New Voting Districts To Be Planned

Elections for Alexander County School Board will be taking on a new look. The school system must redraw the voting districts into seven equal portions by December to match the 2020 census. The new districts would not affect the boundaries of schools nor the schools’ attendance lines.

In November 2024, Alexander Countians approved a referendum to elect school board members by party. The now-partisan elections and the census rules in House Bill 308 do not go into effect until the 2026 board elections; however, the voting lines must be drawn before candidates file for office. Filing begins December 2025.

Members heard from School Board Attorney Caryn Brzykcy on February 13th about the process. The group asked Brzykcy to contact a consultant who would help redraw the voting lines.

“We should not have self-serving principles in this. We should draw the districts for the merits they have,” said BOE member Robert Arguelles.

Earlier this month, Alexander County Election Director Patrick Wike gave the board background on redistricting. He told the board members each district would have to include 5,206 people; that 5,206 can be above or below by five percent.

The redistricting rule in the house bill came in tandem with the effort to have school board elections become partisan. Fifty-three percent of those who voted in Alexander County in November 2024 chose to have the school board members elected by party label. Alexander County joins the 53 districts across the state who now elect board members as either a Democrat or Republican.

The new law requires equal representation, saying that Alexander County should have seven school board districts with each member serving a four-year term; terms should be staggered. Corey McLain, Shannon Oxentine, and Jesse Bowles won the most recent elections in 2024 after Brigette Rhyne, Scott Bowman, and Ramie Robinson chose to not seek their former seats. If they choose to run again, Matt Reese, Anthony McLain, Robert Arguelles, and Josh Dagenhart would be up for re-election in 2026.

The board members briefly considered asking the legislature to pass another bill where each candidate would run at large for school board. If that were the case, the members would represent the entire county and not a specific district. However, the bill to request at-large districts must be filed in the legislature by February 20^th.

“I don’t think six days will give us enough time,” said Anthony McLain.

Board members also felt that at-large filing might give one community more representation instead of membership being based on equally populated districts.

The county school board underwent redistricting in 2001 to meet the 2000 census numbers. At that time, the county was split into four voting districts for the board. Currently, the only member who does not have another person within the same district is Shannon Oxentine.

Jesse Bowles           District 1        Wittenburg

Robert Arguelles      District 1        Wittenburg

Matt Reese               District 2        Taylorsville

Josh Dagenhart        District 2        Taylorsville

Shannon Oxentine   District 3        Ellendale, Little River

Anthony McLain       District 4        Sharpes, Millers, Sugar Loaf, Gwaltney

Corey McLain           District 4        Sharpes, Millers, Sugar Loaf, Gwaltney

 

The 2020 census and the latest session law requires seven districts. The seven districts are to ensure that one group or area does not have voting power over another. This is called One Person-One Vote, a constitutional requirement. The newly drawn districts are to be compact and contiguous. They are also to preserve communities of interest and minimize split precincts. Each of the board members who file for office from here on would have to live in the district where he/she runs.

The school board’s next step is to hear a consultant’s proposals for redrawing the voting districts. The aim would be to have the regions finalized by August or September.