CONEJO VALLEY : School Board Seat Open Until Election

The now vacant seat of a retired Conejo Valley Unified School District Board member will remain open until the November general election, district officials said Monday.

A member of the school board for nearly nine years, William Henry Jr. resigned July 1 after moving to Oxnard.

At the time of his announcement, district officials were uncertain whether to hold a special election, appoint a replacement or leave the seat empty. The seat is up for election this fall.

But Ventura County election officials Monday told Supt. Jerry Gross that according to the state education code, the district can simply leave Henry’s seat open until the next general election.

“The board doesn’t have to take a vote on this,” Gross said.

Trustee Dorothy Beaubien agreed that the seat should remain open.

“I don’t think we’ll fill it, because the election is so close,” she said. “We all sort of had the same feeling that it would be foolish.”

Three seats for the Conejo Valley school board are up for reelection in the fall: Henry’s and those held by trustees Mildred Lynch and Richard Newman.