As the Arkansas Legislature remains in session over one remaining issue - redrawing the congressional districts based on the 2010 census - one question has been noticeably absent from the debate and myriad of maps: What's best for the people?
We are bombarded about what's best for Democrats, Republicans, incumbent congressmen, potential congressional candidates, legislators, constitutional officers and special interests. But no one in leadership is talking seriously about simply taking the state's population, dividing by four, then redrawing the districts in the most efficient and proximate regional clusters to best serve the people.
The Little Rock School Board will soon face a similar re-zoning issue.
The Arkansas School Board Association (ASBA), in cooperation with the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), Governor's office, Attorney General's office, Secretary of State's office, and Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators (AAEA), in its memorandum of February 8, 2011, outlined steps which zoned districts "must do to meet the obligations of state and federal law:"
- 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.
- 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.
- The zone plan must be filed with the County Clerk so as to enable the Clerk to establish which voters belong in which zones.
- 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.
- 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.
In a March 24, 2011 email to the Little Rock School Board, Chris Heller, the Little Rock School District's attorney, wrote that, "Because of LRSD's compliance with the voting Rights Act, Arkansas law does not require that all board positions be filled by election in 2012."
Mr. Heller also wrote, "The best course of action for LRSD to take in response to the 2010 census and Ark Code Ann 6-13-631 would be to make only the changes necessary to comply with the 'one person, one vote' principle of the Constitution and not to make any changes which would jeopardize LRSD's compliance with the Voting Rights Act."
While I vehemently disagree with his opinion, it will take a lawyer to challenge his legal assertions. Though I once played one on TV, I am not a lawyer.
Meanwhile, when I brought Mr. Heller's opinion to the attention of the ASBA's Dan Farley, ADE's Tom Kimbrell and AAEA's Richard Abernathy, ASBA Attorney Paul Blume did a fast backstroke from his own "must do" list in regard to the Little Rock School District, agreeing "with Mr. Heller's interpretation of the LRSD's obligations, vel non, under the statute."
I recognize that as a non-governmental organization, the ASBA has no standing to compel. But it issued the memorandum as a result of meetings hosted by the ADE which involved the Governor's office, the Attorney General's office, the Secretary of State's office, and the AAEA. Reads mighty official to me. And if not, who is advising the public school districts of Arkansas on this important issue of public school governance?
Understand, despite Mr. Blume's recharacterization, his memorandum exempted no districts in the state. It was only after he/they were challenged by the big, bad, scary Little Rock School District (my words), that he/they backed away from their own "must do" steps.
Even though the Little Rock School District has been declared unitary, lawyers seem to still be leading the district, both directly and passively.
So far, there is no argument that the district must redraw its zones based on the 2010 census. The question becomes, Who will redraw the zones and how?
With nonpartisan elections in the Little Rock School District, race (both black and white), not party, will likely drive any gerrymandering attempts in the redrawing of zones.
In the district, whites are more concentrated in Zones 3 (86.3%) and Zone 4 (78%) than are blacks in Zones 1 (68.3%), 2 (66.1%), 6 (60.3%) and 7 (60.3%). Even though the total percentage of whites in the district is 47.4% compared to blacks' 44.1%, because of whites' lopsided zone concentrations, four of the district's seven zones are, and will likely remain, majority black. Hispanics, which make up 7% of the district's population, are most concentrated in Zones 6 (16.5%) and 7 (13.64%).
My response to all that is, "So what." No group - white or black - should gerrymander the district to serve its respective special interests. Zones should be drawn to most equitably, effectively and efficiently represent the people in the governance of their public schools.
Little Rock is constricted in that its school district does not match the Little Rock city limits, and therefore, doesn't mirror or grow with the City. Most of Chenal, for example, is in the fiscally distressed Pulaski County Special School District.
There is also disagreement as to whether the zones should be drawn based on general population (as they have in the past) or on the voting age population, required by Voting Rights cases, as described in the ASBA memorandum.
Once decided if the district will be zoned by population or voting age adults, the board, through its demographer, should take the number, divide by seven, then draw the most efficient, logical and proximate zones to best serve the people, without regard to race. Then, let the voters fall where they may. Metroplan has created a map of the Little Rock School District zones and their respective 2010 census numbers, by both general and voting age population.
Zoning by Voting Age Population
To achieve average zone voting age populations of 19,457, Zones 1 (-1,861), 2 (-2,479) and 6 -1,660), which lost voting age population, will need to be expanded geographically in order to gain voting age adults.
Zones 3 (+1,710), 4 (+2,033), and 5 (+1,423) gained voting population and will need to be contracted geographically in order to lose voting age population.
Zone 7 (+833) also gained voting age population, but because it's within 5% of the zone average (973), it is considered in range.
Zoning by General Population
To achieve average zone populations of 25,484, Zones 1 (-3,989) and 2 (-3,065), which lost population, will need to be expanded geographically in order to gain population.
Zones 4 (+1,962) and 7 (+3,452) gained population and will need to be contracted geographically in order to lose population.
Because Zones 3, 5 and 6 are within 5% (1,274) of the zone average of 25,484, they are considered in range.Since not all of the zones which lost population are contiguous with those that gained or those that aren't balanced by needs of loss and gain, it seems that all zone boundaries will have to change. In a worst case gerrymandering scenario, one could imagine a "Fayetteville Finger" for Zone 2 sticking up to pull 2,000 voters from Zone 4, even though it currently shares only the tips of corners.
If after rezoning by voting age population, the Little Rock School District follows its attorney's recommendation and does not hold new elections in 2012, as many as 5,999 voting age adults of the district will be represented by a board member for whom they did not have the opportunity to vote.
If after rezoning by general population, the Little Rock School District follows its attorney's recommendation and does not hold new elections in 2012, as many as 5,414 citizens of the district will be represented by a board member for whom voters did not have the opportunity to cast a ballot.
If the district and its legal team are truly committed to "one person, one vote," how will they justify their decision to not hold new elections to the over 5,000 with no vote?
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