Ocean View trustees pick Map 4 and set sequencing as district moves toward by‑trustee‑area elections

The Ocean View School District board on May 13 selected Map 4 and approved an election sequencing plan as part of a move toward by‑trustee‑area elections beginning with the November 2026 cycle.

Board members discussed two remaining map options and heard a demographer's summary of census and citizen‑voting‑age‑population (CVAP) figures before voting. Demographer Mr. Lopez said the remaining map options were the product of state and federal guidance and noted that “anything under 10% is considered acceptable,” referring to the percentage variance between highest‑ and lowest‑populated trustee areas under the proposals.

Trustees debated whether sequencing should prioritize areas with higher minority CVAPs to satisfy the goals of the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) or follow the district’s customary staggered schedule for seat cycles. Trustee West Morland argued the board should be responsive to community input: “the only map that we’ve gotten any kind of feedback on that the community liked was Map 4,” she said.

Clerk Clayton Tarbon moved to approve Map 4; the motion was seconded and carried by the board (vote recorded in the meeting as 4‑1, with Trustee West Morland recorded in opposition). The board then considered multiple sequencing proposals and after extended discussion approved a sequencing placing trustee areas 1, 2 and 4 on the 2026 ballot and areas 3 and 5 on the 2028 ballot (final roll recorded as 3‑2). Board members acknowledged that any chosen sequencing can have the practical effect—by timing—of changing which incumbents run when, but legal counsel and staff emphasized that maps were drawn without regard to incumbency.

The public process leading to the decision included prior workshops, legal review and demographic analysis. The board’s action covers three distinct steps required for a transition under state law: public hearings, map selection and sequencing. The district will file the adopted resolution and maps with the Orange County Committee on School District Organization, which will review the district’s submittal and may call its own hearing.

What happens next: adoption of the final resolution and submittal to the county committee will be reflected in staff materials; the district’s demographer and legal counsel will provide final materials for that filing and for subsequent outreach about the change to by‑trustee‑area elections.