Lee County School Board considers redistricting to reflect census

The Lee County School Board will consider changing how its districts are divided to ensure the equal distribution of resources and equal representation for the county’s growing, changing population.

The main reason for this is population growth. Information from the 2020 census shows shifts in demographics over the last 10 years. No one school board district is supposed to have substantially more constituents than others, and based on the 2020 data, each district should have around 152,000 constituents. The census shows that districts two and five have significantly more than that, and districts one and three have a great deal less.

The school board is allowed to make changes during odd-numbered years, so this is the perfect time to take another look at district lines. In 2011, the school board chose to draw the same district lines at those established by the Lee County Board of Commissioners. With the county looking to redraw its lines once again, the school board can choose to follow the same map or chose one of its own.

Board members tell WINK News they ultimately can’t make any decisions until they fully examine the map drawn up by the county commissioners.

“Since the county commissioners [are] making some changes, then it will behoove us to find out what changes they make before we say we’re going along with the county commission,” said Lee County School Board member Gwyn Gittens.

School board districts one through five would be impacted by this redistricting process, as their members are elected by their residents, but districts six and seven would not be, as their members are elected at large by residents of the entire county.

The Lee County NAACP says it hopes the board will draw its own map, one that would reflect changes in minority populations. The 2020 census has revealed that that population has increased significantly between 2010—the time of the last redistricting—and 2020. NAACP leaders say the Fort Myers—Lehigh Acres area is now a coalition minority-majority district, and—according to the 1965 Voting Rights Act—redistricting lines must be drawn to reflect the new boundaries. The group says the lack of representation in the school district is preventing students of color from getting the same opportunities as students in other areas.

“We’re looking for representation, because the boundaries doesn’t tell the story,” said James Muwakkil, president of the Lee County NAACP. “The story is what the boundaries entail with the people who live within those boundaries, and their students.”

Final approval of any new school board districts is expected on Dec. 7.