Legal issue pushes AUHSD to change to district elections

    The Acalanes Union High School District (AUHSD) voted unanimously to initiate a transition to election of the five board members by geographic districts, starting with the 2026 election.
    Even though no one from Orinda is currently on the board, the new system doesn’t necessarily mean this would change when the next election is held.
    Instead, the creation of the geographic districts must focus on achieving a “meaningful” improvement in representation by Latinos. (The law does not define “meaningful,” and court cases have yet to clarify it.)
    Once an AUHSD voting district map is adopted, the transition will be implemented in stages, beginning in 2026 when three of the current board terms end (Jennifer Chen-Moraga; Stacey Schweppes-Walnut Creek; and Nancy Kendzierski-Moraga) and elections will be held in three of the new voting areas.
    With the expiration of the last current board terms in 2028 (Paul Chopra-Lafayette; Wendy Reicher-Lafayette) the elections for the final two voting areas will take place and the transition will be complete.
    It is possible that at least two of the current board members will end up in the same geographic district where they presently reside. Note, however, that Prop. 11, passed in 2008 by California voters to address state assembly and senate redistricting, established a policy that “the place of residence of any incumbent or political candidate shall not be considered in the creation of a map. Districts shall not be drawn for the purpose of favoring or discriminating against an incumbent, political candidate or political party.”
    “If two current board members end up in the same district and both terms expire at the same time, they will have to run against each other for reelection,” said AUHSD Superintendent John Nickerson. “It will be more complicated, however, if two members end up in the same district but one term ends in 2026 and the other in 2028. No current board member can be forced to leave their seat prematurely, so we need to work out those details.”
    The change is the result of a demand letter from Kevin Shenkman of Shenkman & Hughes, a Malibu-based law firm, well-known for threatening cities, school boards and other public entities governed by elected boards with potential lawsuits under the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) passed in 2022.
    “Financially, we have no other choice,” said board member Stacey Schweppe, explaining her support for the resolution. “We are between a rock and a hard place.”
    Other members echoed the sentiment.
    “If we try to fight it, it would be a waste of money,” said Paul Chopra, another board member.
    Board member Wendy Reicher added, “Even if we won, we couldn’t afford the legal fees.”
    The financial reality the district faces is that Shenkman has racked up millions of dollars in legal fees from cities, including Santa Monica, Palmdale and Santa Clara, which chose to fight rather than switch from at-large elections to district elections. They paid enormous legal fees to Shenkman – billed at $850 per hour – in addition to charges from their own lawyers in a losing battle.
    Avoiding a court fight and transitioning from at-large to geographic district voting system will cost about $80,000 to $90,000.
    In his letter to the district board, Shenkman said, “ … voting within the District is racially polarized, resulting in minority vote dilution, and therefore AUHSD’s at-large elections violate the California Voting Rights Act of 200l.”
    In his letter, Shenkman alleges that the at-large system specifically dilutes the ability of Latinos to elect candidates of their choice or otherwise influence the outcome of the district’s board elections.
    Latinos comprise approximately 12% of the district’s population, he says, but “ … [their] representation on AUHSD’s governing board has been non-existent. … The contrast between the significant Latino proportion of the electorate and complete absence of Latino elected to the AUHSD Board is outwardly disturbing and fundamentally hostile towards participation from members of this protected class.”
    The CVRA establishes a tight timeline for responses to demands. AUHSD received Shenkman’s letter on May 30 and had 45 days to reply with a resolution to begin the transition process.
    Now, the clock is ticking for another 90-day period in which to select a demographer to draw up a suggested map, hold two pre-map public hearings for input on how to structure the five voting districts, and hold two more public hearings presenting map options for public reaction.
    A third map meeting will be held to adopt the final map by the end of the 90-day period, though voter approval of the map and new system is not required.
    “We really will be relying on the public to give opinions on where the map lines should be drawn,” said Jennifer Chen, board president, while expressing “reluctant approval” for the resolution. “We hope everyone engages in good faith and that we can protect the strong sense of still being ‘one school district’.”
    “So far, so good,” Shenkman responded when asked to comment on the board’s decision. “We look forward to seeing this play out over the next 90 days.”
    Shenkman said there are “community folks in the school district that will keep an eye on the process to make sure it is done right.”
    Shenkman said the law requires that the new voting districts be equal in population and that they keep “like populations together as much as possible.”
    While acknowledging the near impossibility of creating a Latino majority district, he said, “The politics here are not that of Mississippi in the ‘60s. A minority population of even 30% is often able to elect their candidate of choice here.”
    Since board members serve a four-year term, the new system should save on election costs, which are based on the number of ballots that must be mailed and counted.
    In any given election, only two or three of the five seats would be up for grabs. Ballots would only go to those voters in the affected areas, instead of the entire voter population within the school district.