Pleasanton School Board Race Will Not Be On The November Ballot... Do You Care?

There will be no vote this fall in the Pleasanton Unified School District board of education election.

That's because only three candidates filed for the three seats up for grabs on the Nov. 6 ballot.

School board incumbents Valerie Arkin, Chris Grant and Jamie Yee Hintzke all filed their candidacy papers with the Alameda County Elections Department by last Friday's deadline. Challenger Sean Kullman took out papers but didn't return them.

In instances such as this, county elections officials automatically remove the item from the upcoming ballot. The candidates who filed are then certified by election officials after Nov. 6. Pleasanton school officials are scheduled to swear in the three incumbents at the board's Dec. 11 meeting.

Luz Cazares, the assistant superintendent of business for Pleasanton schools, said the removal of the school board race from the ballot will save the district the $42,000 it would have had to pay the elections department.

Kullman sent the following statement to Pleasanton Patch about his decision not to become a candidate.

"After careful consideration, I have decided to place my time, energy, and resources into a community service campaign that focuses on student achievement and the Pleasanton Unified School District.  To learn more, please go to www.pleasantoneducation.org.  I would enjoy chatting with you a bit more."

What do you think? Should races where there isn't a surplus of candidates be taken off the ballot? Are you happy with the three incumbents automatically receiving another term? Let us know in the comments section.