15-1441. Selection of precincts; district board members; terms; qualifications; vacancies

A. The board of supervisors shall establish in the same manner as provided in section 16-411 five precincts in a community college district for the election of a district board member from each precinct.  A precinct in a community college district shall be composed of the number of election precincts as determined by the board of supervisors and shall have the same boundaries as are defined for the election precincts under section 16-411.  If the board of supervisors redefines the boundaries of election precincts under section 16-411 that are included within a precinct in a community college district, the board of supervisors shall redefine the boundaries of the precinct in the community college district to conform with the election precinct changes. The precincts shall be established in a newly organized district subsequent to the organizational vote, and the county school superintendent shall appoint five members, one from each precinct, who are qualified electors.

B. Where two or more counties constitute a district, as many precincts shall be set up by the board of supervisors in each county as the county is entitled to membership.  In no case shall a county that is part of a district have more than four precincts, and where a district consists of two or more counties at least one member shall reside in each county.

C. At the first general election held for a district, the candidate having the most votes in each precinct shall be declared elected, provided the candidate meets the requirements provided in subsection A of this section.  The two elected members having the highest number of votes receive six year terms, the two elected members receiving the next highest number of votes receive four year terms and the one elected member receiving the lowest number of votes receives a two year term.  Thereafter each member's term is six years, except for a county with a population of at least three million persons, beginning at the next election after June 30, 2012, each member's term is four years.

D. The next general election of district board members following the first general election shall be for the precinct where the elected candidate received the lowest number of votes and the second general election for the two precincts where the elected candidates received the next highest number of votes and the third general election for the two precincts where the elected candidates received the highest number of votes. The order of elections as established through this procedure shall thereafter be the order of precinct elections.

E. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment by the county school superintendent for the unexpired term for the precinct where the vacancy occurs, except that if the unexpired term is two years or longer, the county school superintendent may do one of the following:

1. Make an appointment for a term, which shall be until the next regular election for district board members, at which time a successor shall be elected to serve the unexpired portion of the term.

2. With the approval of the district board, leave the vacancy until the next regular election for governing board members, at which time a successor shall be elected to serve the unexpired portion of the term.

F. When a vacancy occurs in a district with more than one county, the county school superintendent of the county where the previous incumbent resided shall fill the appointment for the unexpired term.

G. A county officer as provided in section 11-401 is not eligible to serve as a member of a community college district governing board during his term of office.

H. Employees of a community college district or their spouses are not eligible to hold membership on the community college district governing board in the district in which the employee is employed.

I. Beginning July 1, 2012, in addition to the governing board members who are elected from each of the five precincts in a community college district, a county with a population of at least three million persons shall elect two additional governing members from the district at large.  At the first general election held to elect at-large governing board members, the two candidates having the most votes shall be declared elected, if each candidate is a qualified elector who resides in that county. The elected member who receives the highest number of votes of the at-large candidates shall serve a four year term and the elected member who receives the next highest number of votes shall serve a two year term.  Thereafter each member's term is four years.