Two Lake Tahoe School Board seats open; No candidates yet for Area 2

There is one week left to turn in paperwork necessary to run for the two open seats on the Lake Tahoe Unified School District Board of Education.

Due to new election boundaries, each of the five school board members have to represent one area of the community. Board members Sue Novasel, Dr. Larry Green and Dr. Michael Doyle will not be up for re-election until Fall of 2016 (unless Novasel wins the County Supervisor job in November). Wendy David from Area 2 is not seeking reelection and current board member Barbara Bannar has announced her intention for run for the Area 5 spot she currently holds.

To date, nobody has turned in paperwork to run from Area 2. The deadline to turn in paperwork is Friday, August 8 at 5 p.m.

To file as a candidate, interested parties must be registered voters who reside within the boundaries of the voting area for which they are running. Area 2 borders Pioneer Trail on the east, Lake Tahoe Blvd. to the north, Harrison and Freel Peak avenues to the west, and Al Tahoe to the south. Area 5 borders Highway 89/Emerald Bay Road to the east and north, wraps around Emerald Bay and then runs south down through Twin Bridges and up and around the west side of Christmas Valley. Trustee area maps can be found on this webpage.

Anyone interested in running for LTUSD’S Board of Education can visit the local Elections Office in town at 3368 Lake Tahoe Blvd., #108 to pick up a packet with the various forms needed. This office is open Monday through Friday, but closes for lunch between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. each day. Paperwork can also be picked up at the El Dorado County Elections Department at 2850 Fairlane Court in Placerville.

In addition to the required forms, candidates may wish to submit a Candidate Statement that is no more than 200 words in length. This statement will be published in a Sample Ballot, which is mailed to every household in the voting areas. There is a Candidate Statement filing fee of $410 to cover the associated printing costs. If candidates want their statement printed in Spanish as well as English, an additional fee of $506 is required. These fees, established by the El Dorado County Registrar of voters, are based on the number of registered voters in the area.

According to Kim Smith at the El Dorado County Office of Elections, new candidates shouldn’t wait to file. “It takes at least an hour to process their candidate statements and forms. So if candidates show up on August 8 at 5 p.m., they may not see their paperwork processed in time.” If no candidate files for election in Area 2, then the Board of Education will need to appoint a representative for that Trustee Area.

The last day to register to vote for November’s election is October 20, 2014.