Will Decorah School Board members be elected differently in the future?

Redistricting required by the results of the 2010 U.,S. Census isn't just affecting state and national elections.

Local governments also have to change their voting district boundaries based on the results of the census.  That includes the Decorah Community School District.

Decorah school board members met Monday to mull the options on how to draw up school election districts in the wake of the 2010 census.  They learned that districts cannot vary from the ideal by more than ten percent.

Geography students at the University of Iowa have drawn up a proposed new school board district plan, one that divides the district into an eastern district and a western district.  The proposal meets the state's population requirements.  But it also splits the City of Decorah into opposite school voting districts that both include rural areas.  The current voting districts ensure three Decorah School Board members live within the city limits, one lives in the rural portion of the school district and one represents the entire district.

The new map could result in having anywhere from zero to five school board members living within the city limits.  Since that's the case, Decorah school board members on Monday wondered why they even needed to set up districts for the next ten years, as opposed to having all five school board members living anywhere within the school district.  "What's being gained (with the new map)?" asked school board member Ron Fadness.

The school board has scheduled a public hearing on the issue at 6:00 p.m. Monday, April 30th.  It could vote on the issue at that time, or at the school board meeting May 14th.

(A map of the proposed two school board voting districts can be viewed by clicking on the link)