Springs Splash by Thomas Martin — February 2020
SVUSD District Reapportionment and Redistricting
Board of Trustees Select Map B To Elect Board Members From Trustee Areas!
The Sonoma Valley Unified School District board agreed at the January 21 meeting that one of the three original maps (Map B) drawn for them was sufficient to allow Board members to run from separate electoral districts in the next school board election.
Why did they change the election procedures? The Board of Trustees learned that the old method of electing members to the Board was out of compliance with equal protection of the laws requirements adopted by the California Legislature. (For wording of the statute go on line: California Education Code 5019.5.)
EC 5019.5 requires that the population of representative districts must be as nearly as equal as possible to the ratio of one Board member to the total number of members.
In the case of SVUSD where there are five Board members each district’s population must be as nearly as equal as possible to 20% of the total population.
The Board chose Map B where no single district’s population is more than 4.6% away from the District’s average population. See data below that accompanied Map B. The numbers are from the 2010 Census and will be revised at the end of this year likely in time for an election in 2021. To see the maps go to www.SonomaSchools.org.
Excerpts from Map B, SVUSD data based on 2010 Census:
Trustee Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5
Total Population 7,665 8,212 7,642 7,573 8,152
Variance -184 363 -207 -276 303
Hispanic/Latino 1,627 4,008 2,749 1,165 932
White 5,615 3,880 4,494 6,009 6,859
Asian 157 107 159 205 155
African-American 66 35 33 23 25
Am. Indian/Alaskan 12 30 25 21 35
Hawaiian/Pacific Isle 21 13 14 13 23
The Optimist Daily, January 15, 2020 – Guest Article (In part):
New York Public Library Has Calculated Its Most Checked-Out Books Of All Time
See main picture.
The New York Public Library has been open for 125 years. To celebrate, it recently dug into records and calculated a list of the ten (10) books most checked out in its history. No. 1 was The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. It has been checked out 485,583 times since it was published in 1962.
How many of the top ten have you read?
1. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats – 485,583 checkouts
2. The Cat In The Hat by Dr Seuss – 469,650 checkouts
3. 1984 by George Orwell – 441,770 checkouts
4. Where The Wild Things Are – by Maurice Sendak – 436,016 checkouts
5. To Kill A Mockingbird – by Harper Lee – 422,912 checkouts
6. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White – 337,948 checkouts
7. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury – 316,404 checkouts
8. How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie 284,524
9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling – 231,022 checkouts
10. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle – 189,550 checkouts
Honorable Mention: Goodnight Moon Margaret Wise Brown, unlisted until 1972.
2019 No. 1 Checkout: Becoming by Michelle Obama
What’s happening up the road?
Cannabis In Kenwood and Glen Ellen!
After considerable time and discussion the Sonoma Valley Citizens Advisory Committee approved several measures related to the sale growth of pot. The Kenwood citizens argued at great length over a proposal to allow a cannabis dispensary in the store-wine tasting-Post Office complex at 8910 Highway 12.
Center to the debate was traffic problems entering and leaving the market area as well as the granting of a waiver since the store is within 100 feet of homes although a wall separates them. The measure passed on a 7-2 vote.
The second argument was over granting permits to grow cannabis on 214 acres at Trinity Road and Highway 12. Center to the argument was the question of sufficient water to support the thirsty plants. Cannabis uses over twice the water that vineyards do. This was passed as well.
The proposals now go to the Board of Adjustments and Board of Supervisors. Better be extra cautious when driving Highway 12!
