Desert Sands Unified agrees to new trustee areas; must fill vacant seat in 60 days
The Desert Sands Unified School District Board of Trustees has agreed to new trustee area boundaries that will take effect for November's elections. The areas had to be redrawn according to 2020 U.S. Census data released last year. The board will have two seats on the ballot this fall.
One belongs to current board President Ana Conover, a U.S. Air Force veteran and elementary school teacher serving her first term. Conover represents Trustee Area 5, which in both the current and new map covers most of Indio.
The other seat belonged to Don Griffith, a board member since 2008 who resigned his post effective Tuesday to become a California Superior Court commissioner. Until Tuesday, Griffith represented Trustee Area 2, which in both the current and new map covers Indian Wells, Bermuda Dunes and an eastern portion of Palm Desert.
Although Griffith's seat will be up for grabs in an election this November, the board will seek to fill the position with a provisional appointee named within 60 days of Tuesday. The appointee will serve until elected or replaced by the winner of November's election. A lawyer consulting with the district on its redistricting process recommended that the board appoint a trustee from Trustee Area 2 on the newly drawn map.
The new trustee areas will represent about 37,000 people in each. The westernmost areas — Area 1 (Wendy Jonathan, Palm Desert) and Area 2 (vacant, Indian Wells) — are majority-white districts.
Trustee Area 3 (Tricia Pearce, La Quinta) will represent an approximately equal proportion of white and Hispanic/Latino populations, with neither race having a majority.
Trustee Area 4 (Linda Porras, Indio) and Trustee Area 5 (Ana Conover, Indio) will be what are known as majority-minority or "protected class" districts, meaning a majority of the citizens of voting -age population in each identify as a minority, in this case, Hispanic/Latino.
Provisional appointment to come within 60 days
Mark Thompson, a lawyer speaking at Tuesday's board meeting, explained that the district had two options per its bylaws to fill Griffith's vacant seat: Hold a special election or appoint a provisional replacement.
Thompson explained that special school board elections often cost between $80,000 and $100,000, and the district would have to finance the entire cost.
Given that estimate, the board voted 4-0 to instead select a provisional appointee to fill Griffith's seat. The appointee must be named within 60 days of Tuesday's meeting, and will serve in the role until elected in November or replaced by the winner of November's election for Trustee Area 2.
The board did not immediately present a deadline for applications.
Moving forward, the district will have to advertise the vacancy in local media and solicit candidates, according to Thompson.
The board president, Conover, and vice president, Jonathan, will serve on a subcommittee to screen the applications for minimum qualifications.
Eventually, interviews and, ultimately, a decision on the appointment must be made during open sessions of either regularly scheduled or special board meetings.
Dates of those meetings are to be determined.
Jonathan Horwitz covers education for The Desert Sun. Reach him at jonathan.horwitz@desertsun.com or @Writes_Jonathan.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: DSUSD agrees to new trustee areas; must fill vacant seat in 60 days
