Rocklin Unified School District

Rocklin Unified School District’s Board of Trustees are currently elected in At-large elections. At-large elections are those in which all the voters of the entire jurisdiction elect all the members to the governing board. Under a By-Trustee Area election system, the District is divided into geographic areas - Trustee Areas – and a Board Member residing in each Trustee Area is elected by the registered voters who live in that Trustee Area.

 

The California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) of 2001 states that “An at-large method of election may not be imposed or applied in a manner that impairs the ability of a protected class to elect candidates of its choice or its ability to influence the outcome of an election.” A protected class is defined as a class of voters who are “members of a race, color, or language minority group.” 

 

Adopting a “By-Trustee Area” election system ensures that our District is compliant with the California Voting Rights Act and protects the District against the threat of costly litigation.

 

The Board has approved a Resolution to begin a study to determine the necessity of changing election methods and will facilitate the drawing of “By-Trustee Area” options that comply with the CVRA.

 

Throughout the process, the Board will conduct five public hearings to receive community feedback on the proposed “By-Trustee Areas.” Two public hearings will be held before the release of draft maps, and at these hearings community partners will be asked to provide input on potential “communities of interest” to follow when shaping draft “By-Trustee Area” maps. The Board will then conduct three public hearings after the release of draft maps. At these hearings, community partners will be asked to provide input on the draft maps.

 

(Please keep in mind that this transition does not change attendance boundaries for students/schools, it only changes the Trustee Areas for election purposes.)

• All public meetings will be held in the RUSD Board Room at 2615 Sierra Meadows Drive, Rocklin, CA 95765.
  • March 20, 2024 – Pre-Map Hearing #1 – Watch the recording of the meeting here | Transcript
    • Legal Counsel and Demographer presents on CVRA transition process, map development process, criteria, etc. (First hearing prior to drawing maps).
  • April 3, 2024 – Pre-Map Hearing #2 – Watch the recording of the meeting here | Transcript
    • RUSD Staff and Demographer share information on CVRA, mapping process, and how public can participate in the process and confirm criteria for map creation (Pre-map hearing #2 held prior to drawing maps).
  • April 17, 2024 – Map Consideration Public Hearing #1 – Watch the recording of the meeting here | Transcript 
    • Demographer presentation regarding proposed maps as well as sharing information, if any, from public input (First hearing to consider proposed maps).
    • The deadline for public submission of maps for the April 17, 2024 meeting will be April 5, 2024.
  • May 1, 2024 – Map Consideration Hearing #2 – Watch the recording of the meeting here
    • Second review of proposed maps as well as sharing information from public input.
    • The deadline for public submission of maps for the May 1, 2024 meeting will be April 19, 2024.
  • May 15, 2024 – Public Hearing and Adopt Trustee Area Map – Watch the recording of the meeting here
    • Final review of proposed maps as well as sharing information from public input.
    • Adopt Resolution that identifies a chosen map with election sequencing and initiates a proposal to the County Committee.  
  • TBD – County Committee reviews plan
  • November 2024 – Elections for trustee area seats by-trustee area.
  • November 2026 – Elections for remaining trustee area seats by-trustee area.

All maps submitted by both demographers and the public will be shared below one week before the scheduled Board Meeting date for review.

 

 

 

 

Online Mapping Tool: DRA (“Dave’s Redistricting App) is a simple online map drawing tool to easily draw neighborhoods or communities of interest, and create and submit proposed trustee area maps.

• Short Introduction to DRA
• In-Depth Tutorial on DRA Online

 

Interactive Review Map: allows you to review, analyze, and compare maps, not to create them. Zoom in and out on map boundaries, search for addresses and other locations. Similar to Google Maps in ease of use. Draft maps are in the "Maps for Consideration" tab. 

[To be added at a later date]

Because the Board of Trustee elections are staggered every two years, if the transition process is completed 125 days prior to the election, two of the Trustee areas will go into effect during the November 2024 election, and the last three Trustee areas will go into effect during the November 2026 election.

Federal and state laws require that the trustee areas be nearly equal in population using the most recent Census counts. Some deviation is permitted, but the rule of thumb is that the difference between the most- and least-populous election districts should not exceed ten percent of the “ideal” district’s population, which is one-third, one-fifth, or one-seventh of the jurisdiction’s total population (depending on the number of trustee areas). Courts have generally accepted this standard for population equality (in school districts).

 

Federal law also requires that election districts be drawn to respect protected race/ethnic groups so that their communities are neither divided nor overly concentrated in individual districts. 

 

In addition, the California Elections Code (Section 21130) lists the following criteria, which the Board is required to consider, in the order listed: (1) Election areas should have geographical contiguity; (2) To the extent practicable, maps should minimize the division of neighborhoods or communities of interest; (3) Maps should respect the integrity of city or census designated places; (4) Election areas should be bounded by natural or artificial boundaries; and (5) Districts should be drawn to encourage geographical compactness.

RUSD has hired National Demographics Corporation (NDC) to draft and revise maps for consideration by the public and the Trustees. Revisions of these draft maps will be based on feedback received by the Trustees and from the community during the public hearings, Board meetings, or any feedback via email [email address to be added at a later date]. Members of the public will be able to provide input about boundaries, as well as possible revisions of plans. The districting process will be transparent, and it is important that everyone have the opportunity to participate in the process.

• Quick Instructions:

  • On the main website, register to create a user account to draw a district map.
  • Once you have made an account, you can access the blank Rocklin Unified template (be patient – the DRA site is slow to load and may give a quick error message before loading). Then click the paintbrush icon to “Make an editable copy of this map.”
  • Once you have drawn your map, please email a link to map and the plan name that you published to Districting@RocklinUSD.org (the District will not know you have drawn it and will be unable to include it in their deliberations unless you send the link to that email address). When emailing your map submissions, please include your first and last name and city of residence.
   

  Submit maps to Districting@RocklinUSD.org. After you submit your map, the demographic consultants will generate the population and other demographic details for your proposed map. Maps can be viewed on the Draft Maps page or on the Interactive Review Map.  

   

  It is helpful if you submit written comments with your map describing how your map was drawn to meet the required criteria. An example of this would be describing the specific neighborhoods or communities of interest that are kept within a single trustee area.

The two most important datasets used to follow Federal law are the 2020 US Census and the Citizen Voting Age Population (CVAP) datasets. Plans for election district boundaries will be based on the total population counts from Census 2020, which ensures that the District will draw relatively equal Trustee areas. 

 

The CVAP dataset is used to comply with the Federal Voting Rights Act. This dataset comes from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). When drafting plans for consideration, the demographers use the CVAP data (citizens 18+, by race/ethnicity) to check for Federal Voting Rights Act compliance. Estimates from the ACS survey are also used to help identify communities of interest.

 

Every map drawn by the demographers will include both Census and CVAP datasets.

 

While not Federally required, a highly important dataset for the District is the public input from residents. All pieces of input, whether emailed, spoken, or written, will be carefully reviewed by the District and demographers and used throughout the districting process.

By law, election district boundaries must be evaluated after each decennial census. The 2030 U.S. Census redistricting population counts will be released in 2031.

Current Board Members will continue in office until the expiration of their terms and their successors are elected. If the transition process is completed 125 days prior to the election, the first elections using the new boundaries will be in November 2024. Because Board elections are staggered (some Trustees elected in 2024 and the rest elected in November 2026), the new plan will be completely implemented in 2026.