Manatee School Board asks all residents to help with new district lines. Here’s how.

The redrawing of school district lines, a requirement that follows the U.S. Census every 10 years, is a process that affects every Manatee County voter.

Between 2010 and 2020, the county grew from approximately 322,800 residents to 399,700 — an increase of nearly 24% percent, according to newly released census data.

And the process of drawing new boundary lines, or redistricting, as it’s commonly known, is meant to balance the number of residents within each of the Manatee County School Board’s five districts.

Those lines take on new importance next year, when the board officially moves to a single-member system. Though members of the Manatee School Board are required to live in the district they represent, they campaign for votes throughout the entire county, a system that will soon end.

The School Board asked residents in 2018 if they preferred single-member districts, meaning board members are elected only by the people in their district. Just over 51% of voters said yes.

Because of the way the resolution was written, next year marks the first time that open School Board seats will fall under the single-district system. They are District 2, the seat currently held by Charlie Kennedy; District 4, the seat held by Chad Choate; and District 5, the seat held by James Golden.

That means the current line-drawing process will affect who gets to vote for those open School Board seats in 2022.

The proposed map

Three of the school board’s five members brought their own proposed maps to the table on Oct. 29.

The board has to ensure that each district includes roughly the same number of residents, and that upcoming changes don’t hurt the voting strength of minority residents — an illegal practice called vote dilution.

Board members also considered whether the people in each district share social or economic interests, and whether the lines are drawn along natural boundaries, such as waterways and major roads.

During their meeting, the board members compared each map and merged their ideas into a new draft, which is now open to public input.

As of Friday morning, the school board’s proposed map was broken down as follows:

• District 1: 73,288 people
• District 2: 80,344 people
• District 3: 83,339 people
• District 4: 84,214 people
• District 5: 78,525 people.

The website used to create their draft map, davesredistricting.org, pulls information directly from the Census Bureau. And it breaks that data into several categories, including white, non-Hispanic residents, and Hispanic, Black, Asian, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander residents.

Since a resident might fall under several of those categories, the total for certain districts might exceed 100%.

• District 1: 77.8% white, non-Hispanic residents and 10.4% Hispanic, 6.4% Black, 3.5% Asian, 1.7% Native and 0.1% Pacific
• District 2: 44.7% white, non-Hispanic residents and 31.6% Hispanic, 21.1% Black, 1.7% Asian, 2% Native and 0.2% Pacific
• District 3: 80.2% White, non Hispanic residents and 10.2% Hispanic, 5.4% Black, 2.2% Asian, 1.7% Native and 0.2% Pacific
• District 4: 59.2% white, non-Hispanic residents and 26.7% Hispanic, 10.2% Black, 2.5% Asian, 2% Native and 0.1% Pacific
• District 5: 80.9% white, non-Hispanic residents and 8.9% Hispanic, 3.9% Black, 4.2% Asian, 1.5% Native and 0.2% Pacific.

How to submit feedback

The map is a working copy that’s all but guaranteed to change before the school board votes on a final plan Dec. 14.

In the meantime, the School District of Manatee County has invited residents to study the map and provide feedback.

Anyone interested in the redistricting process can visit the school district’s website, manateeschools.net, and scroll down to the “District Hot Topics” section. From there, click on “Board District Lines Proposed Draft Map.”

The page includes an interactive link that allows viewers to click on individual districts and explore data within the map. It also includes a link to the feedback form where residents can share their ideas or concerns.

And at the bottom of the page are three other maps — labeled Draft A, Draft B and Draft C — that school board members brought to the table at their workshop in late October.

The board discussed each draft and used them as inspiration when creating the proposed map that’s now up for public review.

To watch the school board discuss and create its proposed map, visit vimeo.com/manateeschools and click on the Oct. 29 workshop video.

In an email to the Bradenton Herald on Friday afternoon, Chairman Kennedy reiterated that the original three drafts fueled the school board’s recent discussion, and that the resulting map is the one now up for public review and comment.

He also confirmed that redistricting has an impact on School Board elections, not student attendance or transportation.

“Political boundaries are completely separate from school attendance zones, bus routes, or anything to do with day-to-day school operations,” he said.

Chad Choate’s map

Board member Choate made one of three drafts that board members discussed before creating the new proposed map.

For his draft, Choate said the goal was to ensure that most districts encompass only one high school.

“To make sure each community of high schools feels like they are represented by one person they can go to for concerns,” he said at the recent workshop, noting that his map was “completely different than it’s really ever been.”

Choate’s map was broken down as follows:

• District 1: 78,704 people
• District 2: 80,705 people
• District 3: 79,477 people
• District 4: 79,108 people
• District 5: 81,716 people.

And he was the only board member to create a map using a tool outside of the Dave’s Redistricting website, so the same demographic breakdown was not available. Choate did, however, provide an overview for his proposed districts:

• District 1: 77% white residents and 23% minority
• District 2: 56% white residents and 44% minority
• District 3: 75% white residents and 25% minority
• District 4: 52% white residents and 48% minority
• District 5: 81% white residents and 19% minority.

Mary Foreman’s Map

While Choate offered a re-imagined map, board member Mary Foreman took the map that’s currently in place for Manatee County schools and tweaked it based on the new Census data, working to balance the population numbers and preserve minority representation.

Foreman’s map was broken down as follows:

• District 1: 78,362 people
• District 2: 81,112 people
• District 3: 80,099 people
• District 4: 81,203 people
• District 5: 78,934 people.

And the demographic breakdown included the following people:

• District 1: 77.3% white, non-Hispanic residents and 10.6% Hispanic, 6.8% Black, 3.4% Asian, 1.8% Native and 0.1% Pacific
• District 2: 44.9% white, non-Hispanic residents and 31.9% Hispanic, 20.6% Black, 1.7% Asian, 2% Native and 0.2% Pacific
• District 3: 80.5% White, non Hispanic residents and 9.8% Hispanic, 5.5% Black, 2.2% Asian, 1.6% Native and 0.2% Pacific
• District 4: 58.2% white, non-Hispanic residents and 27.2% Hispanic, 10.4% Black, 2.7% Asian, 2% Native and 0.1% Pacific
• District 5: 81.5% white, non-Hispanic residents and 8.7% Hispanic, 3.8% Black, 3.9% Asian, 1.4% Native and 0.2% Pacific.

Charlie Kennedy’s Map

Kennedy, the board chair, followed a similar process as Foreman, starting with the current districts and creating an updated map.

Kennedy’s map was broken down as follows:

• District 1: 74,839 people
• District 2: 81,406 people
• District 3: 83,339 people
• District 4: 77,004 people
• District 5: 83,122 people.

And the demographic breakdown included the following people:

• District 1: 77.9% white, non-Hispanic residents and 10.4% Hispanic, 6.4% Black, 3.5% Asian, 1.7% Native and 0.1% Pacific
• District 2: 44.7% white, non-Hispanic residents and 31.7% Hispanic, 20.9% Black, 1.7% Asian, 2% Native and 0.2% Pacific
• District 3: 80.2% White, non Hispanic residents and 10.2% Hispanic, 5.4% Black, 2.2% Asian, 1.7% Native and 0.2% Pacific
• District 4: 57.3% white, non-Hispanic residents and 28.2% Hispanic, 10.8% Black, 2.5% Asian, 2% Native and 0.1% Pacific
• District 5: 81.3% white, non-Hispanic residents and 8.7% Hispanic, 3.8% Black, 4.2% Asian, 1.4% Native and 0.1% Pacific.