Written by Juan Sebastian Fragozo
Charda Bell-Fontenot attracted the attention of the nation in a very negative way due to her opposition to school reopening, and most egregious of all, her labeling of concerned parents and fellow School Board members as “white supremacists” for wanting children to return to school. She even went as far as to compare it to slavery.
Her absolutely offensive and appalling remarks were condemned by parents and many public officials. A recall campaign effort was launched against her in order to remove her from office, but apparently her position is in a more dire situation due to possible ineligibility.
The questions came to the surface during the process of serving the recall papers.
Where is the residence of Charda Bell-Fontenot?
According to the voter and court records of San Diego County, Ms. Bell-Fontenot has been registered at multiple properties across San Diego County since she first ran for District School Board. She is known to have resided at an address in El Cajon that is completely outside the boundaries of the La Mesa-Spring Valley school district where she serves as a board member.
She registered in Spring Valley and immediately after her election in November of 2018, she re-registered at a different address, while keeping the El Cajon property as her mailing address. Due to the questions of her residency raised by parents, on March 3, 2021, she suddenly re-registered at the Spring Valley address used in November 2018. All of these actions and the number of addresses would make anyone doubt her eligibility for the position.
Under California law, it is illegal for an elected official to serve in a position if they are no longer eligible as a registered voter and actual resident in the district they are supposed to represent.
If Charda Bell-Fontenot is found to have not lived in the district during the entire time of her service on the board, she could face criminal sanction and would have to be removed from the La Mesa-Spring Valley School Board.
