Redondo Beach Unified Superintendent Wesley floats extension of school board term limits

by Garth Meyer

“Three terms would create more continuity,” said RUHS Superintendent Nicole Wesley, at a school board meeting Nov. 18, asking if the board would be interested to adjust the current term limits policy of two four-year spans.

Wesley noted the time it takes for new boardmembers to fully learn the “inner workings of the district, the budget, what each department is responsible for, developing relationships, etc.”

Allowing a potential third term – which is common among California school districts – would give boardmembes the opportunity to “continue to represent the community after having that deep understanding,” Wesley said. 

The superintendent placed the item on the agenda that night, so the board may consider putting it on the June ballot next year as an amendment to the Redondo Beach city charter, which sets the term-limit rule.

California Education Code allows for unlimited terms, though since Redondo Beach is a charter city, it would require a vote by the people.

Board president Dan Elder noted that, when he, Rolf Strutzenberg and Rachel Silverman Nemeth joined the board in 2021, it represented a 60% turnover in a single election – amidst a pandemic. The previous three boardmembers had reached their two-term limit.

“It does change that power dynamic between the superintendent and the board, by having more experienced boardmembers in a lot of situations,” Elder said. 

“It is overwhelming to absorb all of this and feel you are effective,” said Hanh Archer, elected to the board earlier this year. 

“(It can be) a game of catch-up,” said veteran boardmember Raymur Flinn. “Eight years, it does go by very quickly.”

“That knowledge that you gain is easier to pass on (with a third term),” Wesley said.

Boardmember Byung Cho, who joined in 2023, said that it took some time for him to realize the importance of the interconnected relationships between city and school leaders.

“The relationships built over years has become invaluable, and to see that disappear overnight after two terms could be detrimental to how we operate as a school district in the long term,” he said.

In all, only five school districts in California have a two-term limit for boardmembers.

Wesley said she will gather input from teacher and parent associations and survey families on the matter, then update the board. 

The deadline to place something on the June 26 ballot is in March.

In 2014, Redondo Beach voters turned down a measure that would have extended term limits from two to three for city council and school board seats. ER