Trustee Voting Area FAQs

Q. What is the difference between at-large and trustee-area-based elections?

A. At-large elections occur when each trustee is elected by all voters within the District. Trustee-area elections occur when each trustee must reside within the designated trustee-area boundary and is elected only by the voters in that area.

Q. Why is the Los Alamitos Unified School Board changing to trustee-area-based system?

A. The California Voting Rights Act strongly discourages at-large voting and highly encourages area-based voting as a means of ensuring that minority group voting rights in a community are protected and not abridged or diluted. At-large voting can result in minority groups being blocked in electing candidates of their choosing. Most California cities, school districts and public agencies have converted, or are in the process of converting, to area-based voting.

Q. How does this affect my vote?

A. Instead of voting for all five members of the Board of Education, you will vote for the one trustee who represents your area of the district.

Q. How was the trustee area map drawn?

A. The Board of Education hired a professional demographer to draw 11 proposed maps based on census data and community input before the Board chose a final map on January 21, 2020. This map received final approval from the Orange County Committee on School District Organization and the State Board of Education.

Q. Does this change where my child attends school?

A. No. Trustee-area elections will have no impact on school attendance boundaries.

Q. Will trustee areas change over time?

A. They will be reviewed by the Los Alamitos Unified Board of Education and a demographer after the 2020 census to see if any changes are needed.