Central Unified Trustee Areas Face Major Revisions in Redistricting

Large swaths of the Central Unified School District could wind up in newly assigned trustee areas under three proposals under consideration by the School Board.

The plans are scheduled to be presented at tonight’s Central Unified board meeting as an information item. The meeting will be held at Central East High School, 3535 N. Cornelia Ave., with the public session scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

The public will have a chance to comment at the meeting and also at two online redistricting meetings scheduled for Saturday and Jan. 20. The board’s final vote is scheduled for Feb. 8.

District Expands Over Decade

Population growth over the past 10 years in Central Unified School District has resulted in an imbalance among the seven trustee areas, according to its analyst, GEOinovo Solutions. While all trustee areas have grown by more than 10% since the 2010 census, Trustee Area 2’s growth skyrocketed by nearly 31%.

Trustee Area 2, represented by Yesenia Carrillo, is the largest with a population of 12,896. Trustee Area 4, represented by board Clerk Shawn Brooks, is the smallest at 10,445.

The population variance between the largest and smallest areas must be less than 10%, but Central’s variance is more than double at 21.05%.

The California Fair Maps Act requires districts to be geographically compact and contiguous, maintain “communities of interest” and neighborhoods’ geographic integrity, and be easily identifiable by natural and geographic barriers.

The three proposals are somewhat similar to each other but markedly different from the current trustee map, in which Areas 1 and 2 snake through the district from east to west, Area 4 represents the southernmost reaches, and Area 3 wraps around Areas 1 and 2 on the northern and western end of the district.

The district has 15,881 students.

Related Story: Central Unified Pays $121K in Severance to Former Schools Chief

Current Central Unified Trustee Boundaries Map

Plans A, B, C

In the three alternative plans, Area 6 would occupy the bottom portion of the district, Areas 4, 5, and 7 would be clustered at the east-central part of the district, and Areas 1, 2, and 3 would occupy the northern portion. The areas would be significantly more contiguous than they are today.

Area 1 is represented by Jason Paul, Area 3 by Phillip Cervantes, Area 5 by board President Richard Solis, Area 6 by Jeremy Mehling, and Area 7 by board Vice-President Naindeep Singh Chann.