Could at-large school board elections now make it on the school board's legislative agenda?
In an online article published Friday in the Carolina Journal, school board member Ron Margiotta said "without a doubt" he still wants at-large elections added to the legislative agenda.
It's the right time of the year for the issue. The board historically adopts the legislative agenda in December, just in time for the new board majority.
It was critics of the outgoing board who had led the push for at-large elections. But as you've probably seen in several blog comments since then, it's been supporters of the old board who've been complaining about not being able to vote in the fall elections.
Putting it on the board's legislative agenda is only part of the battle. It would still require the General Assembly to approve the change.
Looking ahead to the 2011 elections, would at-large elections make it easier for supporters of the diversity policy to try to win the seat now held by Margiotta> Or would at-large elections make it easier for critics to take the seats held by Kevin Hill, Anne McLaurin, Carolyn Morrison and Keith Sutton/
Comments
Districts with at large
Mon, 11/16/2009 - 22:25 — CaryiteDistricts with at large school board elections are coming under attack for discrimination:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Jackpot-Lawyers-earn-fees-apf-1826203035.html?x=0&.v=2
"The California statute targets commonly used "at-large" elections -- those in which candidates run citywide or across an entire school district. Avila said that method can result in discrimination because whatever group constitutes the majority of voters can dominate the ballot box and block minorities from winning representation. As a remedy, the law empowers state courts to create smaller election districts favoring minority candidates.
Officials in several California communities said they never heard complaints of voter discrimination until the lawyers stepped forward. In one case, the Tulare Local Healthcare District, now known as Tulare Regional Medical Center, was sued even though its five-member governing board is a rainbow of diversity -- two emigres from India, a Hispanic, a black and a white. The lawsuit argues Hispanics, who make up about a third of local voters, have been shortchanged.
Critics like Stafford see themselves as railroaded by lawyers armed with a law that's flawed and unnecessary. They say even if there's no discrimination, cash-strapped communities see little choice but to settle, given the risks of costly litigation and unwelcome publicity that comes with it."
"Rubin concedes breaking up at-large elections doesn't guarantee more minorities immediately will be elected. What can be expected, he said, is a trend toward more diversity over time."
As more lawyers see this as a sure fire money maker, it will spread beyond California.
cgnolte, I wrote about these
Mon, 11/16/2009 - 16:58 — jenmancgnolte, I wrote about these topics (boundaries with new census and district populations) a while ago on my blog, voiceforequity.com Go to http://voiceforequity.blogspot.com/search/label/districts to find them. Skip the first post, which was my endorsements for the election. The next 3 entries are the ones to read.
redistricting?
Mon, 11/16/2009 - 13:55 — cgnolteWhen will the BOE (and county commissioner) district lines be redrawn? And how will that impact incumbents, since not all districts are up for reelection in a given year?
How equal are the populations in each district? Presumably they were approximately equal when the lines were drawn, but if that was last done in 2000 then I would expect they are pretty far out of balance now.
The board should get to the
Mon, 11/16/2009 - 18:38 — KeungHui (author)The board should get to the issue in early 2011. Barring legal action, they should be adopted before candidates begin filing in July. If it's still a district system, no matter what Districts 3,4,5,6 and 8 will be on the ballot in 2011. The question is how hardball does the new board want to get with the lines. Board members could try to avoid putting any of the incumbents in the same district, as has happened in the past. If the board chooses to draw the boundares so that some current board members would be in other seats, it could get testy.
Answers...
Mon, 11/16/2009 - 14:50 — Bob_SconceDistricts are redrawn every 10 years after the Census results come out -- that will be late 2010 if memory serves.
The redistricting will affect current board members because it's possible that after redistricting, one or more board members will no longer be in his/her district. And, if that happens, then the seat will be declared vacant and filled by the board until it is next up for election. As Keung has pointed out elsewhere, in 1990 and 2000, the board finagled the district lines to allow each member to keep his/her seat, even if it did result is somewhat bizarre boundaries.
We don't know for sure how equal the populations are -- that's what the census is for. But, if you look at the number of voters in each district (which is known), you find that Patty Head's/Deborah Prickett's district has about 50% more voters than Carolyn Morisson's district. That's one justification for at-large elections -- the districts never get out of balance.
Neither...
Mon, 11/16/2009 - 10:15 — Bob_SconceAt-large elections would make it much easier to run a slate of candidates and would require the candidates to get broad support from the entire county. The last election showed that, except for a few pockets in the older areas of town, the county broadly rejected the policies of the outgoing board. From a vote-counting perspective, sure the NAACP-directed voters might vote against Ron M., but he'd gain the support of voters all across the county. That's a new win for him.
From a purely pragmatic point of view, though, I'm not at all sure that at-large elections are worth the effort. It seems clear that one of Hill, McLaurin or Morrison will lose his/her seat in the 2010 census redistricting.** That will give a 6/3 advantage which could easily be bumped to 7/2 in the 2011 election.
The real thing that should be added to the agenda is an increase in the charter school cap.
** Morrison lives in a neighborhood at the corner of Millbrook & Falls of Neuse. One possibility is to merge the part of her district North of I-440 with Hills', and merge the other part with the ITB portion of McLaurin's. The resulting OTB district would have a lot of North Raleigh folks who oppose the outgoing board's policies.