A new style of governance is coming to San Bruno Park School District’s Board of Trustees whose members will soon be elected by area rather than at large, a move meant to embolden the representation of some of the most underserved voters.
In a 3-1 vote, board Vice President Henry Sanchez dissenting and Trustee Jennifer Blanco absent, the board adopted a new district map, referred to as the Blue Map, that separates the district into five parts largely built around existing neighborhoods and man-made boundaries like El Camino Real and Skyline Boulevard.
Sanchez attempted to persuade his colleagues into supporting a different map, labeled the Green Map, which combined neighborhoods, giving a trustee the opportunity to represent varying communities, he argued.
“It transcends across neighborhoods. It brings the neighborhoods together and that’s what should be done throughout the entire distinct,” Sanchez said.
Despite Sanchez’s advocacy and some interest from Trustee Andrew Mason in both maps, the board ultimately opted for the Blue Map, which board President Andriana Shea said would give the greatest representation to individual neighborhoods. She and Trustee Teri Chavez also stressed that all trustees represent the entire district regardless of where they live.
“Keeping communities intact is going to be helpful for community building and just for people knowing who their rep is, which we already have issues with that,” Shea said during the board’s meeting Wednesday, June 1. “We’re all here to represent the district and we want to make sure we’re representing different neighborhoods within our city and I think the Blue Map does the best job on that.”
Unlike many other jurisdictions that switched from at-large to by-district voting systems following legal threats for being out of line with the California Voters Rights Act, San Bruno Park School District voluntarily made the change after Trustee Jennifer Blanco asserted they should in the name of equity. At a previous meeting, Blanco also shared support for the Blue Map.
Three trustee seats will be on the ballot this November with Mason, Sanchez and Chavez all up for reelection in 2022. If Chavez opts to run, she’ll campaign in Area 3, containing a majority of the northern part of the district. Sanchez would run in Area 2, containing the Crestmoor Park neighborhood.
And Mason would be ineligible to run given that he resides in Trustee Area 4 with Shea whose current term is up in 2024. Blanco’s Area 1 seat, situated in the northwest of the city with the Pacific Heights, Portola Highlands and Monte Verde neighborhoods and part of the Rollingwood Neighborhood, will also be open in 2024.
A seat in Trustee Area 5, an underrepresented portion of the district east of El Camino Real, would also be placed on the November 2022 ballot. Trustees were partly motivated to adopt a by-trustee area election system to ensure a representative from that part of the city would be on the board.
Governance and leadership were key issues during last Wednesday’s meeting, which also included a presentation by the Financial Crisis and Management Assistance Team, a state agency tasked with assessing the district after it received a Notice of Going Concern from the County Office of Education.
The notice largely spoke to stability issues for the district brought on by a revolving door of top leadership. Five superintendents have overseen the district in the past six years and four chief business officers have filled the role in the last five years.
“The biggest issue is that ongoing turnover of key district administrators not only in the superintendent and chief business official roles but virtually every administrator we spoke to was also new to the distinct, new to the position. That turnover is largely influencing the risk factors in this report,” FCMAT Intervention Specialist Erin Lillibridge said.
Matthew Duffy, West Contra Costa Unified School District’s former superintendent, will be formally filling the superintendent role after former Superintendent Jose Espinoza departed the district before the start of the spring semester. And Chief Business Officer Mariana Solomon started in her role in 2020.
Having interviewed staff at all levels of the district and reviewed budgetary documents, Lillibridge shared a positive outlook for the district, noting its financial standing appeared to be improving and its staff has the ability to do quality work.
“[Retaining staff] comes down to organizational culture and environment and I really encourage you guys to see this as an opportunity as you get new leadership coming in to work on that because obviously, this is the reason why we’re here,” said Lillibridge. “Have competent staff. … It’s about letting them shine and do their jobs.”
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