The California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) prohibits the use of any election system “that impairs the ability of a protected class to elect candidates of its choice or its ability to influence the outcome of an election.”  Should an individual challenge a public entity’s election system and the court finds against that jurisdiction, the jurisdiction must change its election system and pay the plaintiff’s attorneys, experts, and other expenses.  The only safe harbor from a CVRA claim is to implement a by-trustee area election system.

No – this new system for electing Board members has NO IMPACT on your student’s scheduled elementary, middle, or high school attendance areas.  Attendance areas are NOT being changed as part of this process.

If approved, registered voters in the District boundaries will have the opportunity to vote for a candidate for the Board of Education that lives in their By-Trustee Area on a four-year cycle.  Registered voters will not be able to vote for candidates from By-Trustee Areas in which they do not reside.

Before maps are prepared, the Board will hold two public hearings to solicit feedback.  Then, once the maps are prepared by the demographer, they will be released for public review on the Azusa Unified School District’s website in mid-late October 2021.  In November and December 2021, the Board of Education will hold a series of public hearings and community meetings in which it will take public testimony regarding the draft maps.  Members of the public and interested parties also have the option of submitting written comments on the draft maps, including which map or maps they support.

Azusa Unified School District has an at-large election system, where voters of the entire District elect all members of the Board of Education.  A “By-Trustee Area” election system will carve the District into equal population Trustee Areas. Voters in each Trustee Area choose their Board representative, who must also live in that Trustee Area.

There is a limited 25-day window for candidates to file declarations of candidacy with the County Registrar to run for office. This narrow window opens 113 days prior to the election and closes 88 days prior to the election. If no qualified candidate emerges from a "trustee area" up for election, the Board may appoint to fill the vacancy from a resident of that "trustee area." 

Unlike ordinary appointments, according to Education Code section 5326, if no candidate has been nominated 83 days prior to the election, the Board is authorized to appoint a qualified person to the Board. Such appointment must occur at a Board meeting prior to election day and the appointed member will be "seated" to the Board at the organizational meeting. 

The appointee must be eligible for office and reside within the specific vacant "trustee area." The appointment must be made at a Board meeting prior to election day. The appointed member will serve as if elected in the general election – for four years.

The School Board will consider a range of factors when it chooses to select a district map of five geographic areas as part of the transition to a By-Trustee Area Election System.  These factors include (but are not limited to) equal population, communities of interest, compactness, contiguity of the districts, visible/natural boundaries, and respect for voters’ wishes and continuity in office.  After a series of public hearings, the Board will vote to adopt a map option on December 14, 2021.  Thereafter, the Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization must approve of the District’s adopted map and transition.

Since the release of the 2020 Census has been delayed until September 2021, the District expects that draft map options prepared by a professional demographer will be available in mid-October 2021.

A professional demographer that specializes in this type of election work will prepare the draft map options for release to the community and Board.  The demographer and our legal team will ensure all potential options are legally compliant maps.