A Change to Board Member Elections

The Hayward Unified School District (HUSD) is changing the way that voters elect its school board members.

The District 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. HUSD is moving to a “by-district” election system in which the school district is divided into separate electoral districts, and where voters select Trustees for their respective districts. 

Many city councils, county supervisor boards, and school districts already use this system. (The City of Hayward will do this soon.) More broadly, state and national elections function this way, with voters living in distinct Assembly, Senate and Congressional districts. This change in Hayward is taking place now because HUSD received a demand letter from an attorney alleging the HUSD is currently violating the California Voting Rights Act. The school board approved the move to district elections at its last meeting, and HUSD has just 90 days from that meeting to complete the districting process.

As required by law, HUSD will be holding public hearings during this process, with the ultimate outcome being a map of the new districts.

We have created a website to explain the process to interested community members and to solicit input. There, you can find a timeline and the various ways that you can participate. We encourage anyone who has an interest in this topic to attend the meetings and take advantage of those opportunities. The website will be updated on an ongoing basis as the process evolves.