Election to Fill Vacancy on Board of Trustees

PURPOSE: This rule provides for the election of board members to fill terms or vacancies of elective positions on the board as authorized by section 169.020, RSMo. (1) When elections are required to fill trustee positions with terms beginning on July 1, the board of trustees shall initiate election procedures no later than in the month of February immediately preceding the applicable July 1 date, and shall conduct elections in the manner set forth in this rule to fill those positions. When a vacancy in an elected position occurs because of death, resignation, or other cause, the board shall begin election procedures to fill that position within sixty (60) days after the vacancy occurs and shall conduct an election in the manner set forth in this rule; provided, however, that no election will be held to fill a vacancy when the vacancy occurs less than twelve (12) months prior to the date on which the term of that position will expire. (2) Notice of a vacancy(ies) to be filled shall be given by means of a publication of the board of trustees or by means of an official notice to be sent to each employer where a member of the public school retirement system or of the public education employee retirement system is employed in a position covered by one (1) of those systems, to each association serving school employees on a statewide basis, and to each association serving retirees of either system on a statewide basis. (3) Candidates will be nominated by means of nominating petitions. Forms for the nominating petitions will be furnished by the retirement system and petitions completed on any other form will be considered invalid. The forms will be furnished to prospective candidates upon receipt of their requests. (4) A period of forty-five (45) days shall be given the prospective candidates to file the nominating petitions with the office of the executive director. This forty-five- (45-) day period will begin on a date to be established and publicized in the official notice and which date shall be after the date of official notice. Any petition filed after the period of forty-five (45) days will be considered invalid. (5) A valid petition must name only one (1) nominee and must have a total of not fewer than one thousand (1,000) signatures of members or retirees of either The Public School Retirement System of Missouri or The Public Education Employee Retirement System of Missouri and there must be no fewer than two hundred (200) such signatures from each of four (4) Missouri congressional districts. Each signatory must indicate place of employment if currently serving an employer included within either retirement system and place of residence. A signatory serving an employer included within one (1) of the retirement systems shall be deemed to be from the congressional district in which the employer’s administrative office is located. A signatory not serving such an employer may be assigned to any congressional district or may be unassigned at the will of the nominee. The validity of the signatures shall be determined by the office of the executive director from records of the retirement system. (6) After the close of the petition filing period and verification of the petition signatures, an audit committee approved by the board of trustees shall review the nominating petitions received and shall certify to the board of trustees the name(s) of the candidate(s) nominated. If only one (1) valid nominating petition is certified for a vacancy, the board shall declare the person nominated in that petition to be elected. If more than one (1) valid nominating petition is certified for a vacancy, an election shall be conducted as set forth in this rule. If a valid nominating petition is not received for a vacancy to be filled, the board of trustees shall reopen and conduct the petition and election process in the same manner as was done previously and within any necessary time restraints and special conditions to be established by the board of trustees at that time. (7) As soon as practicable after the auditing committee has certified the names of the candidates, an official ballot listing the names of the candidates in alphabetical order shall be sent to each member and to each retiree of The Public School Retirement System of Missouri and of The Public Education Employee Retirement System of Missouri, provided that no person shall be furnished nor allowed to cast more than one (1) ballot. The ballot shall include instructions for marking and returning the ballot within thirty (30) days from the date the ballot was sent from the office of the executive director. (8) A board of tellers, approved by the board of trustees, shall collect the ballots and tally the votes. The board of tellers shall certify to the board of trustees the name of the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes for each vacant position, or the names of the candidates receiving the greatest and the second greatest number of votes if two (2) vacant positions are to be filled by members of The Public School Retirement System of Missouri and the Public Education Employee Retirement System of Missouri, and the board of trustees shall declare the candidate(s) elected. (9) If two (2) or more candidates for one (1) vacancy tie with the greatest number of votes, another official ballot listing in alphabetical order the names of the candidates who tied shall be submitted to each eligible voter and an election conducted in the same manner as set forth in sections (7) and (8). (10) At the discretion of the board of trustees, any or all election procedure(s) delegated to the executive director, the retirement office, the audit committee, or the board of tellers may be contracted by the board of trustees to an independent individual or firm qualified to carry out such procedure(s). AUTHORITY: section 169.020, RSMo Supp. 2024.* Original rule filed Dec. 19, 1975, effective Jan. 1, 1976. Amended: Filed Aug. 14, 1979, effective Nov. 15, 1979. Emergency amendment filed Jan. 17, 1986, effective Jan. 27, 1986, expired May 27, 1986. Amended: Filed Jan. 17, 1986, effective June 12, 1986. Amended: Filed Aug. 14, 1989, effective Nov. 11, 1989. Amended: Filed Oct. 29, 1990, effective April 29, 1991. Emergency amendment filed Nov. 8, 1991, effective Nov. 18, 1991, expired March 17, 1992. Amended: Filed Nov. 8, 1991, effective March 9, 1992. Amended: Filed July 31, 1995, effective Feb. 25, 1996. Amended: Filed Sept. 1, 2005, effective Feb. 28, 2006. Amended: Filed June 24, 2013, effective Jan. 30, 2014. Amended: Filed Oct. 2, 2024, effective April 30, 2025. *Original authority: 169.020, RSMo 1945, amended 1951, 1953, 1967, 1973, 1983, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2020.