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Sentinel staff report–
Despite last-minute pleas from community members to redraw map boundaries and delay a vote until after 2020 Census data is released, a key county oversight committee voted Thursday to approve the San Juan Unified School District’s plan to add two more board members and transition away from at-large elections.
More than 70 members of the public voiced varying opinions regarding the district’s proposal during a public hearing before the Sacramento County Committee on School District Organization on Thursday night. Comments were mixed: some opposed, some supportive and some offering partial support.
Two Citrus Heights council members, Jeannie Bruins and Bret Daniels, spoke during the public hearing. Both voiced support for transitioning to by-trustee-area elections, but both also advocated for waiting until 2020 Census data is released to finalize the maps.
The map approved by the SJUSD school board last month created seven trustee areas within the district, giving Citrus Heights one dedicated trustee — and the possibility of electing three other trustees due to small portions of the city also being included in three other trustee areas created by the map.
The City Council took action previously to support the school district’s transition to by-area elections, and increasing its board to seven members, noting it would help give Citrus Heights representation on the school board.
With new Census data set to be released later this year and school board elections not scheduled until November 2022, Councilwoman Bruins said the map adopted “will be outdated before it becomes effective.” She also advocated for holding a special election to fill new seats created on the board, while another public commenter said the cost of holding a special election would be better spent on kids’ education.
Councilman Daniels, echoing comments voiced by others during the meeting, said he believed the map selected by the district is unfavorable to San Juan High School. Commenters noted the high school is placed on the edge of one area’s boundary, diluting its representation on the board by splitting up residential areas nearest to the school.
Following an hour-long public hearing, the committee voted 6-1 in favor of SJUSD’s proposal. Committee Member Fong attempted to make a substitute motion to delay the vote to allow for more public hearings in the areas of Arden-Arcade and San Juan High School, but his motion died after not receiving a necessary “second” vote.
Chairwoman Karina Talamantes said her committee was tasked with a limited decision on whether to approve or deny SJUSD’s proposal and said the district will be required to revise its trustee map boundaries after the latest census data is released.
Why the transition?
The district began its transition away from at-large elections following the receipt of a demand letter by attorney Scott Rafferty in February 2020, which argued that the current at-large election process diluted the votes of minority groups in the district in violation of the California Voting Rights Act, which favors by-area elections. A similar demand letter in 2018 also prompted the City of Citrus Heights to shift away from at-large elections for its City Council members.
The coronavirus pandemic delayed the process for public hearings until this year, with the district holding a pair of public hearings and two community meetings last month regarding proposed map options. The district’s board selected a seven-trustee-area map and election sequencing timeline on July 27.
Timeline
Fong, echoing the sentiment of many public comments, called the process “rushed” with not enough time to receive “meaningful community input.” Several commenters noted one of the district’s community meetings held last month only had five people in attendance.
A key reason provided by the district in support of a rapid timeline for adopting the new changes to school board elections was protection from expensive litigation costs through a time-sensitive “safe harbor” provision relating to compliance with the California Voting Rights Act.
A school district representative said legal costs within the safe harbor provision would be capped at just over $30,000, while districts who have been in litigation outside of the safe harbor timeline have seen costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in one case exceeding $1 million.
In casting his “no” vote, Fong said “some additional expenses” that could come from delaying the vote are justifiable in the interest of democracy.
Related: SJUSD board votes to adopt 7-trustee map, with new Citrus Heights seat
The committee also decided “by lot” which of the two new trustee seats would face election first. Trustee Area 7 was drawn first, meaning its election will be held in 2022, followed by Area 6 in 2024. The other areas were previously decided by the SJUSD board members: areas 3 and 5 will be up for election in 2022, and areas 1, 2 and 4 will be up for election in 2024.
The school district still faces one final approval for its planned transition to by-trustee-area elections, as it must seek a waiver from the state to avoid holding a special election to fill the vacant seats created by adding two members to its current five-member board. A district spokeswoman said the waiver would be submitted following Thursday’s vote, with a decision from the state expected in November.
The San Juan Unified School District’s board voted 4-1 last month in favor of option 3, of a 7-member district map.
Sentinel staff report--
Despite last-minute pleas from community members to redraw map boundaries and delay a vote until after 2020 Census data is released, a key county oversight committee voted Thursday to approve the San Juan Unified School District's plan to add two more board members and transition away from at-large elections.
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