Paul Blume, ASBA General Counsel of ASBA, outlined what districts "must do to meet the obligations of state and federal law." In short, after zones are redrawn based on the 2010 census, hold new school board elections in 2012.
A representative of the Little Rock School District has already said, "We're not going to do that."
The Little Rock School District belongs to the citizens, not the board and its representatives. The people should demand that the district follow the recommendations and the law.
Further, Little Rock has a choice of either having five zoned positions and two at-large or continuing with seven zoned positions. According to the memo, that determination must be made by the board at least 90 days before the 2011 school election. In other words, by mid-June of this year.
I am researching if that decision may be made by the people, rather than incumbent school board members with a vested interest in keeping their current positions.
More information may be found at www.arsba.org. Meanwhile, here's the memo:
Since December, ASBA has participated in several meetings hosted by the Arkansas Department of Education to discuss the obligations of school districts to implement board zones or redraw zones to reflect the results of the 2010 U.S. Census. Others involved in those talks were the Governor’s office, the Attorney General’s office, the Secretary of State’s office, and the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators (AAEA).
As a result of those meetings, Paul Blume, ASBA General Counsel, has outlined what you must do to meet the obligations of state and federal law. Following are the steps for currently zoned districts and the steps for districts to be zoned.
STEPS FOR CURRENTLY ZONED SCHOOL DISTRICTS
1. Upon issuance of new 2010 Census figures, the district should either hire a demographer or use the services of the offices of the Arkansas Secretary of State, if available, for the purpose of establishing new zones, if necessary.
2. The zones must be drawn so as to be substantially equal in voting age population. (Note:The statute refers to total population, but the Voting Rights Act cases refer only to voting age population in reference to drawing zone lines.)
3. The zone plan must be filed with the County Clerk so as to enable the Clerk to establish which voters belong in which zones.
4. At the next school election, or no later than the regular school election of 2012, following the redrawing of the zones, all school board positions must be up for election, including any at‐large positions.
5. Upon the board members being elected, the newly elected board members draw lots for length of terms so that, to the extent possible, no more than two (2) positions are up for election in any subsequent year.
STEPS FOR DISTRICTS TO BE ZONED
If, after the 2010 Census figures are prepared and released, a school district now has 10 percent or greater minority population, A.C.A 6‐13‐631 requires that, if it has not already done so, it must be divided into zones for the election of school board members.
1. At least 90 days before the 2011 school election, the board adopts a resolution to authorize members being elected by zone, with either 5 or 7 zones, or with 5 zones and 2 at‐large positions, at the discretion of the board. The entire process must be completed in time for the 2012 election. Based on our interpretation, all positions, including both zone positions and at‐large positions are up for re‐election.
2. The district is divided into zones (5 or 7, or 5 with 2 at‐large) of substantially equal voting age population. The information must be provided to the County Clerk. Therefore, the sooner the zones can be established, the easier for the Clerk to prepare the voter rolls for each zone. The district should hire a demographer to draw the zones based on the 2010 Census, or, if available, use the resources of the Secretary of State, which has software that some schools have used to establish or adjust zones.
3. The board members will have 5‐year terms, to be staggered by the drawing of lots after the 2012 election so that, to the extent possible, no more than 2 members are elected per year thereafter.
We encourage each board to consult with its legal counsel for advice and guidance with state and federal law regarding zoning.
Please see attached for important information from the Arkansas Geographic Information Office.
INFORMATION FROM THE ARKANSAS GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION OFFICE
In an effort to serve education officials with the redistricting process, the Arkansas Geographic Information Office and Secretary of State Redistricting Office developed a contract template for redistricting. The document was designed so that it could be modified to be used by County Election Commissions, City Councils and School Boards. It covers the technical information necessary to employ the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to conduct the analysis and mapping. (NOTE: This template will be linked on the ASBA website: www.arsba.org.)
The detailed Census population information will flow from the Census to the Arkansas Board of Apportionment (Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State) on February 11, 2011. Shortly after, the Census will make it electronically available on their website, and the Arkansas Geographic Information Office will publish it on GeoStor, the state’s GIS platform, from which the Census blocks and population data can be downloaded. (NOTE: A link to this resource is contained in the template mentioned previously which will be on the ASBA website: www.arsba.org.)
Additionally, the Arkansas Geographic Information Office assembled a series of supplementary GIS files that can be used to support the process. These are also linked in the template.
Questions Regarding Redistricting:
Arkansas Secretary of State’s Office
Tim Humphries, General Counsel
State Capitol Rm. 256
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201‐1094
Phone: 501.682.3401
Questions Regarding Geographic Information Systems (GIS):
Arkansas Geographic Information Office
Shelby Johnson, Geographic Information Officer
1 Capitol Mall
2nd Floor 2B 900
Little Rock, AR 72201
501.682.2767
No comments:
Post a Comment