At the Board of School Trustees’ regular meeting on Tuesday, August 26, the Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC) presented a preliminary report on the MCCSC Redistricting Study. Dr. Tim Dowling, MCCSC director of enrollment and early learning, emphasized three main points: The goals and timeline, the involvement of the public, and how redistricting scenarios are being chosen and evaluated. Click to view the report Powerpoint slides.
The purpose of the MCCSC Redistricting Study is to study redistricting as a mechanism to balance socio-economic status within schools while considering cost-effectiveness of current & redistricted models.
Dr. Dowling explained how the public has been involved in the study.
“The Redistricting Study Commission was formed in March 2025 to involve the public in the Redistricting Study,” said Dr. Dowling. “We advertised membership widely, and no applicants were turned away. Our 92 Commission members include teachers, staff, principals, current and former students, and community members. We are deeply grateful for their continued involvement and conversation.”
The work of the Commission is to study many redistricting scenarios and their impacts through winter 2025. During Commission meetings, members examine each redistricting scenario with a map showing school boundaries, along with data. This data includes the percentage of Free/Reduced Lunch students at each school, the number of students who would need to move schools, and other data points.
Dr. Dowling also explained how redistricting scenarios are chosen for study.
“Each scenario being studied was chosen because it was requested by Commission members, aligned with the Board’s priorities, or it came from the demographic consultant hired by the Board of School Trustees in 2024.”
The Commission is evaluating all redistricting scenarios based on Board, public and Commission input. The Commission is using a rubric to measure how well each redistricting scenario aligns with 1) The Board of School Trustees’ top two priorities and 2) The top considerations of the public and Commission members.
“The Board of School Trustees’ top two priorities are balancing socioeconomic status and cost effectiveness,” said Dr. Dowling. “Through a public survey, we gathered the public and Commission members’ top considerations that should be used to evaluate the redistricting scenarios. Through 333 survey responses, they chose these considerations: Capacity, Resource Allocation, and Class Sizes; Minimizing Student Reassignment; Transportation; and a ‘Neighborhood Schools’ concept.”
The end product of the Study will be an informational report on the Commission’s work to the Board of School Trustees in spring 2026 for the Board’s further consideration.
Information about the MCCSC Redistricting Study can be found at mccsc.edu/redistricting and the public can sign up for email updates.
