Board of Ed wants uneven districts; Draws own lines for redistricting

Annapolis Delegates to Vote on EMERGENCY Board of Education Redistricting Legislation on Monday, October 17, 2011 at 10 AM. 

It's an EMERGENCY!

Yes, the redistricting of the Board of Education must be done every 10 years according to Maryland law. But that doesn't mean there should be any discussion or thought put into the re-drawing of the lines! Instead, let's make it an EMERGENCY and skip any  public discussion. Let's have the elected Board of Education officials simply redraw their own lines, discuss and vote on the changes in one day. Why not?

Below is a map showing the new Board of Education districts that have been drawn and approved by the Board of Education. These new districts will be voted on by the House Delegation on Monday October 17th. Here's betting the vote will be unanimous! 

While the law says that the districts "shall be substantially equal in population" that's just a silly law! Instead the Board of Education has decided to create new districts that are UNEQUAL in population. The new districts are shown in the colors below, the current districts are the red lines. 

For example, the District 3 seat is currently held by Board member Patricia O'Neill. Currently, Ms. O'Neill represents an area that includes Whitman, BCC, WJ and some of the Down County Consortium (DCC). But after the lines are redrawn, Ms. O'Neill will have the pink area of the map. District 3 will add in the Churchill cluster and drop the DCC. 

Total population of District 3 will then be 202,229, making it the largest District in the County. Contrast that with the new population of District 1 (shown in blue) that will be 186,735. These lines will be in place for the next 10 years. 

Meanwhile, over at the Montgomery County Council, they actually had a Redistricting Commission that issued a report with analysis after 7 meetings over 7 months. The Council's new districts come out with population numbers that are very close in each district.  

Why did the Council put in all that time, effort and analysis when they could have just pushed the easy button like the Board of Education?

This is the redistricting option drawn up by the Board of Education, discussed
 and voted on in one meeting without any public input.
The Montgomery County House and Senate delegation will then
 happily vote this Board of Education plan into law without discussion.