Greer | DNUSD Thumbnail photo: Under new proposed Congressional District boundaries, Del Norte County would share a representative with Shasta, Siskiyou and Modoc counties, which are currently in District 1. | Photo courtesy of the Senate Election and Constitutional Amendments Committee. Michael Greer made two unsuccessful attempts Thursday at getting his fellow school board members to officially oppose Proposition 50. Greer’s resolution before the Del Norte County Office of Education Board of Trustees and a similar resolution before the Del Norte County Unified School District Board had the same outcomes — dying due to lack of a second. “I brought this (forward) because I believe that local communities, local school boards, local county offices of education, the county Board of Supervisors and the city itself needs to take part in a political process especially when it affects our California Constitution,” Greer said during the DNUSD Board meeting after acknowledging that the resolution he presented before the County Board failed to get a second motion. “The proposition takes away the opportunity to have that community support.” If approved on Nov. 4, Proposition 50, the Election Rigging Response Act, would use new “legislatively drawn” congressional districts maps from 2026 until the California Citizens Redistricting Commission creates new maps following the 2030 U.S. Census. California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed allowing the state legislature to redraw Congressional maps after the Texas State Legislature approved a new redistricting plan in August that would result in five more seats for Republicans. In his resolution, Greer, who represents the Klamath, the Bertsch-Oceanview tract and Parkway Drive areas, argued that the independent California Citizens Redistricting Commission was created to ensure fair and impartial district boundaries. This includes establishing “safeguards to keep cities, counties and local communities together.” If voters approve Prop. 50, Greer’s resolution states, communities would be divided “forcing some cities and counties to be split among multiple congressional districts under the member’s new maps.” “Clovis, California, for example, you should have one Congressional individual in it,” Greer told his colleagues. “It has now been separated into three different (districts). Fresno County used to have two (districts) and now has five. The high desert of Modoc is (being) put in the same area as Marin County. This, right here, takes away the Constitutional provisions of fairness.” Despite Greer’s argument, his colleagues — minus Abbie Crist, who was absent — said the DNUSD Board of Trustees is a non partisan body. Don McArthur, whose district includes portions of Crescent City, said that he supported the initiatives in 2008 and 2010 that created the independent redistricting commission, but making a partisan concern an issue of the School Board “invites all kinds of circus.” “We are a non-partisan body and I don’t see any reason to wade into the political fray and invite this into our discussions and deliberations,” he said. District Resolution Adopting a Position of Opposition to Proposition 50_1250070ygndppa0eslrcx2h3wbr1t1rDownload Frank Magarino, whose Trustee Area 3 district includes Smith River, Hiouchi and Gasquet, concurred with McArthur even though he, too, opposes Newsom’s proposal. “I don’t agree with what the governor is doing,” Magarino said. “Just because Texas did it, he feels like he has to do it, but that’s neither here nor there.” Most of the seven members of the public who opined on Greer’s proposed resolution supported his colleagues’ argument. Shawn Schubert, president of the California School Employees Association Great Northern 178 chapter, argued that Prop. 50, if it passes, protects everyone regardless of their political party affiliation. “When another state starts trying to manipulate our vote … we have to fight back and that’s exactly what this is doing,” Schubert said of Prop. 50. “It’s trying to make sure that we don’t get overwhelmed with a push that is unfair.” One speaker who didn’t give his name said that while the issue of political gerrymandering and redistricting does need to be talked about, adopting a resolution that supports one side of the argument isn’t the school board’s place. Another, Amber Tiedeken-Cron, president of the Del Norte Teachers Association, described Del Norte County as a purple community whose members get along. Dan Cartwright, principal at Uncharted Shores Academy, a school with about 300 students and 38 employees, said he doesn’t know what his employees’ political persuasions are, and that works out well. Cartwright thanked Greer for bringing a resolution opposing Proposition 50 to his colleagues for a vote and he thanked the Board of Trustees for refusing to put forward that vote during the County Office of Education meeting earlier on Thursday. “There’s such a tremendous diversity of thought in this community on a broad range of topics,” he said before thanking Greer and the Board. “I think both things are important in a functioning democracy. Mr. Greer (and) any member here has the ability and the right to bring something before the Board and that’s perfect. That’s how it should be.” Though his second motion for the DNUSD Board to officially oppose Prop 50 died due to a lack of a second, Greer said he appreciated the discussion his proposed resolution generated. “I believe it still can be a School Board issue that’s going to affect us whether we like it or not, but I do abide by what the School Board decides as a School Board,” he said.