District Board Adopts Trustee Area Elections, Selects Map 1

On December 12, 2019, the Governing Board formally adopted a resolution to transition to a by-trustee area election system and adopted Map 1 as the District’s trustee area plan.  Prior to making its decision, the Governing Board held public meetings to review proposed maps and took comments from the community.  Next, the Governing Board will submit a petition to the Orange County Committee on School District Organization for review and approval.

District Board In Process to Switch to "By-Trustee Area" Election

The Saddleback Valley Unified School District is currently in the process of switching from an “at-large” trustee election system to a “by-trustee area” election system. Under the current “at-large” trustee area system, Board members are elected by all registered voters in the District boundaries. Under the “by-trustee area” election system, a school district is divided into separate trustee areas and one governing board member is elected by the registered voters in that particular trustee area. The intent of this proposed system is to offer greater opportunities for Board representation for candidates that might not otherwise be elected under an “at-large” system.

The District is moving to a “by-trustee area” election system to meet the requirements outlined by the California Voting Right Act or CVRA. Passed in 2002 by the California legislature, the CVRA prohibits the use of at large elections of governing board members for a governing board if it "impairs the ability of a protected class to elect candidates of its choice or its ability to influence the outcome of an election.” 

Transitioning to this new system requires the Board to hold public hearings on proposed trustee area boundaries (or maps) prior to asking the Orange County Committee on School District Organization to approve the change.  If the Committee approves the change, “by-trustee” area voting would be held starting with the 2020 general election on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.  

Before the District prepares and presents draft map options, the law requires the District to hold two public hearings to solicit comments and feedback regarding potential trustee areas. Thereafter, the District will be hosting a series of public hearings regarding the map options, once created.  To accomodate all stakeholders within the District boundaries, meetings are being held in both the morning and evening; with identical content presented at each meeting. You are invited to attend as many as you would like. If you cannot attend a hearing or meeting and wish to review and/or comment regarding potential trustee areas as well as on the proposed “trustee area” maps, once created, please do not hesitate to submit your comments and feedback to the email address below.  Following the initial public hearings, the proposed maps will be created and posted on the District’s web site, https://svusd.org/

You may email any comments or questions to Robert Craven at robert.craven@svusd.org. 

You may also comment by telephone at  (949) 580-3226. I look forward to your participation.

Public Hearings (Prior to Creation of Map Options)

 

Date	Place	Time
Thursday, September 19, 2019  Public Hearing	District Office - Board Room  25631 Peter A. Hartman Way Mission Viejo, CA 92691	8:30 a.m.
Thursday, October 17, 2019  Public Hearing	District Office - Board Room  25631 Peter A. Hartman Way Mission Viejo, CA 92691	6:00 p.m.

 

Public Hearings (After Creation of Map Options)

 

Date	Place	Time
Thursday, November 14, 2019  Public Hearing	District Office - Board Room  25631 Peter A. Hartman Way Mission Viejo, CA 92691	6:00 p.m.
Friday, November 22, 2019 Public Hearing	District Office - Board Room  25631 Peter A. Hartman Way Mission Viejo, CA 92691	8:30 a.m.
Thursday, December 12, 2019  Public Hearing	District Office - Board Room  25631 Peter A. Hartman Way Mission Viejo, CA 92691	6:00 p.m.

 

NOTE:  Board vote on trustee area boundaries to follow third Public Hearing:  On December 12, 2019, in the District Office - Board Room located at 25631 Peter A. Hartman Way, Mission Viejo, CA 92691 at 6:00 p.m.

 

Additional Information

Introduction to California Voting Rights Act (CVRA)

Letter to Families Regarding Proposed Election Changes in English and Spanish

Resolution No. 09:19-20 Initiate a Transition to a By-Trustee Area Election System

Public Hearing Presentation - Preparing Trustee Area Map Options

 Saddleback Valley Unified School District Boundaries Map

 

MAP OPTIONS FOR CVRA TRANSITION FROM “AT-LARGE” TO “BY-TRUSTEE AREA” ELECTIONS

Dear Saddleback Valley USD Community:

 As the District continues to move through the process of transitioning to “by-Trustee-area” elections under the legal requirements of the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA), we have reached a critical point.  The District is releasing three map options to the community for study and input. All three of the map options being considered meet the legal requirements outlined in CVRA.  

The District is providing three in-person opportunities to the community to review and provide feedback over the next five weeks before the Board of Education votes on December 12, 2019 for a map that will be put into effect for the November 2020 Board elections.

 This release of map options comes at the end of the “Pre-Map” period wherein the District engaged the community with two public hearings to solicit input before drawing map options. 

Each map option for consideration:

1. Meets the equal population requirement (that each trustee area have equal population with up to a 10% variance);

2. Increases the voting power of the largest protected classes in the District (Hispanic/Latino; Asian; and African American) by Citizen Voting Age Population (CVAP/eligible voters) in at least one Trustee Area based on up-to-date CVAP statistics compared to District-wide averages;

3. Complies with the Federal Voting Rights Act;

4. Respects communities of interest as much as possible;

5. Is compact and contiguous as much as possible; and

6. Follows man-made and natural geographic features as much as possible.

Upcoming Meeting and Hearing Schedule

November 14, 2019 – 1st Public Hearing regarding Map Options at 6:00 p.m. during the Governing Board meeting at the District Office Board Room (25631 Peter A. Hartman Way, Mission Viejo, CA 92691)

November 22, 2019 – 2nd Public Hearing regarding Map Options at 8:30 a.m. during the Governing Board meeting at the District Office Board Room (25631 Peter A. Hartman Way, Mission Viejo, CA 92691)

December 12, 2019 – 3rd Public Hearing regarding Map Options at 6:00 p.m. and adopt map option during the Governing Board meeting at the District Office Board Room (25631 Peter A. Hartman Way, Mission Viejo, CA 92691)

The Saddleback Valley community is invited to attend as many meetings and public hearings as you would like.  If you cannot attend and wish to review and/or comment regarding the proposed map options under consideration, please submit your comments and feedback to Robert Craven at robert.craven@svusd.org or comment via telephone at (949) 580-3226.  All map preference feedback will be relayed to the Board prior to its discussion and adoption of a map option. 

We look forward to your continued participation!

Map Scenario 1

Map Scenario 2

Map Scenario 3
 

All Map Options Are Also Available For Review Via This Interactive Map