Quote in today’s News Journal:
“I’m very pleased that the children who attend school … from Wilmington and their families will again have a representative on the school board of education,” said Richard H. Morse, legal director of the ACLU of Delaware.
Delaware Code: http://delcode.delaware.gov/title14/c010/sc03/index.shtml#1051
1051. Election of school board members; exceptions. (a) School board members shall be elected by the qualified voters of the respective reorganized school districts,
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So why is there a statutory requirement that the 7th board member come from Wilmington, if a bunch of folks in Newark can represent Wilmington just fine?
*show me that statute. Please. *
Contrast
§ 1052. Number; qualifications of members; 1 member elected each year; term of members.
(a) Unless otherwise provided in this chapter, each school board shall be composed of 5 members.
(b) Each member shall be a citizen of the State and resident of the school district in which elected or appointed and shall be qualified to vote at a school election in that district at the time of such election or appointment.
with
§ 1066A. Elections to the school boards of the Brandywine School District, the Christina School District, the Colonial School District and the Red Clay Consolidated School District.
(a) Notwithstanding anything contained in this chapter to the contrary, members of the school boards of the Brandywine School District, the Christina School District, the Colonial School District and the Red Clay Consolidated School District shall be elected by the procedures described herein. Elections shall be conducted in accordance with §§ 1071-1086 of this title; provided, however, that:
(1) The number of members for each of the school boards of the Brandywine School District, the Christina School District, the Colonial School District and the Red Clay Consolidated School District shall be 7. …
(3) The Brandywine School District, the Christina School District, the Colonial School District and the Red Clay Consolidated School District (the “districts”) each shall be divided into 7 nominating districts to be denominated districts A through G and to be denominated on the basis of their geographical proximity (i.e., district A shall be as contiguous as practicable with district B and so forth).
(4) Candidates for the school boards of the Brandywine School District, the Christina School District, the Colonial School District and the Red Clay Consolidated School District shall file for candidacy in accordance with § 1075 of this title, except that a candidate must be a resident of the district for the seat that candidate seeks.
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For most Delaware school districts, the rule is from 1052: you just have to be a resident of the entire school district. However, the rule for Christina from 1066A says that the overall school district shall be divided into 7 nominating districts and the candidates are chosen not just from the school district as a whole (as is the case for districts governed by 1052), which would mean all 7 could come from a single neighborhood. Instead, the legislature enacted a special procedure for certain school districts in which they would be divided into nominating districts and there would be geographic dispersion of the school board members. For Christina, this means that one board member must come from Wilmington, no matter how much folks in the rest of the district dislike having a Wilmingtonian present.
Now, if the legislature believed that people from Newark can represent Wilmington just fine, why have the requirement — different from the default rule of 1052 — that the school board members be geographically dispersed and that nominating district A (aka south Wilmington) have a school member from it?
The contrast between 1052′s “shall be qualified to vote at a school election in that district” and 1066A’s “must be a resident of the district for the seat that candidate seeks” shows that the legislature thought that for a few certain districts, it was important for each geographic part of the district to have representation on the school board. The nominating districts each have a seat that is their particular seat. Why cut up into nominating districts that each have a seat that is theirs, unless it is important for people from each area to have one of their own neighbors on the board?
First, no one is suggesting that Wilmington should not have a representative. I am saying, though, that they have 7 of them since we are elected at large, an indisputable fact.
Second, the code you cite is for an election process, not an appointment process, which frankly after Judge Silverman diced it up I can’t really say it is much of a process anymore.
In the case of an election, the code you cite also does not, in any way, direct that the composition of the board be made up of members from each nominating district, just that it is a requirement to file in the event of an ELECTION. Also, there is precedent in DE law based on Title 14 1054(a):
§ 1054. Vacancy on school board.
(a) If any school board member ceases to be a resident of the reorganized school district, that member shall cease to be a member of its school board.
that if a member moves from their nominating district, but remains in the school district, THEY ARE NOT COMPELLED to leave the board. This betrays your argument that nominating district sensibilities universally apply. Thus, why is there no compulsion in the code for the voting to be by nominating district rather than by whole district? The compulsion is for WHOLE district voting to ensure that WILMINGTON voters have an electoral influence over ALL 6 non Wilmington nominating district representatives. Crying over split milk isn’t very becoming No_Rush, nor is lying.
Bottom line: Mr. Evans sued his own school board to regain the seat he was voted out of by a greater than 4-1 margin (greater 5-1 if you count the 3rd candidate). If he draws an opponent in the May 2013 election, I expect a spirited campaign about history and service. If 2010 repeats, he will lose again. If he is able to win voters all over Christina, he will win. It shall be interesting.
“no matter how much folks in the rest of the district dislike having a Wilmingtonian present.”- No_Rush, I am curious as to why you think folks dislike having a Wilmingtonian present.
he can’t. It’s a lie.
Again, still haven’t seen an explanation of why the legislature has nominating districts for Christina (and other upstate school districts that had significant numbers of minority students at the time) but not for all Delaware school districts. Just try to put a few minutes thought into this rather than spitting out defensiveness. It might really help you serve the children coming from Nominating District A.
“No_Rush, I am curious as to why you think folks dislike having a Wilmingtonian present.”
I’d have to refer you to some choice comments made by folks at Kilroy’s blog, including calling Evans a “bastard” (apropos nothing indicative of his parents having been unmarried) and saying what “bullshit” it is that they can’t take that seat simply because they don’t live in Wilmington.
Are there comments there condemning the previous Wilmington rep? My point is, that suburban concerns with the Wilmington rep are/may be a function of the person in the role, not the fact that it is the city nominating district. Can you prove otherwise?
Do you think that school board members should pay their taxes, particulalrly their school taxes in a timely fashion? Just curious.
I think it’s the same reason the legislature wanted to ensure that Wilmington residents had a say in all 7 seats. Not sure your point follows linear thinking all the way. If you sever Wilmington voters from all 7 seats, why would non Wilmington board members be required to serve the interests of Wilmington under the fundamental tenets of a representative republic??
Also the same reason the legislature wanted to ensure the entire school district had a say and a place to vote in each and every election. Why would anyone want anything different. I mean, unless you just wanted narrow voter participation to stamp your ticket to National School Board Association annual meetings rather than serve children that is?
Not that you have to answer my question, of course, but your reply did not really answer it, at all, so I will assume you don’t have a real answer.
no, he/she does not have an answer for you.