJECT: School district governing boards: reduction of
membership
SUMMARY: Authorizes elementary school districts to have
three-member governing boards, as specified, and authorizes
county committees on school district organization to establish
three-member school district governing boards pursuant to a
process specified in existing law. Specifically, this bill:
1)Deletes the requirement that any elementary school district
having a governing board of three members and whose average
daily attendance (ADA) for the preceding fiscal year was 300
or more do one of the following, and instead authorizes such
districts to do either of the following:
a) By its own action determine that the number of members
of its governing board shall be increased to five, in which
case two additional members shall be elected at an upcoming
established election date; or
b) Request the county superintendent of schools to submit
the question of whether the board should be increased to
five members to the voters of the district at an upcoming
established election date.
2)Authorizes the county committee on school district
organization, subject to a process prescribed in existing law,
to reduce the members of a school district or community
AB 331
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college district governing board from five to three, except
for school districts whose governing boards are provided for
in a city or city/county charter.
3)Makes other nonsubstantive changes to existing law.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires any elementary school district having a governing
board of three members and whose average daily attendance
(ADA) for the preceding fiscal year was 300 or more do one of
the following:
a) By its own action determine that the number of members
of its governing board shall be increased to five, in which
case two additional members shall be elected at an upcoming
established election date; or
b) Request the county superintendent of schools to submit
the question of whether the board should be increased to
five members to the voters of the district at an upcoming
established election date.
2)Requires that a proposal to change the membership of a school
district or community college district governing board may be
initiated by the county committee on school district
organization or made to the committee by a petition signed by
a specified number of qualified registered voters residing in
the district.
3)Requires the county committee on school district organization
to call and conduct at least one hearing in the district on a
proposal to change the membership of the district's governing
board and to approve or disapprove the proposal at the
conclusion of the hearing.
AB 331
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FISCAL EFFECT: State mandated local program.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill. According to the author's office this bill
is needed because it is difficult for small school districts to
find more than three people to serve on the governing board.
Specifically, according to the author's office, "When ADA
increases, some boards increase to five members. However, if
ADA drops, there is no provision for going back to three board
members." Elementary school districts that already have
three-member boards and that continue to enroll fewer than 300
ADA can maintain their three-member boards. If the ADA
increases to 300 or more, then the district must either increase
its board membership to five by its own action or request the
question to be put to a vote of the district's electorate.
Voters could decide to either retain the three-member board or
increase the membership to five. However, if a district's ADA
goes from 300 or more to less than 300, there is no provision in
law to decrease its board membership from five to three. The
purpose of this bill, according to the author's office, is to
add such a provision to the Education Code.
The bill overshoots its purpose. This bill contains two primary
changes to current law. First, it authorizes, rather requires,
elementary school districts that have three board members and
more than 300 ADA in the preceding year to either increase its
board membership to five by its own action or submit the
question to the voters. This change means that districts that
grow to more than 300 ADA can select not to exercise either of
these options, thereby retaining their three-member boards. In
other words, while existing law offers the three-member board
option only to districts with fewer than 300 ADA, this bill
extends that option to districts with 300 or more ADA, if those
districts already have three-member boards. To be consistent
with the author's purpose, staff recommends that the bill be
amended to delete this provision.
AB 331
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This bill also gives the county committee on school district
organization the authority to reduce board membership from five
to three. The county committee could act on its own initiative,
at the request of the district, or if required by a petition.
As written, however, this provision applies to community college
districts as well as school districts of any size. Staff
recommends that the bill be amended to make this provision apply
only to school districts with fewer than 300 ADA.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Sonoma County Office of Education
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared
by: Rick Pratt/ED./(916) 319-2087