BRADENTON -- Deputy County Administrator, Karen Windon opened the session, passing around the proposed map and changes. County Commissioner Chair, Carol Whitmore agreed that most of the commission was fine with Plan D. She said that they had worked hard to deliver a plan that was fair and would work.
Whitmore handed over the floor to Manatee County School Board Chairman Robert Gause. Gause thanked the commission for the proportionate and squared off design, instead of smearing the districts all over the county. He said the decision will go before them on Dec. 12 and that it appears all of the numbers stay within the range.
The state allows a 10 percent disparity between the lowest number in a district and the highest. In plan D, that number is about seven percent. The school board's vice chair, Harry Kinnan, said the only thing that bothered him was that District 3 had exploded with population, but otherwise it was fine.
Commissioner Bustle asked Windon if there was a verbal description of the boundary lines where there wasn't a definitive boundary line (like a road)? Windon replied that there was not and added, "with the navigation information on the internet, a satellite map can be easily accessed for those in question. They can easily look it up to find where they are located."
Commissioner Joe McClash said there would need to be clarity on the precincts, and added "if you need help, please ask for help from us in order to make it clear for the citizens." It seemed all were fine with the final map.
County Commissioners will be voting on the Plan D map on Nov. 21. The school board will then have their final vote Dec. 12. At this point it, it seems the proposed Map D is a go for shared districts between the two.
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