(a) Composition of school board. (1) The school board shall recommend to the Director, DoD DDESS, the number of elected school board voting members, which shall be not fewer than 3 and no more than 9, depending upon local needs. The members of the school board shall select by majority vote of the total number of school board members authorized at the beginning of each official school board term, one member to act as President and another to act as Vice President. The President and Vice President shall each serve for 1 year. The President shall preside over school board meetings and provide leadership for related activities and functions. The Vice President shall serve in the absence of the President. If the position of President is vacated for any reason, the Vice President shall be the President until the next regularly scheduled school board election. The resulting vacancy in the position of the Vice President shall be filled by the majority vote of all members of the incumbent board.
(2) The DoD DDESS Arrangement Superintendent, or designee, shall serve as a non-voting observer to all school board meetings. The Installation Commander, or designee, shall convey command concerns to the school board and the Superintendent and keep the school board and the Superintendent informed of changes and other matters within the host installation that affect school expenditures or operations.
(3) School board members may not receive compensation for their service on the school board.
(4) Members of the school board may not have any financial interest in any company or organization doing business with the school system. Waivers to this restriction may be granted on a case-by-case basis by the Director, DoD DDESS, in coordination with the Office of General Counsel of the Department of Defense.
(b) Electorate of the school board. The electorate for each school board seat shall be composed of parents of the students attending the school. Each member of the electorate shall have one vote.
(c) Election of school board members. (1) To be elected as a member of the school board, an individual must be a resident of the military installation in which the DoD DDESS arrangement is located, or in the case of candidates for the Antilles Consolidated School System School Board, be the parent of an eligible child currently enrolled in the school system. Personnel employed by a DoD DDESS arrangement may not serve as school board members.
(2) The board shall determine the term of office for elected members, not to exceed 3 years, and the limit on the number of terms, if any. If the board fails to set these terms by the first day of the first full month of the school year, the terms will be set at 3 years, with a maximum of 2 consecutive terms.
(3) When there is a sufficient number of school board vacancies that result in not having a quorum, which is defined as a majority of seats authorized, a special election shall be called by the DoD DDESS Arrangement Superintendent or designee. A special election is an election that is held between the regularly scheduled annual school board election. The nomination and election procedures for a special election shall be the same as those of regularly scheduled school board elections. Individuals elected by special election shall serve until the next regularly scheduled school board election. Vacancies may occur due to the resignation, death, removal for cause, transfer, or disenrollment of a school board member's child(ren) from the DoD DDESS arrangement.
(4) The board shall determine a schedule for regular elections. Parents shall have adequate notice of the time and place of the election. The election shall be by secret ballot. All votes must be cast in person at the time and place of the election. The candidate(s) receiving the greatest number of votes shall be elected as school board member(s).
(5) Each candidate for school board membership must be nominated in writing by at least one member of the electorate to be represented by the candidate. Votes may be cast at the time of election for write-in candidates who have not filed a nomination petition if the write-in candidates otherwise are qualified to serve in the positions sought.
(6) The election process shall provide staggered terms for board members; e.g., on the last day of the last month of each year, the term for some board members will expire.
(7) The DoD DDESS Superintendent, in consultation with the school board, shall be responsible for developing the plans for nominating school board members and conducting the school board election and the special election process. The DoD DDESS Superintendent shall announce election results within 7 working days of the election.