NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release: For further information contact:
September 10, 2021 Ryan Brown
Phone: 408-531-6172 | Email: ryan.brown@sjeccd.edu
SJECCD Seeks Public Input for Trustee Area Redistricting
(San Jose, Calif.) — San José – Evergreen Community College District (SJECCD) is currently conducting its decennial redistricting of the seven trustee area boundaries in accordance with the demographic results from the 2020 U.S. Census. The District invites input and support for the adjustments of these trustee area boundaries from community members during upcoming Board meetings.
Public input can be shared via the following scheduled Board meetings:
- September 14, 2021;
- October 12, 2021;
- November 9, 2021;
- December 14, 2021;
- January 25, 2022; and
- February 8, 2022 (if necessary).
These meetings begin at 6:15 p.m. (with the Redistricting item beginning at 7:30 PM time certain) in the District Board Room located at 40 S. Market St., San Jose, CA 95113 (because of operational changes due to COVID-19, SJECCD Board meetings currently have a Zoom option as well. Please check www.sjeccd.edu for up-to-date information).
This redistricting is required under California Education Code 5019.5 (a), which reads, in part, "Following each decennial federal census, and using population figures as validated by the Population Research Unit of the Department of Finance as a basis, the governing board of each school district or community college district in which trustee areas have been established, and in which each trustee is elected by the residents of the area he or she represents, shall adjust the boundaries of any or all of the trustee areas of the district…"
Currently, SJECCD is a trustee-area elections District, in which the trustees live in a specific area and are elected only by voters residing in that area. The District is required to adjust the boundaries of trustee areas and must ensure that the redistricting method does not deny or abridge the voting rights of a protected racial or language minority group consistent with the Federal Voting Rights Act and the California Voting Rights Act.
SJECCD's process of re-drawing the boundaries of the trustee areas for the board of trustees following the 2020 federal census will be guided by the following board-approved principles:
- The new trustee areas should ensure the ability of minority racial and ethnic communities' equal opportunities to elect trustees of their own choosing, in accordance with the Voting Rights Act, thereby producing a diverse board representative of the community it serves;
- The trustee areas should be as nearly equal in total population as practicable, given consideration of all criteria;
- To the extent that trustee areas deviate from equality of population, consideration should be given to areas which in the past decade have grown disproportionate to other trustee areas;
- Changes in trustee area boundaries should be made with the maximum possible community involvement and participation;
- In determining boundaries of trustee areas, boundaries should follow geographical and topographic features, whenever possible consistent with other criteria; and
- Trustee areas should have contiguous territory, be functionally cohesive, and honor communities of interest whenever possible, consistent with other criteria.
Updates of progress in this redistricting process, including trustee area maps, will be provided to the public through the SJECCD website. In addition to the above-referenced Board meetings, feedback can be submitted in writing by emailing Mr. Sam Ho, SJECCD's Director of Communications, Community Relations, and Diversity at sam.ho@sjeccd.edu.
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About San José – Evergreen Community College District
Located in vibrant downtown San José in the heart of Silicon Valley, the San José – Evergreen Community College District (SJECCD) encompasses more than 300 square miles, including a large portion of the City of San José and all of the City of Milpitas. SJECCD is comprised of: San José City College, the first community college in Santa Clara County, established in 1921; Evergreen Valley College, established in 1975; the Community College Center for Economic Mobility (previously known as the Workforce Institute), established in 1988; and the San José – Evergreen Community College Extension at Milpitas, established in 2016. For more information, visit www.sjeccd.edu.
