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Residents, board members press for public hearings as school district narrows redistricting options
Summary
Community speakers urged the Edgecombe County Board of Education to advance Option C and hold multiple public information sessions; the board voted 4–3 to ask the consultant to revise Option D to keep certain communities together and return a revised map for review and posting for public input.
At a regular meeting, community members and board members clashed over four proposed school board redistricting maps and next steps for public input.
Natalie O'Ree of Meadowbrook told the board she had reviewed the newly presented map and believed it broke up important neighborhoods, saying the map "does not fully support the Edgemont and the Meadowbrook communities" and urged the board to move Option C forward for additional review and public forums. Angela Bryant, speaking for the demerger/redistricting working group, also urged the board to advance Option C, saying it "keeps communities of interest together" and produces a fairer distribution of Black voting-age citizens across districts than some other options.
Several board members debated competing priorities: keeping incumbents' current constituents intact, preserving communities of interest, or aligning school-district lines with county-commissioner boundaries. Board discussion focused on whether to narrow options before public sessions and which locations and dates to use; the superintendent proposed initial community meetings at North Edgecombe High, Southwest Edgecombe High, Tarboro High and D.S. Johnson Elementary.
Board member (speaker identifying themselves during discussion) moved that consultant Blake prepare revisions to Option D to address specific concerns raised about Rocky Mount-area neighborhoods and to increase the number of current constituents included in District 5 for one incumbent. The motion passed on a 4–3 vote. The board directed the consultant to produce a revised version (referred to as "D2"), to share that version with board members and the public at the same time, and to schedule public information meetings after members and the public have had time to review the posted map.
The board and consultant agreed revised maps should be posted publicly at the same time they are circulated to board members so residents have an opportunity to review before public meetings. Several board members emphasized the need for multiple listening sessions spread across the county so communities that have not yet weighed in can participate.
The next procedural step is for the consultant to deliver the revised map for board review and, if the board approves, to post the map for public comment ahead of the scheduled community meetings.
