San Diego

There will be no change for now in the election process for the San Diego Unified School District Board of Education or for the San Diego Community College District Board of Trustees.

The San Diego Charter Review Commission on Tuesday night rejected a proposal to take both boards out of the City Charter, which now determines the way elections are carried out, and put them under the state Education Code. The proposal failed on a 4-4 vote, with eight votes required for placing the proposal before voters in a future election.

Candidates for both boards now run within individual districts in a primary, and the two top vote-getters then compete within the entire school or community college district in the final election.

Charter Review Commission consideration of a change resulted from a decision by city voters last November to change City Council elections to district-only. A majority of the Board of Education favors maintaining its two-step system, but a majority of the college District Board of Trustees wants district-only elections.

Tuesday night, Charter Review Commission Chairman Edward Butler suggested that all reference to the two education boards be taken out of the City Charter because their remaining rules and regulations are governed by the state Education Code. But other members argued that the boards should remain under the charter so the city can maintain some influence on election procedures.