Thursday, Jan. 08, 2009

Ceres school trustees consider district elections

School board to look at switch from at-large vote

CERES — Trustees are set to consider a move tonight that would establish district elections for the seven-member Board of Education.

The change is in response to a lawsuit seeking to increase the Latino voice in board elections. The lawsuit was filed by the nonprofit Lawyers' Committee For Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, the same group that aimed similar lawsuits at the Modesto City Council and several school districts in the Central Valley.

If approved by trustees tonight, the Ceres Unified School District would be divided into sections by November's election.

About 90 percent of California's district boards hold at-large elections, in which voters cast ballots for all board members instead of just those representing a particular area of town.

Under the California Voting Rights Act, groups can sue for election reforms if they can show racial polarization keeps minorities from winning public office.

For elections in 2009 and 2011, five board members would be elected based on trustee areas and two would be elected at-large. By the November 2013 election, all seven seats would be elected based on trustee areas.

The lawsuit raised eyebrows with some because almost half of Ceres' trustees are Latino. But Robert Rubin of the Lawyers' Committee said that in choosing where to pursue legal action, the group is looking for "a number of things — the current representatives, but also a history" of diversity.

"Just because they have minority representation (in an at-large voting system) doesn't mean there isn't voter dilution," Rubin said.

Latinos comprise about 60.3 percent of the district's 12,500 students. U.S. Census estimates for 2005-07 show 50.9 percent of the city's population is Latino.

Board President Teresa Guerrero did not return calls to her work and cell phones Wednesday.

Proposed maps of the trustee areas won't be available to the public until after trustees approve them, Superintendent Walt Hanline said. He said more than one of the current trustees reside in some of the areas and other areas don't have any trustee living in them.

Hanline estimated the legal fees to negotiate with the Lawyers' Committee will be less than $4,000. Trustees were not interested in "fighting a case we are destined to lose. The law is the law," he said.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the district office boardroom, 2503 Lawrence St. in Ceres.

Bee staff writer Michelle Hatfield can be reached at mhatfield@modbee.com or 578-2339.