From Garden Grove Unified School District
Garden Grove, CA – At their regular meeting on Tuesday, May 6, the Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education unanimously approved Resolution No. 28: Resolution Initiating Process of Establishing Trustee Areas and Elections by Trustee Areas. With the resolution’s approval, and the implementation of the actions approved in the resolution, GGUSD will ensure that it is in compliance with the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). The act expands the Federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 and addresses whether or not elections using an “at-large” (district-wide) method impair the ability of a protected class to elect candidates of its choice or its ability to influence the outcome of an election.
Recently, many cities, school districts and other public entities have had their election systems challenged under CVRA, leading to very expensive and divisive litigation. Our preference is, and has always been, to avoid expenditures that do not directly benefit the children, families, and communities we serve. While GGUSD believes its elections have not been racially polarized, a move to by-trustee area elections enables us to move forward without the potential of having to defend CVRA litigation in the future.
District staff and the board are committed to continuing to focus on the district’s core mission – providing the highest quality education for all of our students. The change in our system of electing trustees will not change the board’s history and commitment to making decision based on the interests of the entire district, regardless of where individual trustees happen to reside.
The transition to a “by-trustee” area election method will involve input from the community at public hearings on options for developing and approving a trustee area map; approval from the Orange County Committee on School District Organization; and a waiver from the State Board of Education.
The Garden Grove Unified School District (www.ggusd.us) encompasses 28 square miles of territory, serving most of Garden Grove and portions of Anaheim, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Santa Ana, Stanton, and Westminster. With 47,960 students, the district is the third largest among 28 public school districts in Orange County. The district employs more than 5,000 staff members and operates 70 schools: 47 elementary, 10 intermediate, seven high schools, two continuation schools, two adult education centers, and two special education schools.
