(Santa Ana)—On Monday, May 21, at a regularly scheduled board of trustees meeting, the Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD) Board of Trustees voted to adopt revised trustee area boundaries. The new boundaries map can be downloaded/opened here.
“The newly created trustee area boundaries were formed with the full participation and input of the community,” said RSCCD Board of Trustees President Phillip E. Yarbrough. “These boundaries will allow for a comprehensive representation to continue the district’s commitment to education and the students we serve.”
On February 6, 2012, the RSCCD Board of Trustees had approved amendments to board policies changing the past at-large method of electing trustees to elections by individual trustee areas. That action increased the number of trustee areas from three to seven. At the February 27, 2012, meeting the Board issued a contract with National Demographics Corporation to review the district’s demographic data from the 2010 U.S. Census and propose a variety of options for the seven trustee areas. Prior to that on March 26, 2012, the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges approved a resolution paving the way for RSCCD to change from at-large to trustee area elections.
The following criteria were utilized in the development of the new trustee area boundaries:
- Communities of interest;
- Visible (natural and man-made) boundaries;
- Compactness and contiguity;
- Continuity in office;
- Population growth;
- Preserve the core of existing districts; and
- No dilution of protected classes which impairs its ability to elect candidates of its choice or its ability to influence the outcome of an election.
The RSCCD Board of Trustees consists of seven members who each serve four-year terms. The current Board of Trustees members and their Trustee Area of residence follow:
John R. Hanna – Trustee Area 2
Lawrence R. "Larry" Labrado – Trustee Area 4
R. David Chapel, Ed.D. – Trustee Area 5
Brian E. Conley, M.A. – Trustee Area 5
Mark McLoughlin – Trustee Area 5
Phillip E. Yarbrough – Trustee Area 6
Arianna P. Barrios – Trustee Area 7
In November 2012, RSCCD trustees in Trustee Areas 1, 3, 5, and 7 will be up for election. In Trustee Areas 1 and 3, there are no incumbents. In Trustee Area 5, there are three incumbents and in Trustee Area 7, there is one incumbent. The trustees living in Trustee Areas 2, 4, and 6 won’t be up for election until 2014.
The revised trustee areas bring the college district into compliance with the requirements of the California Voting Rights Act, which expanded on the Federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.
For more information, call Rancho Santiago Community College District at (714) 480-7452 or email lucarelli_anita@rsccd.edu.
About the Rancho Santiago Community College District
The mission of the Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD) is to respond to the educational needs of an ever-changing community and to provide programs and services that reflect academic excellence. Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College are public community colleges of RSCCD, which serve the residents of Anaheim Hills, East Garden Grove, Irvine, Orange, Santa Ana, Tustin and Villa Park. Both colleges provide education for academic transfer and careers, courses for personal and professional development, customized training for business and industry, and programs to train nurses, firefighters and law enforcement personnel.
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