The Moraga School District Governing Board plans to appoint a new trustee at a 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday after too few candidates filed for the November election.

Three board seats are on the ballot for the Tuesday, Nov. 3, general election, but only two people submitted paperwork to run. That shortfall triggered a "failure to elect" under California Education Code Sections 5326 and 5328, which require the board to fill the third seat by appointment before Election Day. The two candidates who filed for the ballot are board President Larry Jacobs and Vice President Martha White, both incumbents seeking reelection to their own expiring seats, according to Lamorinda Weekly's election roundup.

Six residents applied for the open seat. The board will interview them at a special public meeting Tuesday, Sept. 29, at the Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School library, 1010 Camino Pablo in Moraga.

The candidates are Alexandra Augustine, Eric Donnelly, Kristin Kraetsch, Ke Ma, Gian Panetta and Michael Persons.

Kraetsch is a sitting board member whose term also expires in December. She opted not to seek reelection to her own seat and instead applied for the appointed opening, according to Lamorinda Weekly. Panetta has served as vice chair of the Moraga Parks and Recreation Commission and as a member of the Local Sales Tax Oversight Committee.

Each candidate will deliver a one- to two-minute opening statement, answer five questions with two minutes per response and give a one- to two-minute closing statement. Board members may not ask follow-up questions. The speaking order will be drawn randomly.

Residents can address the board during public comment, which is limited to three minutes per speaker, with a 20-minute cap on total comment time for each candidate.

Board President Larry Jacobs is listed on the agenda to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. As of the board's Aug. 27 meeting, its five members are Jacobs, Martha White, Kraetsch, Lee Hays and Stephanie Stoan. Jacobs, White and Kraetsch's terms expire in December; Hays and Stoan's run through December 2028, according to the district's website.

The appointee will serve a full four-year term and be officially seated at the district's organizational meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 15.