[KHTS] – The Saugus Union School District Governing Board voted to approve a trustee-area plan for the district’s transition to a new voting system on Tuesday evening.

Previously, the district had an “at-large” voting system in which the five-member board would be elected by all voters in the school district.

After the planned switch, the district would have a “by-trustee area” voting system, in which each of the five board members would represent a unique geographic area within the district.

The new system would allow only voters within each trustee-area the opportunity to vote for candidates who also live in that area.

The proposed trustee-area maps were broken down into five sections, one for each seat on the SUSD Governing Board.

Each map had three different federal requirements: equal population, minority voting rights and equal protection.

Five public hearings were held by the Saugus Union School District, or SUSD, to receive public input concerning the proposed trustee voting area plans between Sept. 29 and Nov. 3, according to Tuesday’s agenda.

The SUSD accepted any final comments from the public before the governing board voted on the trustee area maps, however there were no speakers, said Board Member Rose Koscielny.

The SUSD voted to adopt the “Trustee Plan Blue” out of four proposed trustee-area voting maps.

Under this Trustee Plan, SUSD Governing Board members Paul De La Cerda would represent Trustee Area 1, Judy Umeck would represent Trustee Area 2, Rose Koscielny would represent Trustee Area 3, David Powell would represent Trustee Area 4 and Chris Trunkey would represent Trustee Area 5.

“I want to go on record to say that I didn’t run for office and I will never run for office just because of the nationality, ethnicity, or any other reason, other than the fact of representing this district the best I can as a person of this community who has the right to run for office,” De La Cerda said.

De La Cerda continued to say that the SUSD has made the decision to switch to from an “at-large” voting system to a “by-trustee area” voting system to save the district “millions of dollars” after an alleged violation of the California Voting Rights Act.

The lawsuit alleged the SUSD violated the California Voting Rights Act in 2001.

“The imposition of SUSD’s at-large method of election has resulted in vote dilution for the Latino residents and has denied them effective political participation in elections to the SUSD Board of Trustees,” according to the complaint.

“We need to keep this money in the classroom, in the teacher’s hands, where it belongs, not in the pockets of the county,” said De La Cerda. “I’m very proud of this process.”
Powell supported what De La Cerda said and added that “(he) will do (his) best to represent the entire district… and represent every student in the district where they reside.”
The plan to adopt “Trustee Plan Blue” now goes to the Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization and, if approved, will be implemented in the November 2016 governing board elections.