Board proposes removing per-school board‑member assignments online and to list that all members represent all schools

Marion County School Board members on Feb. 5 debated whether to reassign specific schools to individual board members to match live‑in district maps or to remove per‑school assignments entirely from the district website. Several members said removing the assignment list and indicating that "all board members represent all schools" would reduce public confusion while preserving long‑standing relationships.

Why it matters: The board's website currently lists particular schools under each member, which can cause confusion when residents look up the person associated with their child's school; with recent boundary and demographic changes the board said the public needs clearer guidance.

What the board discussed and agreed: - Proposal and rationale: Dr. Campbell presented maps and suggested reassignments to balance student enrollments and align public-facing school lists to live‑in district maps. He said the goal is to make school listings consistent with supervisor-of-elections boundaries and to even out student representation across board districts. - Relationship and timing concerns: Several members, including long‑serving trustees, cautioned that suddenly moving schools breaks established community relationships; they favored a warm handoff if assignments change. Members suggested any change should coincide with the start of the next school year for a smoother transition. - Website change: After discussion the chair and multiple members supported removing per‑school assignments from the public-facing site and instead posting a list of board contact information with language that all members represent all schools. Members asked staff and the PR team to plan the website update for the beginning of the next school year and to communicate the change clearly to the public.

Quotes: Dr. Campbell summarized the objective: "I want families that each of us represent and when they go to our web site, they can see which schools we represent." Reverend Cummings emphasized relationship concerns: "When there's a rapport that you build with these districts and these schools... there is a comfort level." The chair proposed the website move and asked staff to prepare a transition for the next school year.

Next steps: Staff will coordinate with the PR team to update the district website to show board contact information and an explanatory note that all members represent all schools, with the change targeted for the start of the next academic year so incoming board members and families see a clean transition.