The first board meeting of 2025 on Jan. 14 had several major developments, including the approval of new “By-Trustee area” elections, the resignation of Trustee Alex Shultz and the postponement of a decision on the recruiting process for the next superintendent until the next board meeting.
Decision next superintendent recruitment rescheduled
Additionally, the board unanimously approved the postponement of a decision on the recruiting process for the next superintendent until the next meeting on Jan. 28.
Board President Steve Chen said, “We would like to have a forum before the next board meeting […] where the public will be welcome to actually meet Heath [Rocha] and ask any questions of him that they would like to talk about. This decision is so important, we feel that the community needs to be completely brought in.”
The forum will occur from 5-6 p.m. in the main Board Meeting portable in Los Gatos. The special session will be followed directly afterward by the regularly scheduled open session at 7 p.m.
The board also sent out an email with a Community Input Survey regarding the superintendent search on Jan. 16, the link to which can be found here. The survey will be open from Jan. 16 until Jan. 23, and gathers input on several topics including the community’s desired personal traits and work experience of the next superintendent.
The board outlined three different options going forward for the recruitment of a new superintendent, alongside the pros and cons of each path.
The first option would be to hire an external search firm, a common option for many school districts. These firms would allow experienced professionals and specialized recruiters to handle the entirety of the search, taking a workload off the LGSUHSD Human Resources recruitment staff if the search were to be done independently.
However, an external firm would come at a cost of $30,000, alongside a delay from the start due to the proposal process and board approval of the contract. Additionally, there is a negative community view towards the hiring firm Hazard, Young, Attea (HYA) Associates due to their role in the hiring of former superintendent Bill Sanderson, whose tenure ended in controversy in the fall.
The second option would be an internal search, conducted by the LGSUHSD HR recruitment staff. Despite putting on a larger workload on the HR department which is already experiencing staffing changes, this option would allow for the district to do the search directly and keep in touch with community stakeholders.
The third and final option outlined would be the direct board appointment of acting superintendent Heath Rocha. This decision would lead to an expedited process, allowing Rocha to begin planning for the 2025-2026 school year at the cost of lessened opportunities for community stakeholder input.
“I believe we can avoid a costly, lengthy, time intensive and staff intensive search, because we have someone sitting among us who listens, who understands the law, who is ethical and who will serve this district, I believe, with integrity,” LGHS Art Department Chair and Teacher Emily Christie said during public comment on the issue.
Resignation of Trustee Alex Shultz
During the meeting, Shultz announced that he was stepping down from his position, effective Jan. 24, due to an ongoing family matter.
“I appreciate all of your support and understanding that you’ve given to me and my family. I’m really confident in our leadership here at the school sites and in our district, and the stewardship shown by the board, including our student representatives,” Shultz said.
Shultz was elected in 2022, and his term was originally set to end in 2026. Before his role as a member of the Board, he was a science teacher for 34 years, 28 of which were at Los Gatos High School. In his two years as a board member, he worked to make multiple important changes, including the parcel tax and more.
“I do want to make one thing absolutely, perfectly clear, I’m in no way resigning because of anything related to Superintendent Sanderson or the malicious, untruthful personal attacks targeting me and my wife via the change.org petition,” Shultz said.
Board Vice President Katherine Tseng said, “It’s particularly a privilege for me to be able to serve on the Trustee Board with Alex for the last two years. I have first-hand witnessed him as an extraordinary, life changing, excellent educator, become a trustworthy, dedicated Trustee Board member. His continuous service for our community at large is incredible, especially [throughout these] last six months, during this very difficult time.”
District begins transition to “By-Trustee area” elections
At the meeting, the board voted unanimously to begin a district transition to By-Trustee area elections.
That means that by this April, the district will officially adopt a map that splits the district into five geographic areas, in a shift from at-large elections to “by-trustee” area elections for school board members.
The board voted unanimously to adopt a transition plan to facilitate this process during their first meeting of the year on Jan. 14, following a presentation by demographer Justin Levitt, vice president of the National Demographics Corporation.
This plan — outlined on the LGSUHSD website — consists of five public hearings between now and April 14, when the district and school board will host discussions with the community to decide on a map and submit it to the Santa Clara County Committee for approval between April and June.
All current board members, who were elected by an at-large election in which all residents of the district could cast a ballot for any candidate, will serve out the rest of their 4-year terms without any impact from the change. All future board elections will be subject to the new rules.
Filling the vacancy left by Shultz will also follow current procedures — the board will decide during its Jan. 28 meeting whether to appoint a trustee or hold a special election.
But starting in November 2026, voters will only be able to cast their ballots for candidates who reside in the same trustee area as themselves — each trustee area holding an election will elect one person to the school board. Starting in 2030, the maps will be updated according to census data from the federal government.
The decision to make this transition was described by Levitt and trustee Misty Davies as a preemptive measure to defend against possible litigation or demand letters claiming that the at-large election system leads to racially polarized voting, an illegal practice under the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA).
“Most school districts do not have the resources to fight [lawsuits],” Levitt said in an interview with the Falcon. “And very few [districts] have switched over preemptively — almost all of them adopt a ‘let’s wait and see if we get sued’ mindset, which means they all get sued, eventually.”
According to Levitt, these demand letters, which have been sent to hundreds of school districts and other jurisdictions, could cost the district at least $30,000 and transfer a significant amount of control of the map-drawing process to plaintiffs rather than the school board and community members.
These concerns have been felt throughout the state. A 2023 San Francisco Chronicle investigation found that, ever since the CVRA was passed in 2002, lawyers like Kevin Shenkman have built their professions around successfully suing school districts to make the switch — reaping millions of dollars in settlements and causing unintended consequences including cancelled elections, lowered turnout and a rise of far-right and Christian evangelical trustees.
With the school board having taken measures to prevent these lawsuits, they will move on to the map-drawing process — all community members, including students, are encouraged to experiment with creating maps, which can be submitted and considered by the board.
In order to comply with the CVRA and federal regulations, the five trustee areas, covering Saratoga, Los Gatos and Monte Sereno, must contain equal populations of around 11,424 residents, including children and non-citizens.
Board clerk Theresa Bond, who resides in the rural mountain community, emphasized during the board meeting that this change will encourage more candidates from underrepresented parts of the district to run for office. She recalled how, when she ran in 2020, multiple candidates from her area were afraid of having to run a campaign for the entire district and its 60,000 residents.
On the other hand, Shultz stressed the importance for future trustees elected under this system to serve the entire district, not just the interests of the region that elected them.
“There are going to be pros and cons of any particular election system,” Levitt said. “It’s really incumbent on the residents of neighborhoods to hold their representatives or potential representatives to account.”
Levitt urged all community members, especially students, to get involved with this 3-month process, even if it doesn’t have a direct effect on them.
“I would encourage anyone who is worried about what this means for the future to come and learn about it. Show up at the hearings and participate,” Levitt said. “[For students], just because you’re still in school doesn’t mean you’re not gonna be voting in these trustee areas one day.”
First pre-map public hearing: Jan. 28, 6:30 p.m.
Second pre-map public hearing: Feb. 11, 6:30 p.m.
First map consideration public hearing: March 11, 6:30 p.m.
Second map consideration public hearing: March 25, 6:30 p.m.
Deadline to submit community-drawn map: April 1
Map adoption hearing: April 14
All meetings will be held at the district office at 17421 Farley Rd. W, Los Gatos, CA 95030
