On Tuesday, September 8, the Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC) Board of School Trustees met in a public work session to discuss and draft clear parameters that would allow the Board to examine redistricting, reorganization, and/or restructuring. The Board’s work session builds on the Board’s past discussions, research, and gathering of public input:
- February 2024: The MCCSC Board of School Trustees made a resolution to study redistricting.
- November 2024: In spring of 2024, the Board asked for a demographic study to be conducted, the results of which were shared publicly at the November Board meeting.
- December 2024: The Board identified two priorities for redistricting: balancing socioeconomic status and cost effectiveness.
- March 2025: The MCCSC established the Redistricting Study Commission to include the public in studying redistricting.
- April 2025 – April 2026: The 92-member Redistricting Study Commission studied many potential redistricting map scenarios and identified six key findings.
- April 2026: The findings stated that clear and measurable parameters for redistricting were needed from the Board in order for MCCSC to draft possible future redistricting scenarios.
- August 2026: The Board broadened the term “redistricting” to “redistricting, reorganization, and restructuring.” The Board directed Superintendent Winston to organize a work session for them to discuss parameters for what redistricting should achieve as their next step in redistricting consideration.
At the September 8th work session, Board President Erin Cooperman led a discussion stemming from all of this prior work. The Board identified six major factors for drafting redistricting parameters: socioeconomic status balance, projected annual net expenses, utilization rate, class size integrity, transportation time, and percentage of students reassigned. Under each factor, the Board drafted a measurable target goal, constraints (non-negotiable thresholds), and a “weight” of prioritization. The Board named socioeconomic status balance and projected annual net expenses as their two highest and equally-weighted factors.
Superintendent Dr. Markay L. Winston thanked the Board for the discussion. The Board requested another public work session to be scheduled to continue their work. The work session will be advertised with upcoming Board meetings at mccsc.edu/board.
The public is invited to stay informed and sign up for email updates at mccsc.edu/redistricting.