The Washington Unified School District (WUSD) is governed by a five member Board of Education. Currently, each of the five Board members is elected in “at-large” elections, where each member is elected by registered voters throughout the entire District.
On March 5, 2018, the WUSD received a letter alleging that the District’s continued use of “at-large” elections would violate the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) and stating that possible litigation would occur if the District did not transition to “by-trustee area” elections. By-trustee area elections are similar to elections for Congress or State Assembly. The District is divided into “trustee areas” – one for each seat on the Board – and the voters of each trustee area elect one member of the Board.
At the April 12, 2018 WUSD Board Meeting, the Board of Trustees approved
Resolution No. 1718-22 indicating their intent to transition Board elections from at-large to by-trustee area elections by the November 2020 election. The transition will not affect the current November 2018 elections however, the Board is now in the process of drafting the trustee area maps, with the goal of adopting maps in September 2018.