Decaturish reports that the Decatur School Board voted last night to delay a vote on K-3 rezoning so they could make sure all were clear on the finalized map they were approving – a version of Map 7A.  You can view a detailed PDF of Map 7A HERE.

At a special meeting scheduled for December 18th, the Board plans to vote on Option 7A, with a few modifications which are detailed in the Decaturish post.

UPDATE: Decaturish has obtained internal emails from Peggy Merriss, Marc Wisniewski and the Director of DeKalb County Registration & Elections H. Maxine Daniels regarding this redistricting error.

Back on Election Day, you may recall a conversation among commenters here about how they did not see the contested School Board race on their ballot, though they knew they were residents of District 1.

Well, it turns out it wasn’t an isolated incident or just a mistaken voter sounding off.

The DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections has sent a letter to Decatur City Clerk Janet Kindelberger admitting that they failed to incorporate changes to the district boundaries submitted by the city back in August.  As such, “the boundary change affected a small portion of district combo 687 ofthe Ponce de Leon precinct.”

DeKalb stated that their internal analysis concluded that 10 voters were given the wrong ballot.  Since the race was decided by 75 votes, DeKalb determined the error would not affect the outcome of the race.  You can read the full letter HERE.

A email sent to DM and Decaturish by Mark Arnold’s Campaign Manager, Alvin McNeely, stated that though the Arnold campaign didn’t agree with the findings that only 10 voters were affected, since it’s impossible to determine “how many other people didn’t make it to the polls because they relied on the incorrect records”, the campaign did not plan to challenge the results.

You can read Mr. McNeely’s full letter to us after the jump.

In order to “minimize the chance that such an incident occurs again” DeKalb has requested that Decatur “that future notifications of district changes be made on a more formal basis, including a full-size map in addition to any PDF version and a cover letter summarizing the changes being conveyed by the revised map. Secondly, upon completion of our changes, We will deliver to you a revised street file for your documentation and review for accuracy prior to any subsequent elections.”

Read the rest of this entry »

From CSD this morning.  I’ve added links to the map options in the email below.

Dear Parents, Neighbors and Staff,

On behalf of the K-3 Attendance Zones Committee and the City Schools of Decatur, we would like to thank you for all of the input and feedback provided to the committee as we work through the process of developing draft map options for school attendance zones for the 2014-2015 school year. In preparation for the re-opening of Westchester, the K-3 Attendance Zones Committee selected three draft map options to present to the Board of Education for consideration for the upcoming school board meeting on Tuesday, November 12, 2013. No decision will be made by the Board of Education on November 12, 2013. The Superintendent has recommended that the Board tables their decision until the next regularly scheduled Board meeting on December 10, to give time for contemplation as well as another Public Community Meeting.

The Committee’s recommended maps, in order, are as follows:

#1    Draft Map 7-updated

#2    Draft Map 5

#3    Draft Map 6

We have launched a survey so that you can give feedback on your preference of the three draft maps the committee recommends. Please go to the K-3 Zoning webpage to view the maps and select your choice http://www.csdecatur.net/zoning. The survey results will be shared with the Board on December 10.

Please continue to provide your feedback and comments through .  We continue to read each email sent to the contact_us comment box.

We hope that you will join us for our second Public Community Meeting that will be held in the next several weeks. You will have an opportunity to provide public comment and feedback during this meeting. We will publicize this event so please be looking out for this information. All comments and feedback are shared with the Board of Education. Thank you again for your continued input in this process.

Sincerely,

Dr. Kiawana Kennedy, Chief Operating Officer

Mary Mack, Elementary Curriculum Director

Tom Sayre, Sizemore Group

K-3 Attendance Zones Committee

A check of the election results on the AJC website shows another school board close election in Decatur, with Lewis Jones receiving 793 votes to Mark Arnold’s 718 votes.

Commissioners Boykin and Garrett were automatically re-elected, along with a School Board member Bernadette Seals.  Annie P. Caiola won Valarie Wilson’s seat on the Decatur School Board as well in an uncontested race.

Decaturish has reaction from Mr. Arnold and a more exhaustive recap this evening.

Time to get to the voting booths!  If you don’t know where to go to vote, CLICK HERE.

There’s only one contested race this November – for the School Board District 1 Post A seat.  Here are brief candidate summaries…

• Mark Arnold – a financial and banking expert and former member of the Renfroe School Leadership Team with notable endorsements from School Board member and Fmr. School Board Chair Valerie Wilson, Fmr. Mayor Elizabeth Wilson, and Gary Garrett.  (Here are links to Mr. Arnold’s bio and list of supporters).
• Lewis Jones – an environmental lawyer and Chair of the Renfroe School Leadership Team, with notable endorsements from School Board Chair Marc Wisniewski, Fmr. Mayor Bill Floyd, and County Commissioner Kathie Gannon. (Here are links to Mr. Jones’ bio and list of supporters).

Go vote!