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Pasadena Sun, CA
Jan 6 2012
Plan could change school district elections
Zones could mean open seats, incumbent against incumbent.
Joe Piasecki, [email protected]
January 6, 2012 | 4:40 p.m.
Plans to elect school board members from separate geographic districts
might force several incumbents to battle each other at the polls and
could open at least two seats to newcomers.
Four preliminary district maps, each slicing the Pasadena Unified
School District into seven distinct zones, are now up for public
debate.
Under one scenario, four of the seven current board members - Ed
Honowitz, Elizabeth Pomeroy, Tom Selinske and Kim Kenne - would find
themselves boxed into a single district that stretches from Altadena
to the Foothill (210) Freeway.
In another, board allies Scott Phelps and Ramon Miramontes would have
to battle for the same seat in the 2013 elections in a district
bordering La Caņada Flintridge.
Either map would force voters to choose between Selinske and Kenne
when their terms end in 2015, assuming both choose to run again. The
two most current maps under consideration can be viewed at
www.pasadenasun.com.
With proposed district lines subject to change after a series of
public hearings, incumbents are hesitant to announce re-election plans
and are holding back strong opinions.
Forcing out incumbents `would seem regrettable,' said Pomeroy, `but
the decision is ultimately about what is best for the community.'
`You don't know who's going to run again and where the [final] lines
will be drawn. We'll have to see how it plays out,' said Honowitz.
Board members currently occupy seats voted on district-wide.
Pasadena officials began studying district maps after other California
school districts were sued under the California Voting Rights Act for
disenfranchising minority voters. Nearly 60% of PUSD students are
Latino.
Districts would go into effect only if a majority of voters in
Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre approve a charter change in the
June 5 election.
The nine-member PUSD Districting Task Force needed to create districts
of 28,911 residents each, and then drew lines factoring in education
and income levels of residents, followed by ethnic makeup, fluency in
English and established school attendance zones.
`We realize school achievement is not so much about race as it is
about economics,' said task force member Diana Peterson-More, an
attorney and business consultant.
At least two proposed Northwest Pasadena districts would increase the
voting power of minority and poor residents, said task force chair Ken
Chawkins.
But wealthier voters also get grouped together.
Residents in areas where few public school students live, including
the southwest and eastern portion of the city, will get two or three
districts.
`I'm going to go with the will of the electorate, but one of the
troublesome things is you almost guarantee school board seats to parts
of the community that generally don't support public education, that
don't send their kids to public schools,' said Board President Renatta
Cooper, a Northwest Pasadena resident who under current maps would not
share a district with another incumbent.
Voting Rights Act compliance, said Chawkins, `doesn't concern which
kids go to which schools, but equal representation of voters.'
Miramontes said districting creates an opportunity for the school
board to more accurately reflect the ethnic makeup of the city.
`I'm more concerned that communities of color don't get diluted,' said
Miramontes. `If [minority district] candidates don't have to have a
war chest to run citywide, then you're bringing democracy within
reach.'
Cooper said one benefit of districting could be a zone exclusively
representing Altadena, where no current board member resides and where
two elementary schools have been closed in recent years.
At least one task force member is concerned that the proposed maps
water down the influence of one ethnic group.
`This is clearly not giving the Armenian community any chance at
office,' said Chris Chahinian, who objects to maps that would split
Armenian residents between Hill and Altadena avenues along Washington
Boulevard. Armenians, considered Caucasian under the U.S. Census, do
not have Voting Rights Act protections.
Task force members will host two Saturday forums to collect public
comments. The first is from 1 to 3 p.m. on Jan. 28 at the Altadena
Public Library, 600 E. Mariposa St., and the second is from 10 a.m. to
noon on Feb. 4 at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1757 N. Lake Ave.,
Pasadena.
The task force's next regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled for 6
p.m. on Jan. 17 at Mountain View Cemetery, at 2400 N. Fair Oaks Ave.
in Altadena, and 6 p.m. on Feb. 7 at the Western Justice Center, 55 S.
Grand Ave. in Pasadena.
The outcome, said task force member Roberta Martinez, `all depends on
the conversation and the community being actively involved.'
http://www.pasadenasun.com/news/tn-pas-plan-could-change-district-elections-20120106,0,5471679.story
Jan 6 2012
Plan could change school district elections
Zones could mean open seats, incumbent against incumbent.
Joe Piasecki, [email protected]
January 6, 2012 | 4:40 p.m.
Plans to elect school board members from separate geographic districts
might force several incumbents to battle each other at the polls and
could open at least two seats to newcomers.
Four preliminary district maps, each slicing the Pasadena Unified
School District into seven distinct zones, are now up for public
debate.
Under one scenario, four of the seven current board members - Ed
Honowitz, Elizabeth Pomeroy, Tom Selinske and Kim Kenne - would find
themselves boxed into a single district that stretches from Altadena
to the Foothill (210) Freeway.
In another, board allies Scott Phelps and Ramon Miramontes would have
to battle for the same seat in the 2013 elections in a district
bordering La Caņada Flintridge.
Either map would force voters to choose between Selinske and Kenne
when their terms end in 2015, assuming both choose to run again. The
two most current maps under consideration can be viewed at
www.pasadenasun.com.
With proposed district lines subject to change after a series of
public hearings, incumbents are hesitant to announce re-election plans
and are holding back strong opinions.
Forcing out incumbents `would seem regrettable,' said Pomeroy, `but
the decision is ultimately about what is best for the community.'
`You don't know who's going to run again and where the [final] lines
will be drawn. We'll have to see how it plays out,' said Honowitz.
Board members currently occupy seats voted on district-wide.
Pasadena officials began studying district maps after other California
school districts were sued under the California Voting Rights Act for
disenfranchising minority voters. Nearly 60% of PUSD students are
Latino.
Districts would go into effect only if a majority of voters in
Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre approve a charter change in the
June 5 election.
The nine-member PUSD Districting Task Force needed to create districts
of 28,911 residents each, and then drew lines factoring in education
and income levels of residents, followed by ethnic makeup, fluency in
English and established school attendance zones.
`We realize school achievement is not so much about race as it is
about economics,' said task force member Diana Peterson-More, an
attorney and business consultant.
At least two proposed Northwest Pasadena districts would increase the
voting power of minority and poor residents, said task force chair Ken
Chawkins.
But wealthier voters also get grouped together.
Residents in areas where few public school students live, including
the southwest and eastern portion of the city, will get two or three
districts.
`I'm going to go with the will of the electorate, but one of the
troublesome things is you almost guarantee school board seats to parts
of the community that generally don't support public education, that
don't send their kids to public schools,' said Board President Renatta
Cooper, a Northwest Pasadena resident who under current maps would not
share a district with another incumbent.
Voting Rights Act compliance, said Chawkins, `doesn't concern which
kids go to which schools, but equal representation of voters.'
Miramontes said districting creates an opportunity for the school
board to more accurately reflect the ethnic makeup of the city.
`I'm more concerned that communities of color don't get diluted,' said
Miramontes. `If [minority district] candidates don't have to have a
war chest to run citywide, then you're bringing democracy within
reach.'
Cooper said one benefit of districting could be a zone exclusively
representing Altadena, where no current board member resides and where
two elementary schools have been closed in recent years.
At least one task force member is concerned that the proposed maps
water down the influence of one ethnic group.
`This is clearly not giving the Armenian community any chance at
office,' said Chris Chahinian, who objects to maps that would split
Armenian residents between Hill and Altadena avenues along Washington
Boulevard. Armenians, considered Caucasian under the U.S. Census, do
not have Voting Rights Act protections.
Task force members will host two Saturday forums to collect public
comments. The first is from 1 to 3 p.m. on Jan. 28 at the Altadena
Public Library, 600 E. Mariposa St., and the second is from 10 a.m. to
noon on Feb. 4 at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1757 N. Lake Ave.,
Pasadena.
The task force's next regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled for 6
p.m. on Jan. 17 at Mountain View Cemetery, at 2400 N. Fair Oaks Ave.
in Altadena, and 6 p.m. on Feb. 7 at the Western Justice Center, 55 S.
Grand Ave. in Pasadena.
The outcome, said task force member Roberta Martinez, `all depends on
the conversation and the community being actively involved.'
http://www.pasadenasun.com/news/tn-pas-plan-could-change-district-elections-20120106,0,5471679.story