Court of appeals holds that school board has a mandatory duty imposed by law to accept applications for the positions that came open as a result of census-based redistricting.
The results of the 2010 federal census required that the board redivide the district. The board apparently adopted a plan, the 5–2 plan, within the explicit deadline contained in the education code, but an objection by the Department of Justice prevented the initial redistricting. It is undisputed that the board officially recognized and acted upon the 2010 federal census. The board anticipated completing the redistricting process for the May 2013 election. The board entered into an election services agreement for a joint election with the City of Beaumont for May 2013, and set a deadline for the filing of applications to be placed on the ballot. It is also undisputed that the plaintiffs timely filed applications. The ultimate issue in this proceeding is whether the Board could properly reject those applications at a time when the Board planned to hold an election after redistricting.
The court of appeals held that the school board had a mandatory duty imposed by law to accept the applications for the positions that were timely presented.