Adopting a By-Trustee Election System

The Solano County Committee will hear a proposal from VUSD to transition to trustee-area elections. This initiative was prompted by a letter threatening to sue the district if trustee areas are not adopted. Tonight's proposal includes the recommendation of the adoption of Map 101 (BLUE)which was the top choice indicated in the public survey. Tonight's meeting is public and will be held at 5100 Business Center Drive in Fairfield at 5:00 PM.

On November 29, 2018, after hearing the results of the public survey regarding proposed voting area maps, the VUSD Board of Trustees voted to recommend map 101 (Blue) to the Solano County Committee for approval and subsequent adoption. The County Committee will convene in public meetings on December 12th and December 19th to review VUSD's recommendation.

The public surveys asking the Vacaville residents to indicate which proposed trustee-area map is preferred, closed on November 29, 2018.
297 responses were received with 45% of the responses choosing the BLUE map 101as the top choice. After reviewing the responses from the public, the VUSD Board of Trustees selected map 101 as the map that will be recommended to the County Committee for approval and adoption in early December 2018. 

Paper versions of the proposed maps are available at the VUSD Educational Services Center located at 401 Nut Tree Road, Vacaville, CA 95687. Questions or comments can be made to PIO@VacavilleUSD.org or (707)453-6155.

The maps were originally drafted prior to this year's election. The trustee area elections sequences for each map have been updated based upon election results. The trustee area boundaries have not been changed, only the election sequencing key has been changed. Click the map title to view the revised schedule and map.
 

NOTE: Trustees Mahlberg, Windham, Kitzes and Stacy are all up for election in 2020. If they reside in a trustee area that does not come up for election until 2022, the they would need to wait until the 2022 election to run.

ALL MAPS COMBINED

View all four maps with enlarged center view in one PDF document.

View all four maps overview only.

The VUSD Board of Trustees will hold a special board workshop to review and discuss the proposed maps for trustee areas. The board will likely choose a map to recommend to the County Committee for approval. This meeting is open to the public.

The District Board is asking for your help planning the District’s change to by-trustee area elections. Vacaville Unified School District, like over 100 cities and 165 school districts across the state, is making a change in how voters elect its Board of Trustees.

Beginning in 2020, Trustees will be elected district by district, instead of the current at-large districtwide elections in which all voters have the ability to vote for all District Board seats.

We need your help to make this change!

​The primary goal when drawing trustee election districts is to draw lines that keep neighborhoods together. The Board wants to know: what do you consider the boundaries of your neighborhood?

Draw A Map

Districting is different than most issues that come before the District Board. Instead of being limited to saying you support or oppose a district-prepared resolution, you can draw a map yourself!

There are two map-drawing tools available below:

1. Paper-only map kits- to manually calculate population in each district.  This kit allows members of the community to manually draw a map while seeing the estimated population in each population unit.
   Map Kit in English,    Herramienta de maps en Espanol
    
2. Paper map with Excel calculation tool- A Microsoft Excel calculation tool for the paper maps- provides a tool to calculate the population in each district.
   Excel English version to be used with Population Unit map    
   Excel Spanish version para ser utilizado con Unidades de Población Números de identificación

You can draw the borders of your neighborhood and indicate whether you want it united in one district, or if you want your neighborhood to have multiple trustees representing it. You may also draw a proposed trustee district, or sketch an entire districtwide map of 7 trustee districts. Each district should have an approximate population of 11,000.

Draw whatever you want the VUSD Board of Trustees to consider, and submit it to pio@vacavilleusd.org. Then the District’s demographic consultants will generate the population and other demographic details for your proposed map.

Submit Draft Maps by November 20th, 2018, for consideration at the November 29, 2018 meeting.

MORE INFORMATION REGARDING MAP TOOLS

1. Paper-Only Map Drawing

The simplest approach to drawing a map proposal is to draw your proposed map on the paper-only map tool (or any district map).  The paper-only map is divided into Population Count Units to help you manually add up the population in each of your chosen districts and achieve the required equal population balance of all districts.  Paper-only map tool in Spanish

2. Microsoft Excel Calculation Tool for the Paper Maps (not required for map submission)

Are you familiar with the basic functions of Microsoft Excel? After you have drawn your paper map, let Excel do the total population and demographic math for you. If you click on the link (in English or in Spanish), you can save the Excel file to your computer. Then use the Excel file and the Map of Population Unit ID numbers in English,   Unidades de Población Números de identificación en Espanol or the interactive review map to assign the Population Units to your desired district. Excel will provide the resulting demographics for each district. See instructions in the Excel document.

​
Interactive Map Tool

If you want to see exactly where the various Population Unit boundaries are located, or if you have difficulty reading the small print on the 8.5×11 PDF files, you can use the interactive review map to zoom in and out on the Population Unit boundaries and population counts. It works like Google Maps, except you use check-boxes to choose what layers and labels you want to see on the map. Once released, the draft maps the will be available as layer options on this same map.

Send in your Proposal!

Submit your proposal to the District Public Information Office:

Jennifer Leonard; 401 Nut Tree Rd, Vacaville, pio@vacavilleUSD.org; 707-453-6155

On November 1st, the VUSD Board of Trustees will host a public hearing during the regularly scheduled board meeting located at 401 Nut Tree Road, Vacaville, CA 95687.  The intention of this public hearing to to present more information on the proposed trustee area maps, and provide an opportunity for public input.

Join in at a community forum!

Community forums have been scheduled to provide a comfortable and informal setting for Vacaville residents to share ideas and feedback about how we develop the trustee-area boundaries. The community forum meetings are scheduled as follows:

Thursday, October 25th – 6:00-7:30pm

at Vaca Pena Middle School Library, 200 Keith Way

Saturday, October 27th – 9:00-10:30am

at McBride Senior Center, 91 Town Square Place – Coffee and donuts will be served

Monday, October 29th – 6:00-7:00 pm

at Markham Elementary School MP Room, 101 Markham Avenue
Discussion in Spanish

Monday, October 29th – 7:00-8:00pm

at Markham Elementary School MP Room, 101 Markham Avenue
Discussion in English

The public is invited to attend and make public comment during the public hearings, board meetings and community forums. Residents can also provide comments to PIO@VacavilleUSD.org or (707) 453-6155.

On October 10, 2018 the Vacaville Unified School District Board of Trustees adopted two resolutions pertaining to the transition to a by-trustee area election system.

Resolution No. 10
Resolution Authorizing the Superintendent to Seek a Waiver from the State Board of Education

Resolution No. 11
Criteria for Developing Trustee-Area Boundaries

Seeking a Waiver from the State Board of Education in Lieu of a Public Election

A school district seeking to transition to a by-trustee area election system must submit an application to the local
County Committee on School District Reorganization (“County Committee”) for approval. If the County Committee approves the school district’s application, California Education Code section 5020 would require an election to approve the transition to by-trustee area elections. To avoid the costs associated with an election and to ensure timely implementation, the Board will consider seeking a waiver from the State Board of Education of this election requirement, as well as certain other Education Code sections related to the election requirement. If the waiver is granted by the State Board of Education, no election to approve the change to by-trustee area elections will take place, and the County Committee’s decision on the District’s proposal will be final.
Additionally throughout this process, the Board may wish to consider decreasing Board membership from seven to five members. A school district seeking to decrease Board membership must submit an application to the County Committee for approval. If the County Committee approves the school district’s application, California Education Code section 5020 would require an election to approve the decrease in Board membership. To avoid the costs associated with an election and to ensure timely implementation, the Board will also considering seeking a waiver from the State Board of Education of this election requirement.

Pursuant to Education Code sections 5019 and 33050, the Board invites community input on the proposed waiver request. Any member of the public or representatives of the school district will be provided the opportunity to offer oral or written comments on the matter.

Public Hearing Regarding Potential Composition of Trustee Areas Prior to Drawing of Maps
Board members are currently elected in “at-large” elections, where each member is elected by voters throughout the entire District. On September 20, 2018, the Board adopted Resolution No. 3, 2018-2019, declaring its intent to transition from at-large to by-trustee area Board elections, where each Board member must reside within the designated trustee area boundary, and is elected only by the voters in that trustee area.
On October 4, 2018, the Board held the first of two statutorily required public hearings to receive community input on the trustee-area map creation process, pursuant to Elections Code section 10010, subdivision (a)(1). The Board will now hold the second of two statutorily required public hearings to receive community input on the trustee- area map creation process.

Both topics will be discussed on October 10, 2018 at Educational Services Center located at 401 Nut Tree Rd. Vacaville at 5:30 and 6:00 PM

Public Hearing A- To Seek Input Regarding a Waiver from the State Board of Education
VUSD board members are currently elected in “at-large” elections, where each member is elected by voters throughout the entire District.  On September 20, 2018, the Board adopted Resolution # 3, 2018/2019, declaring its intent to transition from at-large to by-trustee area Board elections, where each Board member must reside within the designated trustee area boundary, and is elected only by the voters in that trustee area.  
A school district seeking to transition to a by-trustee area election system must submit an application to the local County Committee on School District Reorganization (“County Committee”) for approval.  If the County Committee approves the school district’s application, California Education Code section 5020 would require an election to approve the transition to by-trustee area elections.  
To avoid the costs associated with an election and to ensure timely implementation, the Board will consider seeking a waiver from the State Board of Education of this election requirement, as well as certain other Education Code sections related to the election requirement.  If the waiver is granted by the State Board of Education, no election to approve the change to by-trustee area elections will take place, and the County Committee’s decision on the District’s proposal will be final.
Pursuant to Education Code sections 5019 and 33050, the Board invites community input on the proposed waiver request.  Any member of the public or representatives of the school district will be provided the opportunity to offer oral or written comments on the matter.

Public Hearing B- To Seek Public Input Prior to Drafting By-Trustee Area Maps

Board members are currently elected in “at-large” elections, where each member is elected by voters throughout the entire District.  On September 20, 2018, the Board adopted Resolution # 3, 2018/2019, declaring its intent to transition from at-large to by-trustee area Board elections, where each Board member must reside within the designated trustee area boundary, and is elected only by the voters in that trustee area. 

The District’s demographers, the National Demographics Corporation, will present information on the process and criteria for drawing the trustee-area boundary maps.  Following the presentation, the Board will hold the first of two statutorily required public hearings to receive community input on the trustee-area map creation process, pursuant to Elections Code section 10010, subdivision (a)(1).   

On September 20, 2018 the VUSD Board of Education Considered the Adoption of Resolution No. 3, 2018-19, declaring the intent to transition from at-large elections to trustee-area board elections. 

Lozano Smith Attorney Ryan Tung provided an overview of the process for transitioning from At-Large Board elections to Trustee-Area Board elections.
Following the presentation, the Board approved the resolution to move forward with Trustee-Area elections. 

The Vacaville Unified School District Board of Trustees will consider a resolution declaring the intent to transition from an at-large election system to a by-trustee area election system for the members of the governing board. The public meeting will be held on Thursday, September 20, 2018 at 6:30 PM at the Educational Services Center located at 401 Nut Tree Road in Vacaville.

Currently, the seven members of the VUSD Board of Trustees are elected under an “at-large” election system, in which all voters residing within school district boundaries vote for each member. In August 2018, the District received a demand letter from the law firm Shenkman & Hughes, demanding that the District change its method of election to a by-district (or by-trustee) system in compliance with the California Voting Rights Act (Elec. Code, § 14025, et seq.) (“CVRA”) or risk being sued by the firm. This is the same law firm that challenged the City of Vacaville’s election system, which led the City Council to vote unanimously to move away from at-large elections.

Under the CVRA, at-large elections are impermissible if they result in racially polarized voting or cause disenfranchisement of voters from a protected class. The only election system that provides VUSD complete protection from a CVRA claim is a “by-trustee area” election system. A by-trustee election system would require that voting districts be established within the Vacaville Unified School District boundaries. Each trustee must then reside within the designated voting district boundary, and trustees would then be elected only by the voters from the voting district in which the trustee resides. 

When a public agency receives this type of demand letter, the agency is given 45 days to demonstrate its intent to transition to by-trustee area elections.  If the VUSD does not adopt a resolution signaling its intent to transition from at-large to by-trustee area board elections within this 45 day “safe harbor window,” the law firm, or any other plaintiff, may file a lawsuit against the District under the CVRA. 

Superintendent Jane Shamieh commented, “Valid and reasonable points can be made on both sides of the discussion for at-large versus by-trustee area elections systems. However, a CVRA claim is very difficult to defend against and can result in extensive legal expenses. We do all that we can to preserve funds so that they can be used for students.  These are some of the reasons that the Board will be considering adopting the resolution of intention to change election systems.” 

The Vacaville Unified board will hear from the public and consider whether or not to adopt a resolution declaring the intent to transition from at-large to by-trustee area Board elections on September 20th. The public is invited to attend and make public comment during the meeting. Residents can also provide comments to PIO@VacavilleUSD.org.

Please note: trustee-area boundaries are for election purposes only and do not affect existing school attendance boundaries.

Board members are currently elected in “at-large” elections, where all board members are elected by voters throughout the entire school district. On September 20, 2018, the Board adopted Resolution No. 3, 2018-2019, in response to a letter threatening to sue the district under the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). VUSD intends to transition from at-large to by-trustee area Board elections, where each Board member must reside within the designated trustee area boundary, and is elected only by the voters in that trustee area. Voters would only vote for one seat on the school board.

Spanish Map kit

View interactive maps here

10-4-2018 Presentation from Demographer (PDF)

November 29, 2018 Resolution No. 9
Initiating a Proposal to the Solano County Committee on School District Organizations for the Adoption of Trustee-Area Elections

September 20, 2018,  Resolution No. 3
Resolution of the Vacaville Unified School District Declaring Its Intent to Transition from At-Large to By-Trustee Area Board Elections

October 10, 2018,  Resolution No. 10
Resolution Authorizing the Superintendent to Seek a Waiver from the State Board of Education

October 10, 2018,  Resolution No. 11
Criteria for Developing Trustee-Area Boundaries