WORCESTER – A proposal developed by a school committee redistricting consultant will be presented on Wednesday at the Board of Election Commissioners meeting.
Redistricting consultant Nate Persily drew up the proposal under the consent decree between Worcester Interfaith, Inc., et al. and the City of Worcester. The city council approved the consent decree last fall following Worcester Interfaith’s lawsuit in Feb. 2021 against the City arguing the current at-large school committee member format limits representation from minority communities.
The proposal from Persily divides the city into six voting districts for future school committee elections. In December, the city council voted in favor of six district seats, two at-large committee members and the mayor continuing to serve as the school committee chair.
According to a memo from Persily, “there are literally thousands of potential plans that could be drawn to divide Worcester into six districts and to comply with the applicable legal requirements in the consent decree and the U.S. Constitution.”
The plan Persily proposes responds to the public’s input earlier this year during public hearings, namely to minimize the number of split precincts as much as possible. Persily’s proposal splits only five current voting precincts: 2-6, 3-3, 3-5, 4-2, and 10-4.
Persily lettered the six districts A through F, each with between 18,500 and 26,000 residents of voting age. Districts A and B have the most significant number of Hispanic and Black residents of voting age, nearly double the number in each of the other four districts. District D, however, has the second highest number of Hispanic residents of voting age.
Here are some neighborhoods represented in the six proposed districts:
- District A: Main South, Vernon Hill areas
- District B: Great Brook Valley, Lincoln Street, parts of Belmont Street, parts of downtown
- District C: Hamilton Street, Grafton Hill, Lake Avenue, parts of Belmont Street, parts of downtown
- District D: Quinsigamond Village, Heard Street, Stafford Street, parts of Mill Street, parts of Canterbury Street, parts of Main Street
- District E: Newton Hill, Chandler Street, Pleasant Street, Airport Hill, parts of Mill Street, Beaver Brook
- District F: Greendale, Burncoat, Grove Street, Ararat Street
If approved, the proposed districts will be in place for the 2023 municipal election. The Board of Election Commissioners meets Wednesday night at City Hall at 5:30 PM.
To participate in the meeting virtually, click here. To join by phone, dial 415-655-0001 and use access code 160-935-9156#.
