The St. Helena School Board recall controversy will be decided by a mail-only election, with ballots due Feb. 23.

Trustees agreed on the details of the election at a special meeting on Oct. 22.

According to Registrar of Voters John Tuteur, a mail-only election will cost about $30,000, versus $40,000 for a polling place election. A mail-only election would result in higher voter turn-out, Tuteur predicted.

Trustees agreed that those were two good reasons for a mail-only election.

As in past elections, the district will cover the cost of 200-word candidate statements to be included in sample ballots. Candidates may file between Nov. 2 and Nov. 30. For information, contact the Napa County Elections Department at 253-4321 or elections@co.napa.ca.us.

Ballots will be mailed in January and will have four parts. There will be a yes/no vote on whether to recall Trustee A, then a vote on which candidate should replace Trustee A should the recall succeed.

That pattern will be repeated for the other three trustees.

According to state law, to recall a trustee the first question must pass by a majority of the votes cast. If there’s a tie, the recall fails.

If the recall succeeds and there’s a tie on the question of whom should replace the trustee, that tie would be resolved by the drawing of lots in Tuteur’s office.

The board took less than 10 minutes to agree on the details of the election at last week’s meeting.

The bulk of the meeting, more than an hour, was taken up with a presentation by Superintendent Robert Haley defending the board’s controversial decision to give generous retirement packages to former Superintendent Allan Gordon and former high school principal Jim Zoll.

When the board took questions from the public after Haley’s presentation, two speakers — both for the recall — questioned why the issue was being discussed at a special meeting that was called to discuss the recall.

“It would have been really wonderful to have this information in September of last year or January of this year,” said Sharon Harris. “It’s interesting that it came up tonight. It feels very disingenuous, quite frankly.”

Haley said the item was put on the agenda because of questions raised during public comment on Oct. 8.

Also, the press release from the Napa County district attorney’s office that dismissed criminal accusations against the board was released too late for a full discussion to take place at the board’s Oct. 8 meeting, Haley said.

Ballots for board vacancy due

Mail-in ballots for the special election to fill the open seat on the St. Helena School Board are due Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Roger Adams and Kevin Alfaro are seeking the seat previously held by Jim Haslip, who resigned in May.

Ballots were to have been mailed by Friday to ensure they arrive at the Elections Department by Tuesday. They may also be hand-delivered to the Napa County Elections Department, 900 Coombs St., Room 256, in Napa.

A Vote-by-Mail Assistance Center will be available Saturday-Tuesday at Stonebridge Apartments for anyone who has questions about the election, did not receive a ballot, or needs a new ballot.

The center will be open 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday, and 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. Tuesday, Election Day.