Big change for how trustees are elected to San Mateo Union High School District board

The selected map, labeled Map 102, created five trustee areas using the boundaries of feeder districts like San Bruno Park School District and San Mateo-Foster City School District to determine area boundaries.

By combining the voting power of Black, Hispanic and Asian voters, three minority-majority districts were also created, a key objective under the California Voting Rights Act which aims to boost the voices of minorities on governing boards.

Ann Schneider, a member of the Millbrae City Council who spoke as an individual during Thursday’s meeting, said she was “disturbed” by the board’s map selection which she argued limits the voices of Millbrae residents. Because the city will be split into two separate districts, one connected to San Bruno and the other to Burlingame, she said the map would limit the possibility of a Millbrae representative winning a seat on the board.

“At this point I understand you’re going to move forward the way you move forward but I just want to go on record that it is treating Millbrae unfairly,” Schneider said, adding that she would like to see the district work with the city but, after seven years on the council, “that’s not been the case.”

Board Vice President Linda Lees Dwyer defended the map with Land co-signing her points. Ultimately, the board’s goal was to ensure keeping feeder districts whole, ensuring their voices were represented on the board.

To achieve that goal, Lees Dwyer noted that multiple city divides were necessary. San Mateo is split among three districts while Burlingame, Hillsborough and Foster City have parts of their cities in two districts.

“I believe this map makes the most sense for us because it honors the feeder districts, the communities that come to us and it keeps them whole,” Lees Dwyer said. “They come to us together and we will keep them whole together.”

To keep Millbrae whole, Douglas Johnson, president of National Demographics Corporation, said a district would have to be created by connecting Burlingame and San Bruno given that San Bruno’s population is too small to form a district on its own. That formation would likely be illegal under the California Voting Rights Act which requires districts to be compact and parts to be physically connected.

Although a new map would have needed to be drawn to accommodate for population changes identified during the 2020 U.S. Census, the district initially began its switch to by-trustee elections after being accused of violating the CVRA in a letter penned by a lawyer, Kevin Shenkman of Shenkman and Hughes, last January.

Just more than a year later, trustees said the process to shift its election model was a painful one and they wished they received more input, especially earlier on, but were ultimately happy with the map that was selected.

Under the new map and selected district election sequencing, voters in Area 1 and Area 3, which are vacant, and Area 5 where Trustee Bob Griffin resides, will get to decide who should represent them this November. Ballots will then be cast in 2024 to decide who should represent Area 2 where Land and Dwyer live and Area 4 where Board President Peter Hanley and Trustee Ligia Andrade Zúñiga live.

Land and Andrade Zúñiga have terms that expire in 2024 and terms for Griffin, Lees Dwyer and Hanley expire this year. While Griffin can run for re-election, Lees Dwyer and Hanley cannot, a reality they both accepted as the right thing to do.

“This is a bit of a painful process. … It means some changes around here,” Hanley said, adding, “It’s the right decision.”

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

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