Mariposa County Unified School District and County Office of Education Board Members Will Be Elected Following The By-Trustee Area Election Process Beginning With The November, 2024 Election

Background

The California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) prohibits the use of “at-large” elections in certain circumstances.

Currently the Mariposa County Office of Education and Unified School District Board members are elected in “at-large” elections, where each member is elected by voters throughout the County/District.

“By-trustee-area” elections, in which members are elected by voters in geographical subdivisions of the jurisdiction, are immune from challenge under the CVRA and as such, many school districts and other local agencies, have transitioned from at-large to by-trustee area elections, or are in the process of doing so.

The District/County Office of Education wishes to ensure compliance with the CVRA or, at a minimum, avoid the potential for costly litigation under the CVRA. And so, MCUSD/MCOE intend to make the transition to a By-Trustee-Area method of election in time for the next governing board member election in November of 2024. 

As Mariposa is one of just 7 single district counties in California this process may differ a bit from other communities.

Mariposa County is already divided into 5 districts which underwent a redistricting process in 2022, after the last National Census was held in 2020 and MCUSD/MCOE had adopted those same maps for their trustee area boundaries.

Steps Taken

• On Thursday, April 25, 2024, the MCUSD/MCOE School Boards approved Resolutions 24-33 (District) and 24-03 (County), Initiating the Process of Establishing Trustee Election Areas. 

By-Trustee Area Voting Process Community Survey

• Final Survey Results

There will be two "pre-map" public hearings where the criteria and process will be discussed and community input will be gathered and discussed. 

Tentative Dates for the "pre-map" hearings are: THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2024 & THURSDAY, MAY 9, 2024

• The District then held two Pre-Map public hearings on Thursday, May 2, 2024 & Thursday, May 9, 2024, at which the community had an opportunity to provide input.  

At the conclusion of these "pre-map" hearings, a map will be created and posted for the community to review.

• It was established that the criteria used to create the current Mariposa County Board of Supervisor maps align with criteria necessary for them to be adopted for a trustee-area voting scenario.  

Current Trustee Area Map

There will then be two "post-map" hearings, where community input will continue to be gathered, if necessary the maps may be updated. 

Tentative Dates for the "post-map" hearings are: THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2024 & THURSDAY, MAY 30, 2024

• On May 23, 2024, the District held the first of two Post-Map public hearings to hear public comment regarding the current map used to establish our trustee areas. The second will be held on Thursday, May 30, 2024.

At the conclusion of the hearings, the MCUSD/MCOE will hold one final meeting where it may vote to approve the election area map and move the Unified School District and County office of Education to the "by-trustee-area" for the November 2024 election. 

• On Thursday, June 13, 2024, the MCUSD School Board voted to approve Resolution 24-36, Approving Map Plan and Transition to By-Trustee Area Election Method for District Governing Board 

• On Thursday, June 13, 2024, the MCOE School Board voted to approve Resolution 24-05, Approving the Map Plan and Transition to By-Trustee Area Election Method for County Governing Board

• On Thursday, June 13, 2024, the County Committee on School District Organization approved Resolution 24-06, Establishing Trustee Election Areas for the District Governing Board & Resolution 24-07, Establishing Trustee Election Areas for the County Office of Education Governing Board 

Final Step

On Monday, June 17, 2024, the District/COE notified the Mariposa County Elections office providing the documentation and notifying them of the process and changes that were made.