Judge approves legal settlement changing Sunnyside School Board voting map

SUNNYSIDE, Wash. After a legal challenge from community advocates, the Sunnyside School District will be changing its election system from an at-large format to a district-based system.

A Yakima County Superior Court judge signed off on the settlement agreement establishing a new political map on Friday, marking a significant shift in how the district’s school board members are elected.

The issue with the current at-large system, according to David Montes, an attorney with the ACLU, is that it allows everyone within a school district to vote for all candidates for school board, even for areas where they don’t live.

“So you're not choosing the person who's making decisions about where your child goes to school,” Montes said. “The whole town is picking that and so when there's a problem, you don't have someone to go to.”

The legal challenge was brought by Empowering Latina Leadership and Action (ELLA), which argued that the at-large system diluted the votes of Latinx residents, preventing them from electing candidates of their choice and violating the Washington Voting Rights Act.

ELLA was represented by the ACLU, along with Sunnyside student Jeryka Nava and Raquel Lopez, a mother who became involved after her son was assaulted by other students earlier this year.

“I have been to every single school board meeting, and I have given public comment at each one,” Lopez said. “Unfortunately, I don't feel like my concerns were very heard or much was done about it.”

In April, the ACLU notified the district of the voting system's inequities. A settlement agreement was reached in June, and the court approved it Friday.

Maria Fernandez with ELLA hopes the new system will result in better representation on the school board.

“We know that next year, all five seats come up for election, which means there's a huge possibility of at least having three seats within the school board that will be occupied by Latino, Latinas to represent and mirror the community that it serves,” Fernandez said.

In a statement, Sunnyside School District officials said they were unaware of the issue until April but worked with the ACLU to find a solution.

“Sunnyside School District was notified in April by the ACLU that there was an issue, we weren't aware of this before that time. We immediately began working with them to find a remedy to allow all voters to have equal representation,” the statement read. “This teamwork allows us to give a better voice to our voters.”

The district has until Jan. 15 to implement the changes, which will be in place for the fall 2025 school board elections, when all five seats will be up for reelection.

ELLA is hosting an event with activities, music and food to celebrate the changes from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sept. 15 at the Sunnyside Community Center.

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