Transition to new trustee elections system at South Bay school district challenged

The Fremont Union High School District — which includes parts of Cupertino, Los Altos, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga and Sunnyvale — is implementing a new system for electing trustees to avoid a potential voting rights lawsuit, a move that has some residents upset.

The district is planning to transition from its at-large election process, in which voters can elect any five candidates, to a by-trustee-area election system. The district is set to be split into five zones, each with 20% of the voting population. Voters in each zone would elect one candidate. Staff are working to have maps finalized and approved by trustees in April, just in time for the November elections, when Board President Jeff Moe and Trustee Rod Sinks term out.

The move comes as the district faces the potential threat of a lawsuit from community members for allegedly violating the California Voting Rights Act, a state law that protects racial minority groups from having their votes diluted. At-large voting, critics say, can prevent minority groups from electing their candidates of choice when they are not the majority in a jurisdiction. But some residents say the change is happening too quickly, without enough time to fully study the issue.

The district’s Latino voting population, which is a minority group protected under the act and mainly concentrated in North Sunnyvale, has not had a trustee elected from their area, which the district worries could lead to a lawsuit. Out of the 30 board members elected since 1970, none have come from Santa Clara, Saratoga or North Sunnyvale, according to the district. Meanwhile, cities like Cupertino have boasted 13 and central Sunnyvale, eight.

Moe said the transition can’t wait, and the board already approved a March 2023 resolution expressing their intent to move forward.

“It probably would open up the school district to a lawsuit claim if we postpone,” he said. “The fact that a year ago we said we’re planning to do this, and then to say, ‘Nope, just kidding’ — it would be problematic.”

Other Bay Area school districts have also changed their election processes to minimize the chances of a lawsuit. The Moreland School District in San Jose switched to area elections in 2019, with the Fremont Unified High School district following in 2021 and the Pleasanton Unified and San Mateo Union school districts following suit in 2022. The Foothill-DeAnza Board of Trustees also transitioned to area elections in 2022 as well.

However, some community members want the board to reconsider.

Representatives from the Voice of Community Residents and Parents (VOCRP), an organization within the district’s boundaries that claims to speak for residents, said district staff did not adequately inform the voting population about the change, nor conduct a thorough analysis on whether it is needed. The organization spearheaded a petition in January that garnered more than 2,300 votes to postpone the implementation until 2026.

“Accordingly, the FUHSD board should engage in an analysis on whether there is racially polarized voting and vote dilution before implementing by-trustee elections,” the organization said in a statement.

They also insist that not every voting rights claim has been successful, and say there are several alternative remedies to by-trustee elections, including cumulative voting, limited voting, and ranked-choice voting — all options, the VOCRP states, the district should explore.

The Supreme Court of California clarified in an August 2023 decision that an entity has violated the act only if there is evidence of racially polarized voting and dilution of a protected class’s ability to elect its preferred candidate. The Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Trustees in 2018 stated it was unlikely to switch to trustee-area elections after an attorney for the district stated there was no compelling evidence for violations.

But some residents want the change approved this year to give historically underserved communities like North Sunnyvale a voice.

North Sunnyvale resident Peggy Shen Brewster said she favors the new election process. She founded Sunnyvale Equity in Education, an organization that advocates for equitable school access in the district, to help raise awareness about representation concerns in her area.

“It’s an indirect representation right now,” she said. “We appreciate that there are those voices that are sympathetic, but it’s not the same as if they were people who are actually living in this area, that have been marginalized and underserved, to actually be the voices on the board.”

Brewster believes there is plenty of information available to residents. After the 2023 resolution, the district created a Community Trustee Area Districting Committee aimed at educating people on the transition. Brewster said the committee, which is also in charge of drawing up the area maps, is actively seeking feedback from the community to ensure the areas are fair.

Fellow Sunnyvale resident Cortney Jansen, who is also in favor of the by-trustee-area election format, said the new system will promote equity during the election period, as people will only need to budget and plan for campaigns in their areas.

“I’m optimistic that that alone is going to help build diversity and inclusion,” she said, “in representation of trustee members on the board.”