CITRUS HEIGHTS, Calif. — A push by Citrus Heights parents has the San Juan Unified School District (SJUSD) in the process of changing how members are elected.
“There are no school board members that live in Citrus Heights,” said Magali Kincaid.
Magali Kincaid is the president of San Juan Community Action Network, a coalition of parents and citizens in the SJUSD.
The group is demanding that the SJUSD school board add two more members. The change would take the board from its current five to a total of seven.
“The bottom line is that some of the educational outcomes in San Juan are not very good in particular in the Arden Arcade area and the Citrus Heights Area,” said Juan Yñiguez.
San Juan Community Action Network is asking for a neighborhood elections map with seven trustee areas. It is the same map drafted by SJUSD in 2012 but was not adopted. The new map would include Citrus Heights, Arden Arcade, Orangevale, Carmichael and Fair Oaks
“We should have our representatives live in the areas that they are representing,” Kincaid said.
Trent Allen, spokesperson for the district, said that, back in March or February of 2020, they received a demand letter asking them to move to elections by trustee area, which started their timeline process.
"The governor’s executive order paused that timeline but because that executive order now is being lifted that timeline automatically resumes,” Allen said.
Allen said community members will be able to share how they think boundaries should be drawn at the July 1st board meeting. This is due to the executive order expiring after June 30, which temporarily suspended such activities during the pandemic. The current board will then vote on July 27.
“They will adopt a final map that they (community members) say 'this is our map that we say is the best map for our community and that we want to be the map moving forward that then comes to a process at the county level that the county board has to approve,” Allen said.
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