Schools
LEUSD Complying With State's Push For Minority Representation
To comply with the California Voting Rights Act, the school district plans to switch from having its board members elected "at large" to an election "by trustee area."
To ensure all neighborhoods within the area are well represented and that minority populations are not overlooked, the district’s board election process is changing.
The Lake Elsinore Unified School District board voted Thursday to study and adjust the district board’s election process to comply with the California Voting Rights Act.
At issue is the election of board members. To comply with the Voting Rights regulations, the LEUSD board will change from one where members are elected at large to a board where members are elected by trustee area.
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The goal is to make the transition in time for the November 2012 elections.
Currently, minority populations in Lake Elsinore and Wildomar – both cities fall under the LEUSD – are represented by an all-white, five-member LEUSD board.
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, those who identify as “Hispanic or Latino" (of any race) number 25,073 or 48.4 percent of the total population in Lake Elsinore. In Wildomar, the city's Hispanic or Latino population numbered 11,363 or 35.3 percent of the total population.
LEUSD board member Stan Crippen said he has a problem with the California Voting Rights Act requirement. “Government-wise, you can’t micromanage democracy,” he said.
The board is also concerned that, under the Voting Rights Act, two well-qualified people in the same neighborhood could not both be elected to the board under a “by trustee area” system.
District Superintendent Fran Passarella said he does not think the district has an issue with its current election process, “but this makes us compliant,” he said.
The Perris Union High School District was the first in the area to begin a transition to a “by trustee area” election system. Its board voted to postpone upcoming elections and hire a demographer to map out prospective trustee areas with the district boundaries.
Now there’s litigation in two Perris school districts challenging the change, Passarella said.
In the LEUSD, staff received authorization to enter into an agreement with legal counsel, Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo and hire a consulting firm to assist the district with public input, demographics and compliance with the California Voting Rights Act.
