YCUSD discusses redistricting of trustee areas
Sep. 17—The Yuba City Unified School District board meeting on Tuesday discussed the process of drawing district map areas for each board member to represent.
Under this system, when a board member's term is up, only voters residing within the defined trustee area could elect a new candidate.
In March 2020, the Board of Education adopted a resolution, under the California Voting Right Acts, to begin the process of redistricting school attendance zones but due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the delay of the 2020 census, the process of redrawing district areas was delayed. Since the census data is now available and the board can hold public meetings, the drawing of trustee areas could be ready for the November 2022 election.
This differs from previously at-large elections where every voter in the Yuba City Unified School District boundary was able to vote for any candidate. According to Doreen Osumi, superintendent of Yuba City Unified School District, at least four public hearings will be scheduled to allow public comment and provide extensive input on where boundaries should be drawn to enhance participation of voting subgroups. At the end of the redistricting process there will be seven trustee areas.
"Each trustee area will represent close to the same number of people, while data on race and ethnicity will be used to comply with the California Voting Rights Act," said Osumi in an email.
An expert demographer will assist the district to incorporate the views of all stakeholders, analyze the district geography and population along with complex census data to develop legally compliant voter maps, said Osumi. The cost of the project will vary depending on the number of meetings held and the extent to which trustee area maps are developed, said Osumi.
District board members also passed a resolution increasing the pay rate of substitutes. Substitute teachers will get paid $170 instead of $140 for a daily rate, meaning any substitute who works up to three days, said Michael Reed, assistant superintendent of human resources. If substitutes fill in for more than 10 days, they will be paid $195 for the long-term rate. Instead of waiting for a substitute to fill in for a classroom, the school board is looking for substitutes who can commit long-term so they can get paid the maximum amount.
"We know we need substitutes every day," said Reed. "We're having job fairs at the district office. People can stop by and bring their resume. We have lots of opportunities for people looking for work and we'll train them."
