The public is invited to a series of open house events to learn about changes to the way in which Delta College trustees are elected, and to provide comments about the plan.
Each of the seven trustees lives in and represents a particular area of Delta’s 2,300-square-mile community college district. However, each trustee is currently elected by voters throughout the district.
Trustees decided last year to transition to area voting, in which voters will cast ballots only for the candidate within their area. The process will also involve evaluating the maps for each area and determining whether any changes should be made.
Public hearings and multiple open houses will be held before a final decision is made later this year. The goal is to give constituents a chance to learn about the process and provide feedback.
Members of the public may attend any of the upcoming meetings. The first session was hosted Monday, April 8 for the South Stockton and Weston Ranch area (Trustee Jennet Stebbins at Edison High School, Stockton.
Wednesday, April 10, a meeting is set for Tracy, Mountain House and Lathrop west of Interstate 5 (Trustee Teresa Brown): 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Tracy Transit Station, Room 104, 50 E. 6th St., Tracy.
North and Central Stockton (Trustees Janet Rivera and Carlos Huerta): 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 11 at the Sierra Middle School cafeteria, 6768 Alexandria Place, Stockton.
Manteca, Lathrop east of Interstate 5 and portions of the South County including Escalon (Trustee Catherine Mathis): 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, April 15 at the Manteca Public Library, 320 W. Center St., Manteca.
Lodi, Galt and the Delta (Trustee Charles Jennings): 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 15 at the Lodi Public Library, 201 W. Locust St., Lodi.
Tracy, Mountain House and Lathrop west of Interstate 5 (Trustee Teresa Brown): 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, April 16 at the South Campus at Mountain House, Room 102, 2073 S. Central Parkway, Mountain House.
East San Joaquin County and Calaveras (Trustee Steve Castellanos): 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 18 at the Linden High School library, 18527 East Front St., Linden.
Additionally, comments will be accepted at two formal public hearings that have been tentatively scheduled for Board of Trustees’ April 23 and May 7 meetings, which begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Board Room in the Horton Administration Building, 5151 Pacific Avenue in Stockton.
That is the first part of the process. Later this spring, a demographer will examine the existing trustee area maps and decide whether any changes are needed under the California Voting Rights Act. At that point, additional open houses and public hearings will be held prior to a final decision by trustees. That decision would then require approval by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. More information will be released about the second round of meetings at a later date.
