BUSD holds hearing on updated trustee maps

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The Bonsall Unified School District held a Jan. 19 hearing on updated election trustee areas.

The school board considered two potential maps with new trustee areas but did not make a recommendation for a preferred map.

"We did have quite a bit of conversation," said BUSD superintendent Joseph Clevenger. "It was good."

In 2019, the Bonsall district transitioned from electing board members at large to elections by trustee area. Elections by trustee area require candidates to live in that trustee area and the election for that seat is by voters within that trustee area. Trustee Area 1 is the area west of Sleeping Indian Road; Trustee Area 2 is the rest of the area west of State Route 76 at its bend as well as land east of State Route 76 and south of Camino Del Rey; some of the land south of Camino Del Rey is in Trustee Area 3 which also includes most of the district area south of West Lilac Road; Trustee Area 4 is mostly north of West Lilac Road and extends east of Interstate 15, and all of Trustee Area 5 is east of Interstate 15 including the Pala Indian Reservation.

Local agencies are allowed to revise their trustee area boundaries, contingent upon the areas having approximately equal population and the boundaries not being drawn to disenfranchise any specific group, as the district feels is warranted. A district normally utilizes the census every 10 years to revise its boundaries, although the Bonsall Unified School District could change the boundaries earlier if growth in an area creates an unequal population.

In 2019, the five trustee areas had a combined population of 17,087. The 2020 census gave the school district a population of 19,632, which equates to a target population of 3,926 for each trustee area. "We did have an increase in population," Clevenger said. "There does have to be some shift, although minor."

Under the first draft map, Trustee Area 1 would have 3,972 people; Trustee Area 2 would have a population of 3,867; Trustee Area 3 would have 3,896 residents; Trustee Area 4 would have 3,808 people, and Trustee Area 5 would have 4,089 residents. The eastern portion of Trustee Area 1 would be moved into Trustee Area 2; an eastern segment of Trustee Area 2 would become part of Trustee Area 3 as would a small part of Trustee Area 4, and some boundaries between Trustee Area 4 and Trustee Area 5 would be altered.

The second scenario would have similar boundary changes and populations of 3,972 in Trustee Area 1, 3,867 in Trustee Area 2, 3,896 in Trustee Area 3, 3,850 in Trustee Area 4, and 4,047 in Trustee Area 5.

The Jan. 19 hearing was the initial public hearing. "This is the first of two, so we are going to revisit it in February," Clevenger said.

That meeting is scheduled for Feb. 16.

The five trustees who were in office in 2019 were allowed to keep their seats until the expiration of their term. The two seats up for election in November 2020 were subject to the trustee area election and residence requirements, and Larissa Anderson and Eric Ortega were elected that year. The other three seats will be subject to the trustee area elections in November 2022. Michael Gaddis and Lou Riddle live in the same trustee area, so they can't both return to the board after November's election. Roger Merchat is the only current board member who lives in his trustee area, which is also subject to election in 2022.