A special election for Moreno Valley Unified School District Trustee Area 5 in California has been called for May 7, 2019. None of the other five seats on the board are scheduled to hold an election in 2019. Those interested in the position have until February 8 to file for the office.

 

The seat was originally vacated in August when Evan Morgan resigned his position following criminal charges that Morgan said he feared would distract from his work on the board. The Board of Education appointed Darrell Peeden to the seat in October 2018, but the appointment was overturned in December by a petition drive that required the district to call a special election. The community had 30 days following Peeden’s appointment to gather 1 ½ percent of Trustee Area 5 voters’ signatures—or 231 signatures—for the election to be called. A total of 318 valid signatures were turned in. Peeden stated he plans to file for the seat he held for roughly two months.

 

This is the second such special election to be called in Moreno Valley USD this decade. In May 2013, the school district appointed Gary Baugh to a vacant at-large seat on the board. He then vacated the seat in June of that year and stood for election in November. He won the special election and served until 2018.

 

Moreno Valley USD served 33,942 students during the 2015-2016 school year.