The proposed trustee-district maps are available on the district's website ahead of a scheduled Nov. 8 public hearing on the redistricting plan. The public can provide feedback on the maps now by email or during the Nov. 8 meeting. In RISD, five trustees are elected by residents of specific districts, while the remaining two trustees are elected by residents at large.
Data released earlier this year from the 2020 census shows the district’s total population increased by nearly 25,000 to 240,513 residents, RISD general counsel Mia Martin said during the board’s Oct. 4 meeting.
“After the 2020 census, single-member District 2 is now our most populous, [and] the least populous [is now] single-member District 3,” Martin said. “At the time that we developed the current districts, the population differential between the largest and smallest [district] was about 7%. This latest change puts the differential between the smallest and the largest districts at 12%, which means that it has triggered a duty to redistrict.”
Martin noted that state education code mandates anything above a 10% differential requires redistricting.
The board is expected to adopt a final redistricting plan in December, according to a timeline shared during the Oct. 4 meeting. This would allow redistricting to be complete prior to the start of the application process for the May board election. Jan. 19 is the first day candidates can file for a place on the ballot.
