Frequently Asked Questions

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Why is NVUSD enacting this process now?
All school districts with trustee areas must engage in “redistricting” every 10 years following the decennial federal census in order to ensure that all trustee areas continue to have equal populations and follow all state and federal laws. Due to a demand letter under the California Voting Rights Act received in January of 2020, NVUSD transitioned from at-large elections to trustee-district based elections before the November 2020 election and prior to the release of the 2020 federal census data. So, NVUSD must now ensure that no changes are needed in light of the new 2020 federal census data and must go through the regular decennial redistricting process.

Is this the same process I’m hearing about elsewhere, such as the City of Napa’s redistricting efforts?
This “redistricting” requirement applies to any entity with boundaries that NVUSD has its own process to draw trustee area boundaries.

How are the trustee area boundaries drawn?
Generally, the following factors are considered when drawing special districts, such as the Napa Valley Unified Trustee Area Districts (California Elections Code 22000)

Each district should contain nearly the same number of people;
Boundaries shall be drawn in a manner that complies with the United States Constitution and the Federal Voting Rights Act;
Local topography and geography;
Cohesiveness, contiguity, and compactness of territory;
Districts shall respect communities of interest. Communities of Interest (COI) generally refers to a contiguous population which shares common social and economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of fair and effective representation;
The demographer will disregard the location of incumbents and candidates, as well as the interests of political parties.

In summary, this means the following:

We will use a mapping program to construct districts after public input has been received.
Census data will be used to find out how many people live in each part of the trustee area and ensure that each district contains roughly the same number of people.
Census geography will be used to ensure that the districts are compact and contiguous
We will collect and utilize Community of Interest data from the residents of Napa Valley Unified School District to use in the building of districts.
We will not use any address information for current Board of Education Members (Trustees) or potential candidates or use political party affiliation or information in the drawing of districts.

Do we use the number of voters to draw districts?
Districts are drawn using the total population as counted by the last census. Everyone who was counted, irrespective of age or other demographics has to be assigned to a district. Districts are not equalized using voters, registered voters or citizens.

What information do you need from me?
One of the criteria to draw maps is called “Communities of Interest” or COI. Because there are no datasets available for Communities of Interest, we appreciate your help to define them for the Napa Valley Unified School District. A COI is a group of people in a defined geographic location that share a common bond or interest. The State’s redistricting criteria define Community of Interest as “a contiguous population which shares common social and economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of fair and effective representation.” Please tell us what defines your Community of Interest, where it is located, and why it should stay together.

See the “Get Involved: Create your Communities of Interest ” tab on this website for more information

Why should I get involved in the redistricting process?
We would like to hear from you so we can make informed decisions about where to draw district lines. Specifically, we need information from you about your neighborhoods and communities of interests. You are the expert who knows your communities and neighborhoods! If we know the geographic locations of the Communities of Interest in NVUSD, we can consider them when drawing lines and we won’t inadvertently split them! Keeping communities together in the same district can help to get more responsive representation.