Website: http://www.fuhsd.org/TRUSTEE-AREAS 

• FUHSD had one presentation on CVRA back on April 23, 2019 and then went silent for 4 years.
• On March 7, 2023, out of the blue, adopted a resolution with intent to transition to trustee-area election. Public comments at the meeting were all supportive of the move, as most of the FUHSD community was not even aware of this agenda item.
• To date, FUHSD has not received any CVRA challenge letter.
• There was no analysis done to show any racialized voting or vote dilution.
• Pre-map public hearings were held on Aug. 22, 2023 and on Sept. 19, 2023.
• Preliminary maps were posted on October 17, 2023.
• A CTAD committee was formed in 2023.
• Remaining public hearings on map selection: Oct. 17, 2023, Feb. 27, 2024, March 20, 2024, April 24, 2024

FUHSD plans to adopt the final map on April 24, 2024 and elect the first two board members through trustee-area election in the November 2024 election.

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To: Fremont Union High School District Board of Trustees

As concerned members of the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) community, we are writing to respectfully request that the board reconsider its March 2023 intention to transition from at-large to by-trustee elections. Our concerns are outlined as follows:

1. Long-Term Adverse Impact: The decision to move to by-trustee elections would have significant adverse consequences for FUHSD because trustees would be more focused on the short-term issues of only their narrow district rather than the broader long-term interests of FUHSD. For instance, while the immediate effects of closing an existing high school would fall disproportionately on only the residents in the district of the closed high school, in the long-term, this decision would exacerbate existing enrollment and funding issues at FUHSD schools as more parents would consider alternatives to FUHSD.

2. Short-Term Funding Challenges: The misalignment mentioned above between trustees and the long-term interests of FUHSD resulting from by-trustee elections also would make it more challenging to obtain voter approval for future local school bond measures that have been used to, among other things, continue critically needed renovation and modernization of FUHSD schools. As context, Measure G, authorizing FUHSD to issue up to $275 million in bonds, recently passed with only 55.71% voter approval. This measure required a 55% supermajority vote for approval, meaning Measure G passed by only around 300 votes.

3. Community Awareness: Many residents, including those facing language barriers and limited access to digital communication, are unaware of this significant change. We urge the board to take additional measures to inform residents and provide them with an opportunity to express their opinions.

4. Evidence of Racially Polarized Voting and Vote Dilution: In its August 2023 decision, Pico Neighborhood Association v. Santa Monica, the Supreme Court of California clarified that the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) is only applicable if there is both racially polarized voting and dilution of a protected class's ability to elect its preferred candidate. To date, we are not aware of any analysis done on either of these issues for FUHSD. The Palo Alto Unified School District chose not to transition to by-trustee elections after finding no evidence of racially polarized elections. We urge the board to also engage in an analysis on these issues, given the adverse impacts to FUHSD from by-trustee elections mentioned above.

5. Consideration of Alternatives: The Supreme Court of California's decision also highlighted several alternative remedies to by-trustee elections, including cumulative voting, limited voting, and ranked choice voting. We urge the board to also consider these alternatives in the case where there is both racially polarized voting and vote dilution.

In light of these concerns, we request the board delay the implementation of the by-trustee area election system until a more thorough analysis is conducted and greater community engagement is achieved. We propose a postponement to after 2026, allowing for a more inclusive and informed decision-making process. This postponement would also allow FUHSD to benefit from additional insight on the CVRA that the California Courts of Appeal is expected to provide in the near future in the Pico Neighborhood Association v. Santa Monica case.

Context
1. “The Palo Alto school board appears unlikely to agree to switch to trustee-area elections in response to a threatened California Voting Rights Act lawsuit, with a district attorney stating that there is no compelling evidence for violations.”
https://paloaltoonline.com/news/2018/10/25/district-lawyer-no-evidence-of-racially-polarized-voting

2. Measure G authorizing FUHSD to issue up to $275 million in bonds, passed by 55.71% (55% supermajority vote required for approval, meaning Measure G passed by roughly 300 votes)
https://ballotpedia.org/Fremont_Union_High_School_District,_California,_Measure_G,_Bond_Issue_(June_2022)

3. “Measure G was put forth by FUHSD. . . . Opponents say this is the third bond measure the District has floated in the past ten years. Measure K was a $295 million school bond approved in 2014. In November 2018, voters approved Measure CC, a $275 million school bond measure. Now, they’re faced with Measure G.”
https://www.svvoice.com/measure-g-fuhsd-floats-new-bond/ 

4. “According to [FUHSD superintendent Graham ]Clark, a school shutting down can be a conceivable future . . . ”
https://elestoque.org/2023/06/01/news/population-politics/

The following is a computer-generated translation of the above petition to traditional Chinese:

延迟实施弗里蒙特联合高中(FUHSD)托管选区选举的请愿

注意：如果您支持这份请愿书，请签名，但请不要在这里捐款。捐款将流向Change.org，我们无法使用。谢谢！

致：弗里蒙特联合高中学区董事会

作为弗里蒙特联合高中学区（FUHSD）社区的关切成员，我们谨此恳请董事会重新考虑于2023年3月决定从全区选举转向按托管区选举。我们的关切如下：

1. **长期不良影响：**决定转向按托管区选举将对FUHSD产生重大不良后果，因为单个托管区将更加关注其狭窄地区的短期问题，而不是FUHSD的更广泛长期利益。例如，关闭现有高中的即时效应只会对关闭高中地区的居民产生显著影响，但从长远来看，这一决定将加剧FUHSD学校现有的入学和资金问题，因为更多的家长将考虑其他FUHSD以外的选择。

2. **短期资金挑战：**由于按托管区选举导致托管区与FUHSD的长期利益不一致，这也将使未来本地学校债券措施更难获得选民批准，这些措施用于继续对FUHSD学校进行至关重要的翻新和现代化，等等。比如，最近授权FUHSD发行高达2.75亿美元债券的G号提案仅以55.71%的选民支持率通过。该提案要求55%的超级多数选票批准，这意味着G号提案只以大约300票的优势通过。

3. **社区意识：**许多居民，包括那些面临语言障碍和有限的数字通信渠道的居民，对这一重大变革一无所知。我们敦促董事会采取额外措施通知居民并为他们提供表达意见的机会。

4. **有关种族极化选民和选票稀释的证据：**在其2023年8月的决定中，加利福尼亚州最高法院在Pico Neighborhood Association诉圣莫尼卡案中明确指出，只有同时存在种族极化投票现象和对受保护阶级选民选举其首选候选人的能力造成稀释的情况下，加利福尼亚州选举权法（CVRA）才适用。迄今为止，我们不知道针对FUHSD的这两个问题是否进行了任何分析。帕洛奥图联合学区在未发现种族极化选举的证据后选择不过渡到按托管区选举。我们敦促董事会对这些问题进行分析，考虑到上述按托管区选举对FUHSD的不良影响。

5. **考虑替代方案：**加利福尼亚州最高法院的决定还强调了按托管区选举的几种替代方案，包括累积投票、有限投票和排名选择投票。我们敦促董事会在种族极化投票和选票稀释同时存在的情况下也考虑这些替代方案。
鉴于这些关切，我们请求董事会推迟按托管区选区选举系统的实施，直至进行更彻底的分析并实现更广泛的社区参与。我们建议将推迟至2026年之后，以便进行更具包容性和知情决策过程。此推迟还将使FUHSD能够从加利福尼亚州上诉法院在不久的将来将提供有关Pico Neighborhood Association诉圣莫尼卡案的CVRA的额外见解中获益。

背景:

1. “帕洛奥图学区在接到对加利福尼亚选举权法的威胁诉讼后，不同意转向托管区选举，一名地區檢察官表示，沒有令人信服的違規證據
https://paloaltoonline.com/news/2018/10/25/district-lawyer-no-evidence-of-racially-polarized-voting

2. Measure G授权FUHSD发行高达2.75亿美元债券，以55.71%的选民支持率通过（需要55%的超级多数选票批准，这意味着G号提案仅以大约300票的优势通过）
https://ballotpedia.org/Fremont_Union_High_School_District,_California,_Measure_G,_Bond_Issue_(June_2022)

3. “G号是由FUHSD提出的...反对者表示，这是学区在过去十年中提出的第三项债券提案。K号提案是2014年批准的2.95亿美元学校债券。 2018年11月，选民批准了CC号提案，这是一项2.75亿美元的学校债券提案。现在，他们面临着G号提案。”
https://www.svvoice.com/measure-g-fuhsd-floats-new-bond/

4. “根据[FUHSD校监格雷厄姆]克拉克的说法，关闭学校可能是一个可以预见的未来…”
https://elestoque.org/2023/06/01/news/population-politics/

Signatures: 2,359 Next Goal: 2,500

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