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Board streamlines application for appointed trustee seats, sets Oct. 23 timeline for interviews
Summary
After debate about what information to require, the Monrovia Unified board agreed to a streamlined appointment application; essential eligibility and a certification (background/fingerprint) will be kept, extraneous questions removed, and candidates will be asked to make two‑minute statements at a public meeting (Oct. 23) if more than one applies for a trustee area.
The Monrovia Unified School District Board of Education on Sept. 26 directed staff to streamline the application and publicize a process to appoint trustees to fill vacancies after a failure to elect.
Board members debated the balance between public transparency and avoiding unnecessary political details in the application. Several trustees — including Mr. Hammond and Mr. Vonte — urged a compact form that focuses on statutory eligibility (age, residency, voter registration) and a certification that applicants can pass fingerprinting and background checks. Others, including Miss Lockerby and Miss Travanti, asked for an expectation of availability (attendance at regular board meetings and key events) to be included in the cover information.
The board agreed to keep the cover sheet and the certification page, strike lengthy background questions from pages three through five, and to add an explicit statement about meeting attendance expectations. Trustees also directed that if multiple qualified applicants file for a trustee area, the applicants will appear at a public meeting on Oct. 23 and will have two minutes for an applicant statement followed by a consistent set of board questions. Legal counsel advised the board that the publicized process must specify whether applicants will make statements or be interviewed in open session; the board decided on two‑minute statements plus uniform questions as the method.
The motion to follow the board’s direction for the advertisement and process passed unanimously. Staff said it will finalize documents, publish the advertisement as required, accept applications in the advertised window, and bring any contested trustee‑area appointments to the Oct. 23 board meeting for public statements and deliberation. If no applicants file, trustees said they would revisit options at that time.
What’s next: staff will publish the streamlined application and timeline and will accept paperwork per the publicized schedule; the board expects to act at the Oct. 23 meeting where contested seats will be heard in open session.
