Voters may decide School Board's shape

A plan to institute single-member districts likely will be offered in a referendum next year.

By KELLY RYAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 14, 2001

LARGO -- Next year, Pinellas County voters will get to decide whether the School Board's makeup should change.

The School Board unanimously agreed Tuesday that a referendum should be placed on the Nov. 5, 2002, ballot. It would ask residents whether the School Board should have single-member districts.

The vote answered demands from African-American activists, who say that single-member districts provide some hope that the School Board could become more diverse. The School Board has never had an elected black member.

"We should give them an opportunity to vote," said School Board member Max Gessner. "The schools belong to the public."

With the vote, the School Board officially asked the local legislative delegation to file a bill in Tallahassee and seek approval from the rest of the Legislature. With the School Board's support, approval of the bill is all but guaranteed.

Supporters of single-member districts still face an uphill battle.

They will have just more than a year to convince the majority of county voters that single-member districts would make School Board members more responsive to community needs.

County voters recently passed by a narrow vote a similar measure for the County Commission.

Before the vote, School Board attorney John Bowen made clear that by asking the item to be placed on the ballot, School Board members are not officially endorsing the idea of single-member districts.

In fact, some board members have expressed worry that single-member districts could be divisive. Regardless of their personal philosophies, they agreed that it is up to voters how the board is structured.

Right now, all seven board members are elected countywide. Five members must live in numbered districts, but the other two can live anywhere in the county.

Under the proposal, each voter still would be able to elect a majority of the School Board: three countywide, at-large seats and one of four single-member seats.

School Board members suggested some minor changes to the bill. For instance, they think it should include a provision for the board to draw boundaries for the new districts in 2003. They also wanted to clarify that incumbent board members could choose to seek re-election to one of the newly created single-member districts or an at-large seat.

Two single-member representatives and one at-large member would be elected in 2004. Two more single-member representatives and two more at-large members would be elected in 2006.

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