On Monday, the Antioch Unified School District finalized their District Map as they make the transition from an at-large Board of Trustees to Districts in a 4-0 vote.
Under the new District process, the residents in each colored area will vote for a single trustee who is running for office during the election in that specific area, rather than voting for all 5 seats.
For example, if you live in the blue area, your ballot will only show you candidates who are running for the AUSD Board of Trustees from that area and you will vote for a single candidate. Those who live in the yellow area, will only see candidates running in the yellow and vote for a single candidate.
The vote came after the school district had hosted several community meeting sand public hearings on the matter as to which map they should select – they had 7 map options in total.
According to Superintendent Stephanie Anello, map 4B was a result of public input and from the hearings while MAP 5 (the newest map) was submitted by a member of the public. She further noted this comes as the District moves from at-large trustees to districts and designed following the rule of law.
The board then voted 4-0 in favor of Map 4B with Crystal Sawyer-White absent during the vote.
According to the demographer, Cooperative Strategies, they provided an outline of considerations (see power point) in each of the Trustee areas:
- Each area shall contain nearly equal number of inhabitants
- Drawn to comply with Federal Voting Rights Act
- Compact and contiguous, as much as possible
- Respect communities of interest, as much as possible
- Follow man-made and natural geographic features, as much as possible
- Respect incumbency, If possible
- Other local considerations (IE, school boundaries, locations of school sites)
The move comes after the AUSD received a demand letter claiming that the District’s current method of electing the Board of Education members through at-large elections violates the California Voting Rights Act (“CVRA”). This letter alleges that the District’s elections “may be occurring by polarized voting,” and threatens litigation if the District declines to adopt a By-Trustee Election System. A By-Trustee Election System is one in which the district’s area of service is divided into By-Trustee areas, and voters in each By-Trustee area choose their Board of Education representative, who must also live in that By-Trustee area.
On May 23, 2018, the AUSD Board of Education adopted Resolution 2017-18-28 declaring their intent to transition to a By-Trustee Area Election System in response to the demand letter.
For more information: https://www.antiochschools.net/domain/2457
View the maps in more detail: https://www.antiochschools.net/Page/9206
