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The San Ramon Valley Unified School District is well on its way to changing its election method from at-large to district-based voting, as the school board has officially selected a preferred map to guide future elections, pending approval by the Contra Costa County Board of Education.
After just under two hours of discussion and public comment from a half-dozen residents at a special meeting in Dougherty Valley High School on Thursday night, the board selected an option known as Map 102, which generally follows along city and town borders in the San Ramon Valley, although not exactly.
Board members recognized that if approved by the county, Map 102 will most likely only be in effect for the 2020 election cycle. The map was created using population data from the 2010 federal census –the federal census is considered the standard for reliability — and will be adjusted or redrawn depending on what data comes from the upcoming 2020 census.
“Just in terms of process, we can keep refining maps, we can keep this process open, but it’s taking time, it’s taking resources and we are never going to select a map that’s perfect. We’re never going to pick a map that appeases everyone,” said board member Mark Jewett. “I am firmly behind (Map 102) because I think it achieves most of the objectives.”
Out of the five mapping options considered by the district, board members found that Map 102 did the best job of evenly distributing trustees over multiple school zones, while also maintaining shapes that did not divide up the San Ramon Valley in a jagged random way.
In terms of board representation, each high school in Map 102 has at least three trustee areas overlapping it, and each middle school, with the exception of Stone Valley, has at least two.
Getting down to the nitty-gritty, Map 102 divides the San Ramon Valley into five distinct geographical districts, one for each trustee seat.
Trustee Area 1, encompasses Alamo, Diablo, parts of north Blackhawk and a large portion of the town of Danville that mostly lies to the west of Interstate 680. However the area’s border does extend east to where Danville’s Ackerman Drive converges with Camino Tassajara.
If approved by the county board, it will be represented by trustee Ken Mintz, and has a population of 28,981.
The majority of Danville that lies East of I-680 can be found in Trustee Area 2, which also contains parts of the unincorporated area of Blackhawk. Area 2 extends from I-680 to several blocks east of Blackhawk Plaza.
It has a population of 28,800 residents and is set to be represented by board vice president Greg Marvel — who was filling in as president on Thursday due to the absence of trustee Rachel Hurd.
To the south lies Trustee Area 3 which primarily encompasses the San Ramon Dougherty Valley, but also contains the area around Danville’s Crow Canyon Country Club.
Area 3 is unique in that its voting age population is primarily comprised of Asian-American residents, making it for lack of a better term a “majority-minority” voting block. Out of the 28,293 residents who call Area 3 home, 15,660, or 55%, have been identified as Asian-American.
Trustee Jewett is slated to represent Area 3, although as of Thursday he remained noncommittal on if he would run for re-election in 2020.
Trustee Area 4 is primarily made of the remaining parts of San Ramon that lie north of Bollinger Canyon Road and west of the Sinclair Freeway — including the city’s western hills — although parts of the area dip south down Alcosta Boulevard, all the way down to Montevideo Drive.
It’s northern boundary is primarily shared with the border between San Ramon and Danville, but the neighborhoods around San Ramon’s Canyon Crest Drive belong to Area 3.
The largest in terms of population, Area 4 is populated by 29,104 residents, and is slated to be represented by Trustee Susanna Ordway.
Last but not least is Trustee Area 5, which is made up of southern San Ramon — east of I-680, and south of Montevideo Drive — and the remaining unincorporated areas in eastern Contra Costa County.
Area 5 has a population of 28,207 and would be represented by board president Hurd.
Trustees Jewett and Marvel are next up for election in 2020, and it is worth noting that under Map 102 all five current trustees each represent a different district ensuring that sitting members will not face off in the 2020 or 2022 election. A conscience decision made by the board.
“We were all elected, albeit at an at-large election, we were all duly elected. I think it is very important to give voters the opportunity to keep this board together if they so choose,” said Jewett, a sentiment that was echoed by his fellow board members. “I don’t think we should be looking at using this law to consciously break up our board… I think it’s important to offer that opportunity to voters.”
While board members unanimously approved Map 102, they did so with the same reservations they have had since the process of creating district began last November. Chief among those being the loss of voting opportunities for residents and a perception that the district is being forced into the change.
“In the public comment we have had, there’s has been for the most part… what i have heard over all is that the majority of people that have come before us, have indicated a desire to keep things the way they are,” Marvel said at Thursday’s meeting. “As much as I would like to support the majority of the public… We don’t have a choice.”
Under district based elections — also known as by-trustee-area elections — residents will only vote for the one school board candidate who lives in their geographical area, as opposed to the current practice of at-large elections where residents vote for all available candidates. The change will essentially mean residents will only vote for one trustee every four years, instead of each available trustee seat every two years.
The district is making the change in order to comply with a petition citing the California Voting Rights Act, that was submitted by attorney Scott Rafferty on behalf of the Bay Area Voting Rights Initiative, threatening litigation if the district refused.
The CVRA finds that at-large elections impair the abilities of protected classes to influence the outcome of elections — a protected class being defined as voters who are members of a race, color or language minority group.
“I love doing this when there’s an open seat because this isn’t about any of you members on the board. They are all outstanding public servants, this is a long term reform,” Rafferty said at Thursday’s meeting. “I am very pleased we are going to district elections, it is going to be in the presidential cycle, and among their maps (Map 102) was the best choice.”
The SRVUSD has until March 11, to set a public meeting with the County Board of Education to review and potentially approve the new map.
For exact measurements of areas populations and boundaries, residents are encouraged to visit the district’s informational page on the SRVUSD website.
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