Elections for the San Mateo Union High School District Board of Trustees will look a little different in the upcoming 2022 elections. The school board has officially transitioned to a By-Trustee Area Election, which will greatly impact the representation on the school board.
A By-Trustee election means that the school district will be zoned into different areas, and the electorate within each zone will vote for one trustee (also residing in that zone) to represent them. This system will allow for representation of all the different communities that reside within our school district, and less concentration of officials within the Burlingame and San Mateo Park (situated between Aragon and Hillsdale) areas.
Within the current election system, board members are chosen by an at-large election, meaning all board members are elected by all eligible voters throughout the school district. A change to by-trustee voting will prioritize representation of each community within the district, ensuring that the needs of each school will be more closely met through a representative that is a member of said neighborhood.
This transformation will impact the look of our current school board. The map that has been selected was draft 102 (pictured), with five designated areas. Currently, the board has trustees in three of the five areas, leaving two entirely vacant. While Robert Griffin is the only current trustee in Area-5, The Burlingame and San Mateo Park regions will be sought over by multiple trustees. Area-2, the Burlingame region, is currently occupied by Greg Land and Linda Lees Dwyer. Area-4, the San Mateo Park (Aragon) region is occupied by Ligia Andrade Zuñigá and Peter Hanely, leaving Areas 1 and 3 vacant.
Over the years, there has rarely been representation from Millbrae, San Bruno, and parts of San Mateo. Trustees are often located near Burlingame and San Mateo Park neighborhoods. Without representation from these neighborhoods, they do not receive the support that they may need. Additionally, these unrepresented neighborhoods are the lowest income areas of our district, showing a lack of socioeconomic diversity in our board and a lack of the perspective of a socioeconomic status that represents a large portion of our school populations. This adjustment will open up the board to more discussion from fresh perspectives, and underrepresented communities in our area.
The current proposed election sequence would be to vote on Areas 2, 4, and 5 in the 2022 election, and the vacant regions 1 and 3 in 2024. The alternative sequence would be to vote on Areas 1, 3,and 5 in 2022, and 2 and 4 in the 2024 election.