District staff present revised director‑district map to reduce population variance; board asked for school overlays

Thompson School District staff presented a proposed director‑district redistricting option May 7 intended to reduce population variance and comply with state targets.

Why it matters: Colorado law and board policy instruct districts to review director/district boundaries to maintain roughly equal population distribution. Staff said rapid growth had produced disparities and a redraw was required to keep variances within statutory guidance.

Method and staff recommendation: Ryan Baker, planning manager, said staff used Esri 2024 demographic counts enriched to 2020 census blocks and optimized new district boundaries to aim for variance under 3% and — in the recommended option — under 0.5%. Baker said he tried to preserve neighborhood shape and continuity while balancing population counts. Staff recommended an option that they said preserves district “essence” and brings population counts close to parity.

Board questions and requested follow‑up: Trustees asked for a school overlay showing which schools fall in each new director district and how the changes affect incumbents’ seats and term completion. Staff said residents would not be removed mid‑term and that affected seats would be subject to the normal election process when terms expire. Trustees requested staff provide a revised map with school labels and confirm whether any schools such as Riverview are placed back in particular director districts as requested by trustees.

Next steps: Staff said the proposed map will be returned for formal action in the next meeting cycle and that the plan will remain open for public review in the interim.

Ending: Trustees praised the level of detail and asked staff to supply a school overlay and final mapping information ahead of the public hearing and vote.