A SAN JOSE SCHOOL DISTRICT is changing how its board members are elected and wants the public’s help.
The East Side Union High School District has started redistricting its trustee voting areas as it switches from at-large elections. The district received a legal claim earlier this year saying existing trustee areas violate the California Voting Rights Act by denying marginalized residents equal representation. To better understand its distinct neighborhoods, the board of trustees will host meetings to gather community input on draft maps. Trustees will vote on a final map in August ahead of upcoming elections for three board seats in November. Changing the trustee areas won’t affect school boundaries or services.
Superintendent Glenn Vander Zee said although the current board makeup reflects district demographics, redistricting will ensure this continues historically. He added it’s essential to ensure the process is transparent and engages residents.
“It is a time for our public … to define areas of representation that maintain community voices to the highest level in choosing board trustees in the future,” Vander Zee told San José Spotlight. “We encourage people to come to the meetings so they can understand what this process is and make sure they and their community voices are heard.”
The next meetings will be held at 6:30 p.m. on May 20 at Yerba Buena High School, June 26 at Andrew P. Hill High School and July 15 at William C. Overfelt High School. The meetings will be available online.
Trustees approved changing the election system in April. Once the board approves the final map, it will go before the County Committee on School District Organization under the Santa Clara County Office of Education for final approval. Additional information and a questionnaire about communities of interest — people who share common social and economic interests — is available on the district’s website.
The district has hired consulting firm Redistricting Partners — which strives to ensure the process is fair and protects communities — to handle the election system switch. During the first special board meeting on May 12 at William C. Overfelt High School, Redistricting Partners demographer Liz Stitt said U.S. Census data will be used in creating the maps.
“The most important aspect of redistricting is making sure the public is participating and engaged,” Stitt said at the meeting.
Chuck Cantrell, a local economist and vice chair of the San Jose Planning Commission, asked how the board will ensure marginalized communities are contacted and reflected in the mapping process.
“There is a significantly marginalized community … that represents maybe 2% of the student population here. It’s still important,” Cantrell said at the meeting. “I understand your district reflects your community … but there’s a specific group in the community that is not represented. I would implore you to do a much more active engagement processing that includes going to Black churches. I want to know there is a process to engage the most marginalized communities.”
Vander Zee said he will follow up to ensure communities are able to express their voices and provide input.
Jack Hammer, president of East Side Teachers Association, expressed concern with board members influencing new district boundaries. Stitt said where trustees live isn’t a consideration in drawing the maps, but can be in the board choosing the final map. She said she prefers to use maps submitted by the community.
“We want this to be focused on communities and not incumbents,” Stitt said.
Contact Lorraine Gabbert at lorrainegabbertsjspotlight@gmail.com.
This story originally appeared in San José Spotlight.