ELECTIONS

The Board of Trustees is made up of seven trustees that are elected for rotating three-year terms. When a member’s term has expired, elections are held in May annually. Although Board members are elected to numbered positions, trustees represent the District as a whole, not specific geographic areas.

Next Election: 

NOTICE OF POSTPONED BOARD OF TRUSTEES ELECTION

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the May 2, 2020 Pine Tree ISD Board of Trustees Election has been postponed to November 3, 2020.

Amended Order of Election

Location: 

Pine Tree Central Administration
1701 Pine Tree Road                   
Longview, Texas 75604

Board of Trustee  Members/Terms: 

Requirements: 

Form, content, and Procedure:

An application for a place on the ballot must be in writing; signed sworn to by the candidate before a person authorized to administer an oath, and dated; timely filed with the district’s filing authority (Tax Assessor or superintendent’s administrative assistant); and contain specified information about the candidate:

• the candidate’s name, date of birth, and occupation;
• the candidate’s residence address or the address at which the candidate receives mail with a description of the location of the candidate’s residence;
• the candidate’s length of continuous residence in Texas and in the district (and single member district, if applicable) as of the date the candidate swears to the application;
• if available, a public mailing address and email address at which the candidate receives correspondence relating to the candidate’s campaign;
• the office sought, including any place or other distinguishing number and an indication of whether the office sought is for a full or unexpired term;
• statements that the candidate is a U.S. citizen; has not been determined by a court to be mentally incapacitated; has not been convicted of a felony; is aware of the nepotism law; and swears an oath to support and defend the U.S. and Texas Constitutions and laws.

Eligibility: 

An individual is eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or appointed to, a Texas school board if the individual:

• is a United States citizen
• is 18 years of age or older on the first day of the term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as applicable;
• has not been determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote;
• has not been convicted of a felony;
• has resided continuously in the state for 12 months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six months immediately preceding the following date:  
  • for an independent candidate, the date of the regular filing deadline for a candidate’s application for a place on the ballot;
  • for a write-in candidate, the date of the election at which the candidate’s name is written in; or
  • for an appointee to an office, the date the appointment is made;

• is registered to vote in the territory from which the office is elected on the date described above; and
• satisfies any other eligibility requirements prescribed by law for the office.

Tex. Elec. Code § 141.001; Tex. Educ. Code § 11.066.

The Texas Education Code imposed additional requirements:

• To be elected to a school board, an individual must be a qualified vote: 18 years of age or older, a U.S. citizen, a Texas resident, a registered voter, not determined to be totally or partially mentally incapacitated by an appropriate court, and not finally convicted of a felony. Tex. Educ. Code § 11.061; Tex. Elec. Code § 11.002.
• A person is ineligible to serve on a school board if the person has been convicted of a felony or an offense under Texas Penal Code section 43.02(b) regarding prostitution. Tex. Educ. Code § 11.066.

Deadline:

The first date to file an application for a place on the ballot in a school district’s general election is the 30^th day before the filing deadline. The filing deadline for a general election is 5 p.m. on the 78^th day before Election Day. Tex. Educ. Code § 11.055(a); Tex. Elec. Code § 144.005. The deadline to file a declaration of write-in candidacy is 5 p.m. on the 74^th day before Election Day.

Additional resources:

Texas Election Code sections 141.001 (eligibility requirements) and 141.0031 (application requirements)

District policies: BBA(LEGAL) (Eligibility/Qualifications) and BBBA(LEGAL) (Conduction Elections)

Secretary of State Elections Division website, including Terms, Qualifications, and Vacancies; VR for Candidates (HB 484) FAQ; Candidacy for Local Policial Subdivisions; and Running for Local Offices.

Texas Ethics Commission