WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Jan. 19 took its first look at the ways the district’s boundaries could be redrawn during the decennial redistricting process.
During redistricting, jurisdictions use the recent census to see how their populations have grown over the past 10 years, and then redraw boundary lines to make the populations as equal as possible in each zone—in this case, the trustee areas.
If there is a greater than 10% difference between any two areas, the district is required to redraw the trustee boundaries, a process that requires board approval.
After a review by Folsom-based PowerSchool, PVUSD determined that based on the report there was an 11.4% difference between Trustee Area 5 and Trustee Area 7. The biggest shift occurred in Trustee Area 1, which gained the most residents.
Area 5 encompasses several neighborhoods off Ohlone Parkway, Clifford Avenue and Green Valley Road. Area 7, meanwhile, includes the coastal communities of La Selva Beach, Pajaro Dunes and Seascape. And Area 1 is made up of rural communities around Aptos and Corralitos.
The eventual shifts will have little impact on the residents affected, except for some seeing a change in the trustee who represents them.
Redrawing the maps, said Zach Worthen of PowerSchool, will mean balancing between areas 5 (Jennifer Schacher’s area) and 4 (overseen by Daniel Dodge, Jr.), which includes the communities surrounding Watsonville High School, E.A. Hall Middle School and Mintie White Elementary School.
The efforts will also make shifts between areas 1 (Kim De Serpa) and 7 (Jennifer Holm) and 2 (Georgia Acosta) and 1.
Area 2 represents the communities on the east side of Watsonville’s city limits and the rural areas off Highway 152, Green Valley Road and Riverside Road, or Highway 129.
The trustees heard two possible scenarios of how to shift residents within the district’s boundaries and appeared to favor the first option.
That option would move about 795 residents from Area 5 into 4—which is located around Pioneer Cemetery—and move others from Area 1 into 7.
Trustee Dodge would gain the Portola Heights Mobile Home Park.
When the issue returns to the board on Feb. 9, it will be with a new option, after De Serpa expressed concern that the first one takes the area around Mar Vista Elementary School away from her, which she said is her only walkable neighborhood in her largely rural area.
That’s important during election years, when candidates hit the streets to garner support.
“I can’t go knock on doors because people come out yelling with their shotguns and their dogs,” she said. “I have very few neighborhoods, and what you’re taking away from me is my only neighborhood essentially where I can do any walking.”
The same issue cropped up during the last redistricting, De Serpa said, and as a result, a new option was brought forth, she said.
On Jan. 20, the district surveyed the community about their preferences.
By law, the district must make a final decision by March 1.
please make sure, PVUSD trustees, that the public has full input to the final adopted plan.
I’m encouraged, Steve, you seem to be moving away from your name-calling stage: fewer shouts of ‘racist’, fewer ‘trumpdumps’, fewer ‘rethuglicans,’ fewer ‘homophobes’.
That should have emptied up your mind for pithy thoughts to share with us. Sadly your mind still seems empty. Your comments today were worthless, pithyless, even.
Anyone need a vacuum in their house? Steve has one being unused in his brainpan.,
Shotguns and dogs!