Districting
Timeline
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May 8, 6:30 p.m. - Public Hearing 1: Education / Public Comment.Video
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May 22, 6:30 p.m. - Public Hearing 2: Public Comment / Initial Instructions. Video
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May 23, 6:30 p.m. - Town Hall for public input. Parent Resource Center (Hub), 24823 Soto Rd. Hayward
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May 29 - Draft map(s) posted online for public comment
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June 12, 6:30 p.m. - Public Hearing 3: Present First Drafts / Public Comment / Final Instructions. Video
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June 19 - Finalist map(s) posted for public comment June 24 - Workshop.Monday, June 24
6:30 p.m.
Cherryland Elementary School
Multipurpose Room
456 Laurel Avenue-
June 26, 6:30 p.m.- Public Hearing 4: Present Final Draft / Final Maps for public comment and vote.Video
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July 24, 6:30 p.m. - Update on the June 26, 2024 Board Approval of Map and Sequence for By-District Elections.Video
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August 27, 6:30 p.m. -Alameda County Committee on School District Organization Public Hearing on HUSD Districting
Contact
Email:
districting@husd.us
Phone:
(510) 784-2617
Mailing Address:
HUSD Superintendent
c/o Districting Team
24411 Amador St
Hayward, CA 94544
The Alameda County Committee on School District Organization conducted a Public Hearing on August 27, 2024 to approve a proposal to establish trustee areas within the Hayward Unified School District and to establish by-trustee area voting for the election of the members of the Hayward Unified School District Board of Education.
Download and read the Elections Code Section 21130(f) report here, issued on Monday, September 16, 2024.
The Hayward Unified School District is changing the way that voters elect school board members. Currently, all voters in the entire district choose all five Trustees. Starting with the 2026 election, the school district will divide into five voting districts. Voters in each district will choose their Trustee to represent their district. This change is called "districting."
Decision: The HUSD Board of Education approved a map on June 26 to be used to create five voting districts for school board elections, starting in 2026. From three draft maps labeled A, B and C, trustees selected Map A (see the Maps tab below). Districts A and C would go to ballot in November 2026, and the remainder would go on the ballot in 2028.
FAQ
- What is districting?
- When will this districting go into effect?
- Are by-district elections common?
- Will this process affect school attendance areas?
- Why is there such a rush to get Trustee Areas in-place?
- How can I get involved in the districting process?
- How are the districts drawn?
- How many people should be in each district?
- Do we use the number of voters to draw districts?
- What information do we need from the public?
- Why should I get involved in the districting process?
- How do I get answers to additional questions?
- What is the timeline and when are the meetings?
What is districting?
The Hayward Unified School District (HUSD) currently utilizes an at-large election system for its Board of Education, which means that voters from the entire school district elect all five Trustees. The Trustees are eligible to hold office no matter where in the school district they reside. A by-district election system, in contrast, is one in which the entire school district is divided into separate electoral districts, each with one Trustee who resides in the district and is chosen by the voters residing in that respective district. Districting is the process of transitioning to a by-district election system. HUSD is partnering with a consultant to manage this process.
When will this districting go into effect?
Are by-district elections common?
Will this process affect school attendance areas?
Why is there such a rush to get Trustee Areas in-place?
The California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) sets out a strict and fast-moving schedule for jurisdictions that have received a “Demand Letter” from an attorney who claims that the jurisdiction is in violation of the California Voting Rights Act. Jurisdictions have 90 days from receipt of the letter to transition away from at-large elections. The CVRA also outlines the number of hearings that must take place, when maps must be posted and for how long, among other implementation details.
How can I get involved in the districting process?
The districting process is designed to be as transparent and accessible as possible. You are invited to attend one or more of the four or five Board of Education meetings to provide input. Please see below for the schedule. You can also provide input by email or phone. Please see below for contact information.
In the Community Tools section of this web page, you will find additional information about how to participate. There are two forms—one downloadable version and the other electronic— that you can fill out to let us know where your Community of Interest is located, and a document that explains how to use a public online tool to draw your community and submit the information to the board. There will also be a map with some census information that you can print and draw your district suggestions on for the board’s consideration.
How are the districts drawn?
Districting is subject to a constitutional criterion that mandates that districts must be (roughly) equal in population. The districts must also comply with the Federal Voting Rights Act, which aims to ensure that protected groups, if certain criteria are met, have the ability to elect a candidate of their choice. There are additional line-drawing criteria that govern the process: contiguity, respect for neighborhoods and Communities of Interest, and compactness, that are commonly referred to as “traditional districting criteria." There is more information about the criteria below and in the Glossary section on this page.
California’s FAIRMAPS Act was amended in 2023 to ensure that the same criteria mandated in local redistricting would also be used when jurisdictions transition to by-district elections. The FAIRMAPS Act explains that the purpose of these changes is to “Establish ranked criteria that prioritize keeping whole neighborhoods and Communities of Interest together, facilitate political organization and constituent representation, and prohibit gerrymandering, including incumbent-protection gerrymandering.”
For more information, please see California Elections Code Section 21100.
Following are the criteria that must be followed, in order of importance. Please note that we use the terms ‘district’ and ‘Trustee Area’ interchangeably throughout this document.
- Each district shall contain nearly the same number of people;
- Boundaries shall be drawn in a manner that complies with the United States Constitution and the Federal Voting Rights Act;
- Trustee Areas shall consist of contiguous territory
- Trustee Areas shall respect Communities of Interest and local neighborhoods as much as practicable. Communities of Interest generally refers to a contiguous population that shares common social and economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of fair and effective representation;
- Trustee Areas shall follow natural or artificial boundaries, such as streets, and be easily understandable to residents.
- Trustee Areas shall be drawn in a compact manner if they do not conflict with the above criteria, which means that nearby populations shall not be bypassed for more distant groups of persons.
- The process will not favor or disfavor incumbents, candidates, and parties. In other words, the maps will disregard where incumbents and candidates live, and also disregard the interests of political parties.
In summary, this means the following:
- We will build a dataset that allows us to preliminarily evaluate whether the district is in compliance with the Federal Voting Rights Act.
- We will use a mapping program to construct districts after receiving public input.
- We will use census data to find out how many people live in HUSD and ensure that each district contains roughly the same number of people
- We will use census geography to ensure that the districts are contiguous.
- We will collect and utilize Community of Interest data and information about where neighborhoods are from the residents of the Hayward Unified School District to use in the building of Trustee Areas
- The district lines will follow census geography, which uses visible features such as streets, to ensure that the districts are easily understandable
- We will assess the districts for compactness and make possible adjustments if these do not negatively impact the higher ranked criteria.
- We will not use any address information for current Trustees or potential candidates or use political party affiliation or information in the drawing of districts.
How many people should be in each district?
As counted by the 2020 Census, the Hayward Unified School District had a total population of 186,333 There will be five Trustee Areas. To figure out the ‘ideal population’ for each Trustee Area, take the total population and divide it by the number of districts (5): 186,333 ÷ 5 equals approximately 37,267 persons per district.
Do we use the number of voters to draw districts?
Districts are drawn using the total population as counted by the last census and adjusted by California’s Statewide Database, the Redistricting Database for the State of California. Everyone who was counted, irrespective of age, residency status or other demographics, and is reflected in the Statewide Database, must be assigned to a district. Districts are not equalized using voters, registered voters, people over the age of 18, or citizens.
What information do we need from the public?
One of the criteria to draw maps is called Communities of Interest or COI. Because there are no datasets available for Communities of Interest, we appreciate your help to define them for the Hayward Unified School District. A COI is a group of people in a defined geographic location who share a common bond or interest. Please tell us what defines your Community of Interest, where it is located and why it should stay together. You can also submit information about your neighborhood, its boundaries and let us know whether you would like it to remain intact in the districting process.
We have helpful materials available on submitting COIs and neighborhoods. Please see the Community Tools section on this page for more information.
Please submit your COI by May 23, 2024 to be considered in the first draft map(s). We welcome input on the maps or the districting in general at any point throughout the process.
Why should I get involved in the districting process?
We would like to hear from you so we can make informed decisions about where to draw the new district lines. Specifically, we need information from you about your neighborhoods and Communities of Interest. You are the expert who knows your community and neighborhood! If we know the geographic locations of the Communities of Interest and relevant neighborhoods, we can consider them when drawing lines and we won’t inadvertently split them! Keeping communities together in the same district can help to get more responsive representation.
How do I get answers to additional questions?
If you have more questions, we are available to answer them!
- You can attend the Board of Education hearings
- Or email your question to: districting@husd.us
- Or call us: (510) 784-2617
What is the timeline and when are the meetings?
|
Date and Time |
Event |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
May 8, 6:30 p.m. |
Hearing 1: Part of the regular Board of Education Meeting |
Overview and educational session on the process and criteria. Receive public and Board of Education comments and input on mapping and Communities of Interest. |
|
May 22, 6:30 p.m. |
Hearing 2: Part of the regular Board of Education Meeting |
Receive public input and Board direction on mapping. |
|
May 29 |
Draft map(s) posted online for public comment |
|
|
June 12, 6:30 p.m. |
Hearing 3: Part of the regular Board of Education Meeting |
Receive feedback on the draft map(s), make small adjustments live as necessary. |
|
June 19 |
Finalist map(s) posted online for public comment |
|
|
June 26, 6:30 p.m. |
Hearing 4: Part of the regular Board of Education Meeting |
Receive feedback on the Final map(s), make small adjustments live, if necessary. If changes are made, map will be posted for 7 days prior to the vote to approve the Final Map. If no changes are made, the Board can approve the Final Map. |
| TBD/as necessary |
Hearing 5: Regular Board of Education Meeting |
Vote on the Final map |
Glossary
- American Community Survey (ACS)
- At-Large Election
- By-District Election
- California Voting Rights Act
- Census Block
- Census Tract
- Citizen Voting Age Population (CVAP)
- Community of Interest
- Compactness
- Contiguous OR Contiguity
- Cracking
- Criteria for Districting
- Deviation
- Districting
- Equivalency File
American Community Survey (ACS)
At-Large Election
In a jurisdiction (for example a city) with an at-large election system, all voters in the jurisdiction vote for all candidates running for office in that city. In at-large election systems, the candidates and office holders are eligible to hold office irrespective of where they live within the jurisdiction.
By-District Election
California Voting Rights Act
The California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA), prohibits the use of an at-large election in a political subdivision if it would impair the ability of a protected minority group to elect candidates of its choice or otherwise influence the outcome of an election. The CVRA is different from the Federal Voting Rights Act (FVRA). Since the CVRA became law, many jurisdictions in California have changed from at-large to by-district elections.
Census Block
The smallest level of census geography used by the Census Bureau to report census data. In urban areas, census blocks usually conform to city blocks, and in rural areas they are often delineated by other physical features and legal boundaries such as bodies of water and roads. Districting is based on census block level data.
Census Tract
A geographic area for which the census bureau releases data. Census tracts are relatively permanent ‘units of analysis’ that are delineated for the purpose of presenting decennial census data. Census tracts usually contain between 2,500 and 8,000 people. Census tracts may be split by local jurisdictional boundaries. Census blocks nest in census tracts.
Citizen Voting Age Population (CVAP)
Community of Interest
Compactness
Compactness often refers to a district’s shape and contours, focusing on how closely a district’s borders resemble a circle or square. When a district has ‘tentacles’ or oddly shaped borders, it is often said to be non-compact. In California, compactness in redistricting is defined as ‘not bypassing nearby population’ when constructing districts.
Contiguous OR Contiguity
A contiguous district is one in which all parts are geographically connected to each other in some way. Within a contiguous district, one may travel from any location to any other location without crossing the district boundary. Some districts are “water-contiguous” which means that islands have to be connected to the mainland; others are contiguous via a bridge. Drawing contiguous districts is applying the criterion of ‘contiguity.’ If districts are only connected at one point, they are not considered contiguous.
Cracking
A term used in Voting Rights that describes splitting significantly sized racial or ethnic communities into multiple districts, rather than keeping them together. Cracking is a particular problem when the division prevents the community from electing a candidate of its choice because it constitutes too small a portion of the electorate in the multiple districts.
Criteria for Districting
Deviation
Districting
The process of creating equally populated electoral districts or divisions by using various criteria (such as Communities of Interest). In districting, electoral districts are created “from scratch” in a jurisdiction that does not currently have districts. Jurisdictions that do not have districts have “at-large” elections. Jurisdiction with districts redraw or adjust them (usually) every ten years after the release of the new census data to equalize the populations again. That process is called redistricting.
Equivalency File
- Federal Voting Rights Act (FVRA)
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Software
- Ideal Population
- Map layer(s)
- Packing
- Racially polarized voting (RPV) or racial bloc voting
- Reasonably Equal Population
- Redistricting
- Redistricting Data (P.L. 94-171) Summary File OR ‘P.L. 94-171 Summary File’
- Section 2 (of the Federal Voting Rights Act)
- Total Deviation
- Voting Age Population (VAP)
Federal Voting Rights Act (FVRA)
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Software
Ideal Population
Map layer(s)
Packing
A term used in Voting Rights that describes over-concentrating a significantly sized racial or ethnic community within one district when it could have been allocated between two or more districts in which would have had the ability to elect a candidate of its choice. Packing is a problem because over-concentrating a community in one district reduces or dilutes its ability to achieve fair representation in the legislative body in general.
Racially polarized voting (RPV) or racial bloc voting
Reasonably Equal Population
Redistricting
Redistricting Data (P.L. 94-171) Summary File OR ‘P.L. 94-171 Summary File’
The official name of the file that contains data used for districting and redistricting. Creation of this file, using data collected through the Decennial Census was mandated by Public Law 94-171. The P.L. 94-171 file reports basic demographic data for all people in the U.S. and is released on the census block level.
Section 2 (of the Federal Voting Rights Act)
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) prohibits voting practices, policies, or procedures that have a discriminatory purpose or effect on racial or language minorities; this section applies nationwide and is a permanent provision of the VRA. To be in compliance with Section 2 of the VRA districts must provide voters with an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice.
Total Deviation
Voting Age Population (VAP)
Required Analysis
Analysis Showing Minority Majority Single-Member District Not Possible in Service Area of Hayward Unified School District
HUSD’s consulting team has conducted an analysis of the preconditions outlined in Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U.S. 30 (1986) (“Gingles”). The first prong evaluates whether a racial or language minority group is sufficiently large and geographically compact to constitute a majority in a single-member district. The team addressed this prong by mapping the American Community Survey 2018-2022 special tabulation of the Citizen Voting Age Population (CVAP) of protected groups and evaluating whether any of the protected groups residing throughout the Hayward Unified School District’s service area could meet the threshold of constituting over 50% of the CVAP in one or more compact district(s). The analysis concludes it is not possible to construct a compact single member district in which a minority group will constitute a majority of the Citizen Voting Age Population.
Because all three prongs of Gingles must be met to trigger the creation of a majority minority district and the first prong of Gingles was not met, it was not necessary to conduct a Racially Polarized Voting Analysis to assess the remaining 2 prongs of Gingles. The remaining 2 prongs address (1) a minority group’s political cohesion and (2) whether the majority group generally votes as a bloc against the minority group’s candidate(s) of choice.
Community Tools
One of the criteria to draw maps is called “Communities of Interest” or COI. A COI is a group of people in a defined geographic location that share a common bond or interest. A COI could be connected to a school, for example, income levels, or a shared culture heritage.
Community members can play an important role in the districting process by helping HUSD define Communities of Interest. You are the expert who knows your community and neighborhood! If we know the geographic locations of the Communities of Interest and relevant neighborhoods, we can consider them when drawing lines, and we won’t inadvertently split them. Keeping communities together in the same district can help to get more responsive representation.
This page offers tools to help the community define COIs.
Printable form to share your COI feedback.
Online form to share your COI feedback.
Online tool for creating a Community of Interest
Excel Districting Tool (file will download to your computer)
Please submit your COI by May 23, 2024.
Maps
Meetings/Feedback
Public Feedback Via Email
Subject line: Keep Southgate together
Dear Board Members:
I am a 16 year resident of Southgate, home of the Southgate Penguins and where I raised my twin daughters. Our community is bordered by Hesperian Blvd. to the west, Southland Mall to the North, 880 to the East and Tennyson Ave. to the South. Lower Southgate are Northwest of Highway 92 and Upper Southgate are Southeast of 92. I am appealing that you keep our community together in the final map.
In response to the question"What bonds Southgate as a community?, I offer the following:
Economic and educational bonds include major employers Southland Mall, Eden ROP, Chabot College, and St. Rose Hospital. Our students attend Southgate School, Leadership Academy, King Middle, Mt. Eden High, & Ochoa Middle. Many of young people, obtain their first jobs (paid and volunteer) within our Southgate community. It is a well established youth development zone.
Social bonds include 2 churches, 2 HARD facilities and our Southgate Swim Club where many throughout Hayward have learned to swim and where my daughters received their first paycheck as lifeguards and swim instructors over several summers.
Southgate is a diverse, dog-loving, pickle-ball paddling, Halloween indulging, youth developing community. We know our neighbors and are informed voters. As you consider the final map draft, please keep Upper and Lower Southgate together as one community.
Thank you,
Subject line: HUSD Public Hearing on School Board Elections (Sent to members of the public who expressed interest in the process.)
Greetings,
Because you expressed interest in the HUSD process to create school board election districts, we're letting you know that the Board of Education will hold a public hearing tonight on finalist maps as part of its regular board meeting.
Information on viewing and/or participating in the meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m., is on the Board of Education web page.
Information on the districting process itself is on the Districting web page.
Thank you,
Michael Bazeley
Director of Public Information
Subject line: Jackson triangle resident of 46 years.
Hello my name is CG. I was wondering if We can include the unincorporate flat lands with the Jackson triangle, that includes Harder and Tennyson Rd with out it effcausing separation? Or/ and is it possible to make Cherry land, the Jackson triangle and Tyrelle a district? This way we have marginalized black and brown representation. Keeping the flat lands together. Cherry land, Harder Tyrell,Sunset, Tennyson and I think there's a Continue action school in this area.
These areahave nitches that have been ignored and need to be addressed. I l know first hand what a Socio-economic disadvantage student needs, because I am that adult child. Please let me know if any of this is possible, or if you need more information.
Focusing on California Dedicated to the Bay, Committed to Hayward Heart of the Bay. So that NO child struggles as I or past generations have.
Together we can help put the USA back on the Map with children that excell in education.
With thanks
Subject line: Districting - My Neighborhood Map
Hello. Please see my map of my neighborhood, per your request.
I have feedback about your map-drawing tool: it was adequate enough, but there was no clear way on how to submit a map to you. If you really want people to submit these things, you have to make it clear how to do so. I had to ask a reporter, and it was frustrating.
Sincerely,
Hi Julie,
Thank you for this and your feedback. I'm sorry you had trouble submitting the map. We have tools under the Community Tools tab to help with submitting a map. Apologies if that wasn't more clear.
Michael Bazeley
Director of Public Information
Subject line: Unincorporated District D- Map A
Districting Map FeedbackAs may or may not know, unincorporated Alameda County residents and students alike deal with a substantial lack of county-district coordination due to the lack of physical and political infrastructure of unincorporated Alameda County. I hope this fact will inform your decision making in choosing Map A as the best map that best fits the needs of an often confusing political situation for voters, constituents and students.
Best regards,
Subject line: Districting Map Feedback
Hello,
Happy Friday! I hope you are well.
Thank you for soliciting community feedback about the two draft HUSD district maps. I'm glad that community feedback has been included in drafting these maps.
I feel that it is difficult to decide which I think would be better for HUSD. I lean towards Draft Plan A, simply because it seems like the spread among the districts of voting age population is less than in Draft Plan B and that is who will vote for the HUSD Board Members.
However, that brings me to a question: Do you know what accounts for such a variance in the voting age population among the proposed districts on each draft? Is it because there are a lot of non-citizens who can't vote (esp. in District C on both drafts)? Or is it because there are a lot of underage citizens in the districts with fewer that will age into voting soon-ish?
I'm not sure if you have the data to answer the above questions, but they are what came to mind when looking at the tables and considering issues of campaigning, etc.
I think there is a fairly good job on ensuring the overall population deviations in each district aren't too high, though I am wondering if there would be a way to lower the deviations (esp. Plan A: Districts A and C; Plan B: Districts A & B) and if that would even out the voting age population numbers, too. Though District C in Plan B has a really low voting age population that would not be affected by these changes.
Anyway, that's my feedback. Thank you for reading and considering all the feedback you get. I'm sure it is a lot of work under a very tight deadline and I appreciate your responsiveness and diligence.
Hope you have a lovely weekend.
Subject line: Districting Map Question re: Tables
I hope you are well. Thank you for sharing the District Draft Maps for review and feedback.
I have a question: Page 3 of both Map A and Map B show exactly the same numbers and percentages for voters even though the district boundaries are different. This is statistically improbable, to say the least.
Are these tables accurate? Or did the same tables get cut and pasted into each document by accident and need to be updated?
Thank you for looking into this matter as I want to ensure my feedback is based on all the correct data.
Take care,
Hi Diana,
Thank you for catching that. There was indeed an error that has now been fixed. Also, we have added an interactive web map in the Maps tab that you can zoom in on to see the proposed boundaries better.
Cheers,
Michael Bazeley
Subject line: Districting Map
Hi,
Thank for your time..
Kindly,
Subject line: Form
Email with
Subject line: Recommendation for districting map
See attached for my recommendation for the full districting map
Sent from my iPhone
Subject line: Form
Map only attached
Subject line: Form
Map only attached
Subject line: Submission
Maps only attached
Subject line: Community of Interest
Hello,
Attached is my community of interest, to be used in the districting process.
All the best,
Subject line: Fwd: My Community Map
Hello,
Attached is a map created by a member of our community!
Regards,
HayCoCoa
Attachment (zip file)
Subject line: Glassbrook/Tyrrell/Tennyson community
Subject line: interes for process
hello good afternoon, I would like to have something in progress, we are already a non-profit organization that works with after school programs and we would like to say that our community has many things that we are working on, but we would like to participate and be part of the process. and be the voice of our community
El Puente Comunitario
510 209 3736
Subject line: Communities of Interest from Hayward Youth Commission
Hello!
Hope the Districting Process is treating you well.
I had the opportunity to briefly explain Communities of Interest (COI) to our Hayward Youth Commissioners at their meeting this past Monday and provided a map that outlines all three jurisdictions undergoing districting. The lines they drew represent the areas they consider their communities of interest with common issues and values. They also shared some of those common concerns as you will see. One group also designed a recommended map. I apologize that due to time constraints, we could not get too much into the specifics of the geographic boundaries of their COI, but they were also referred to the jurisdiction websites, so, hopefully, they will continue their participation through your individual processes.
Their responses can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10ALD_hWw1NtqVGVfzdcqU6fy8iKhfcZ3/view?usp=sharing
If you need the originals, please let me know.
Respectfully,
Sara
Sara Lamnin
(510) 432-7703
Subject line: Hazel District
Please consider Hazel district.
Subject line: Re: A Change to How Voters Elect Our Board Trustees
Hi Mr. Bazeley.
I am respectfully replying to this email despite your request not to, because I don't want my comment buried on some comments webpage. --- However equitable and reasonable this big policy shift may be, to squeeze this in at the end of a school year chock full of transitions, promotions, and graduations, paradoxically puts parents and the community in a back-against-the-wall timeline that was not of their own making. A little more culpability from the district is in order, because a proactive stance would've meant more control over when this type of process could've been carried out in a school year.
How is it that HUSD's attorneys did not recognize the district was violating the California Voting Rights Act? And for exactly how long? That's malpractice. I hope these are not the same attorneys working on this upcoming Board of Education election and or hearings process.
I CCd the email address districting@husd.us which I assume is the public comment mechanism at the moment.
Thanks