County picks new San Dieguito trustee area map

The trustee boundary lines have been drawn in the fractured San Dieguito Union High School District as the county has selected its new trustee area map.

The San Diego County Committee on School District Organization’s choice of Map C on April 25 was met with applause from those in the audience in the San Dieguito district’s board room.

The approved new San Dieguito Union School District trustee area map.

The San Diego County Office of Education took over the process this month to develop a qualified map for San Dieguito by an April 30 deadline. The takeover came amid alleged violations of state transparency law with San Dieguito board’s controversial map selection, a lawsuit from community members and complaints that the map disenfrachised voters, displaced board members and split up communities.

President Rick Shea said the map met the objectives to “use a light touch” adjusting the district’s current “Cranberry” map, keeping communities of interest together, maintains minority representation, feeder school districts, continuity in election cycles and attempting to keep a middle school and high school in each area.

Map C keeps a high school in each trustee areas, keeps Solana Beach and the historic La Colonia De Eden Gardens community intact and retains the numbers of the trustee areas and election cycles: “If you were scheduled to vote in 2022 you will and if you were scheduled to vote in 2024 you will.”

As the district’s existing map was out of compliance with a total population variance of 27.9%, the goal was to have a variance below 10%. The selected Map C had the lowest variance at .30%

“It seems to not be perfect but it seems to be the one that meets the most requirements,” said board member Guadalupe Gonzalez, who made the motion to approve Map C.

“It’s the best of three good alternatives, compared to what you folks were facing,” Shea said.

Board member Gregg Robinson said he would support Map C although he expressed his concerns about the map’s dispersion of the Latino community around Ocean Knolls Elementary —he thought Map B might do a better job keeping the Encinitas community together although it does not keep a high school in every trustee area.

The meeting was the second public hearing in the county’s process and seven speakers spoke. Shea said they afforded San Dieguito an opportunity to present and they declined.

During public comment, some speakers veered off the topic to ask the county board for help on more than just map choice. Currently the San Dieguito board is down a member following the resignation of Melisse Mossy, the superintendent has been placed on administrative leave, and the community is divided.

“We’re broken. You’re here because we’re broken. I’m here to request that you remain involved,” said Encinitas resident Bob Ayres. “Our school board is dysfunctional, it’s a mess...and things are only going to get worse.”

“You came to fix the garage door but our house is burning.”