Glendale Unified to seek public input on creating new voting districts

Glendale school officials launched into new discussions this week over establishing five new voting districts, an action that is required following the terms of a lawsuit settlement forcing them to abandon their current at-large voting system.

Under the current system, residents who are elected to the Glendale school board can live anywhere within the district’s boundaries.

The school district operated under that system because the city of Glendale’s charter mandated it.

In April, however, the Glendale school district was sued for allegedly violating the California Voting Rights Act, and in September, school officials announced that they would settle, and the agreement required the district to change its voting system.

A new district map was something that Glendale school officials tried to tackle themselves in April, when a measure on the ballot asked residents whether they would support Glendale Unified changing its voting method.

The results of the April 7 election showed that 10,349 residents were against the change, and 5,557 favored it.

Ten days after that election, the school district was sued by Malibu attorney Kevin Shenkman, who alleged that district was violating the California Voting Rights Act, which protects the clout of minority groups in elections.

School officials hope to have the changes made by the April 2017 election.

Glendale school officials are gearing up to gather public input about where the district lines should be drawn.

Glendale Community College went through a similar process this year as trustees made the switch from an at-large system to a district-based one.

College officials conducted three public hearings to gather public input, but attendance was slim.

A lack of public input, no matter the outreach, is often the trend cities and school districts experience when they switch voting systems, according to Doug Johnson, president of National Demographics Corp.

He has been hired by Glendale Unified officials to help draft voting districts, having worked previously with college officials to create their districts.

He told school board members during a meeting on Tuesday to keep expectations low as they begin public outreach.

Glendale school officials will hold at least two public hearings during upcoming school board meetings, and they will likely hold three community meetings at three different school campuses to inform residents about the process and gather input.

“That’s five opportunities for input — two that are more formal, three that are informal… I think that’s plenty of opportunity for people to give [their] input,” said Christine Walters, the school board’s president.

One requirement is that each of the voting districts contain a nearly equal number of residents.

In Glendale, five voting districts would contain about 43,000 residents each, Johnson said.

The school board is expected to adopt the map by late May or early June, according to school officials.

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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @kellymcorrigan