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The Mountain View Los Altos High School District’s board had its first chance on Monday night to look at ways to split the district up into trustee areas for future elections.
The district decided in September to switch its school board elections from an at-large system – where voters throughout the district get to vote on all of the trustees – to an area-based system, starting with the November 2026 election. The change would divide the school district into five areas, with each electing one trustee.
At a Monday, Jan. 27, meeting, the school board reviewed three potential maps that were prepared by Ken Reynolds, a demographer hired by the district.
The board members largely asked questions and requested additional information at Monday’s meeting, rather than expressing opinions about the maps themselves. No members of the public showed up to share their thoughts with the board.
Trustee Catherine Vonnegut asked to see versions of the maps with overlays that show city boundaries, as well as school boundary lines. Thida Cornes similarly requested overlays showing neighborhood associations.
Alex Levich sought more clarity about how the maps compare in terms of representing certain demographic groups, such as Latino residents. Cornes was interested in what the maps would look like if they aimed to create trustee areas that concentrated the populations of groups like Latino or Asian residents.
Vadim Katz asked to see how many students are zoned for Los Altos versus Mountain View high school in each trustee area, a request that Levich echoed.
Reynolds, who presented his three initial maps to the board, said that different criteria that he considered, with each map aiming to evenly divide the district’s 117,723 residents. According to Reynolds, the maximum population deviation of the trustee areas needs to stay within 10% to be considered legal.
The maximum deviation of the three maps he presented were all below 3%. Reynolds said that would allow for minor adjustments to be made while still having a legally compliant map.
Having a lower deviation doesn’t necessarily make a map better, Reynolds added. Instead, he said that the board should look at what map will best represent the district’s residents.
“These are just three maps that show a possible solution to creating trustee areas,” Reynolds said. “We can generate plenty more maps based on feedback we get.”
The district decided to move to an area-based system after receiving a demand letter from an attorney on behalf of a district resident. The switch is meant to avoid a potential lawsuit under the California Voting Rights Act. Many government entities throughout California have received similar letters, often prompting switches to area-based elections.
Following Monday’s meeting, the board is hoping to host its next public hearing on March 17. Superintendent Eric Volta said whether March 17 is feasible will depend on when he receives the updated maps, which would include the additional information that board members requested. Whether the board will take a final vote at its next public hearing or wait until a subsequent meeting is also still being determined, Volta said.
I may have missed it, but I see no mention of having to pay the lawyer, who sent the demand, around $35,000 for his demand. Many elected boards have had to do this. Are the MVW elementary school district and City of MV waiting around for the lawyer to make his demands of them, and fork over $35,000 each. I believe that the Los Altos School district has already had to do this.