School board plan puts qualified candidates on equal plane

The new school board consists of (from left) Reg Bennett, Kyle Root, Jackie Johansen and Bob O'Donnell, with one vacancy. Menifee 24/7 photo: Kristen Spoon

The William Hoag Saga continues.

In the latest plot twist in the story of a Menifee school board candidate who allegedly is ineligible to hold the position, the Menifee Union School District Board on Wednesday announced its plan for filling the vacant Area 5 Trustee seat.

Rather than appointing second-place finisher Kenyon Jenkins to the post, as many have suggested as the best solution, board members announced a plan to interview Jenkins and the other three qualified candidates in the Area 5 race and choose the new board member from among them.

The board did not address the issue during its Tuesday meeting, in which two eligible candidates who won other Trustee Area races, Kyle Root and Jackie Johnansen, were sworn in. There was no agenda item regarding the Area 5 vacancy created when Hoag informed district officials of his withdrawal from the position after a Menifee 24/7 investigation indicated he does not live within district boundaries.

However, the issue was discussed by the new board members in closed session both before and after Tuesday's public meeting, Menifee 24/7 has learned. The result of that discussion was announced in an email from a school district official on Wednesday.

According to the announcement, official notification will be made at the board's next meeting on Jan. 8 that any of the four qualified candidates would have the opportunity to interview for the position. Candidates wishing to interview will do so on Jan. 15. The choice of the board members will be announced Jan. 16 and that individual will be sworn in at the board meeting of Jan. 22.

Jenkins, who stood to be appointed to the position if board members chose to appoint the second-place finisher, seemed to have the most reason to be upset with the decision. He did not express that sentiment in a response to a Menifee 24/7 request for comment, however.

"It's a board decision and I have an interview with the MUSD Board on Jan. 15," Jenkins said. "So I am hoping for a favorable outcome."

In the final voting results, Hoag finished first with 2,119 votes, followed by Jenkins with 1,302; Debbi Manion with 1,271; former board member Jerry Bowman with 886; and Joe Long with 546.

As expected, Manion praised the decision that puts her on equal footing with the other candidates heading into the interview process.

"It's kind of what I expected," she said. "It's probably the only fair solution. When somebody makes a farce of the election ... there's 2,000 votes out there that should belong to someone else. There's too much controversy about how those votes should've gone. This is the fairest way, to put everyone on the same playing field.

"My concern was that they would open it up to anyone who wanted to apply at this point. That wouldn't be fair to those who took the time and worked hard to run."

Bowman did not respond to a media request for comment. He did post the district announcement on his Facebook page without adding personal comment. Long responded by saying he agreed with the board's decision.

This will be the second appointment of an official to a traditionally elected office in Menifee this year. This summer, the Menifee City Council chose to appoint Bill Zimmerman mayor following the death of Neil Winter rather than call for a special election. Some residents have voiced their displeasure on social media, saying these appointments take away the vote from the people.

"They need to hold a new election for that trustee area," Nicola Silva wrote on the Menifee 24/7 Facebook page. "No one can be claimed a winner because we don't know who all the other votes would have gone to if Hoag was not originally running. That's the fair way of doing it."

"Politicians deciding who best to run your schools? Imagine that," wrote Craig Mandina.