| Perhaps it’s time for Ventura County voters to reaffirm the fifty-year old choice. VCTA proposed a ballot measure to give citizens the say on whether today’s governance structure still serves the public interest. Placing the decision on the November 2026 ballot would have represented the broadest form of public process. It would have allowed voters to choose whether to keep an elected model or transition to an appointed model with greater Board oversight.
Delaying the Voters Right to Choose
Alas, it was not to be. On July 27, 2026, the Ventura County Board of Education voted 4-0 to postpone a ballot measure that would ask voters if the Superintendent should remain elected or become an appointed position. Board President Rachel Ulrich was absent for the vote.
Superintendents and other elected officials from other school boards throughout the County attended, spoke, and wrote letters in support of the measure.
Members of the public that were opposed to the change included former Ventura County Supervisor, Kathy Long and Superintendent Candidate, Karen Sher, who defend the existing elected structure but struggled to articulate concrete steps that would give accountability to the office, short of an expensive recall effort.
The Board gave reasonable sounding excuses for the delay. The two dissenting voices on the Board, including Trustee Arleigh Kidd and Dr. Ramon Flores, prioritized delay over decisive action. They wanted additional public input, a particularly specious excuse as a vote of the pubic would be the ultimate public input on this topic. In doing so, they preserved a status quo that leaves the Board without effective tools to address misconduct or poor stewardship of public resources mid-term. To an objective observer, the Board suffered from paralysis by analysis.
The Board’s vote effectively removed the measure from the November 2026 ballot, pushing any voter input on governance to March 2028 at the earliest.
Shortly after the meeting, Trustee Kidd announced he would not seek reelection.
Preserving the Status Quo of Lax Accountability to the Public
Delaying placing the measure on the ballot leaves the Board without effective tools to handle any future misconduct by the Superintendent. It also denies voters the immediate chance to fix the governance gap.
The defenders of an elected model offered no concrete steps to prevent unauthorized spending or compensation spiking under the current arrangement.
So, Ventura County parents and taxpayers are powerless if allegations of misconduct arise again.
Committed to Placing the Choice on the Ballot
Postponing the Board vote to place a measure before the voters delayed the discussion, but did not resolve the need for structural reform. VCTA remains committed to advocating for a ballot measure until Ventura County voters have a clear, direct vote on how their County office of Education is governed. |
