Board reviews three redistricting draft maps; consultant to post interactive map and shape files

The Edgecombe County Board of Education heard a detailed presentation on redistricting and agreed to make draft maps available for public review.

Deborah (staff) opened the presentation by explaining that the General Assembly moved a section of Rocky Mount into the school district and that the board must redraw seven electoral districts so each has an ideal population of 6,986. "That means the newly added area has as many people as all of the green area," she said, describing the scale of the change.

Blake Esselstyn of Map Figure Consulting demonstrated three draft options. He described option A as an approach that "keeps things as similar as possible to the existing districts," preserving incumbents where feasible. Option B prioritized compact district shapes; after initial drawing Blake said the map paired some incumbents, so he produced a modified B2 with three small adjustments to avoid incumbent pairings. Option C incorporated written public input to keep neighborhoods and "communities of interest" together where practicable.

On demographics, Blake told the board the previously existing jurisdiction was roughly 47.71% Black and 45.89% White; he said the newly added Rocky Mount area is "more than 93% Black," increasing the countywide Black share to about 56.40% and White to about 37.95%. Blake said he did not use racial or political data when drawing the maps: "I was not looking at racial data at the precinct level or the block level... I did not have any political data in the software either," he said.

Rachel Allure, a voting-rights attorney with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, urged the board to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution. "The maps must be compliant with the Voting Rights Act and the United States Constitution," she said, and urged the board to publish shape and block files so community members can analyze proposed maps and assess whether Black voting-age population is being cracked or packed.

Blake demonstrated the district website’s interactive map (geofigure.com), showing layer toggles, address search, and the ability to compare draft options side by side. He said static slides and the interactive map will be posted online and that he would provide shape and block-assignment files "in the next few days," labeled as draft.

Board members discussed next steps and public access. Staff proposed at least four community meetings (North Edgecombe High School, Southwest Edgecombe High School, Tarboro High School, and a Rocky Mount site) and several public locations for printed maps (Braswell Library, OIC Rocky Mount, Pine Tops Library, Tarboro Library, the county administrative building and the school system office). One board member suggested releasing three maps—A, B2 and C—for initial public review to keep the options manageable.

What’s next: staff and the consultant will post the interactive map and draft files, schedule public hearings, and return to the board to narrow options after public feedback.