"The current five trustees have staggered terms, with some ending in 2026 and others in 2028. Although trustees usually serve four-year terms, the board applied a waiver allowing an Alum Rock area trustee to serve a two-year term temporarily. This allows the district to sync up with the presidential election cycle, which experiences higher voter turnout. The trustee will appear on the 2026 and 2028 ballots. Following 2028, they will revert back to a four-year term."
""The sequencing of elections allows us look at voting trends to make sure voters have an opportunity to weigh in on their trustees when they weigh in on elections of great importance to them, such as presidential elections," Superintendent Glenn Vander Zee told San José Spotlight. A legal claim that the district is in violation of the California Voting Rights Act prompted the change, arguing at large elections deny marginalized residents equal representation."
The East Side Union High School District board unanimously approved switching from at-large to district elections and adopted a final district map on Oct. 3. The board set election years for trustees and applied a temporary two-year waiver for an Alum Rock area trustee so terms align with presidential election cycles to boost turnout. Trustees currently have staggered terms ending in 2026 and 2028 and will revert to four-year terms after 2028. A legal claim under the California Voting Rights Act prompted the change, arguing at-large elections denied marginalized residents equal representation. Trustees used census data and held eight community input meetings; the final map will go to the county for approval and the first district elections are scheduled for 2026.
Read at San Jose Spotlight
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