The redrawing of boundary lines, also known as redistricting, takes place once every 10 years following the release of new census data.
Houston in Action—a network on community-based organizations seeking to empower historically disenfranchised groups—released its proposed maps in late January for trustee consideration. In a news release, officials said the new maps protect "historically marginalized communities by keeping key communities of interest together," including Asian American/Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic and immigrant communities.
“Redistricting will affect communities’ representation for the next 10 years,” said Juan Cardoza-Oquendo, HIA's director of public policy and elections, in a statement. “Communities deserve to be a part of the redistricting process that directly impacts their neighborhoods.”
The most significant changes in HIA's proposed maps would take place around the southwest Houston neighborhoods of Gulfton, Sharpstown and Westwood. HIA proposes keeping those communities intact within District 6, which they said will ensure residents are able to advocate for their collective needs. The changes, they said, were informed directly by parents and residents in the district.
In existing maps, the Gulfton and Sharpstown area is split between districts 5 and 7, a split that would be maintained under a redistricting plan considered by trustees at a Jan. 12 meeting.
Trustees are expected to consider voting on new maps at a Feb. 9 board meeting. Maps need to be adopted 90 days before trustee elections take place Nov. 7. However, officials with HISD's legal team previously cautioned trustees against waiting that long, instead recommending adoption in early spring at the latest.
Trustees discussed two other proposed maps—known as Plan A and Plan D—at a Jan. 12 meeting, but ultimately decided to hold off on taking action. Those maps were drawn after HISD hosted a series of public hearings to gather feedback in late 2022, according to district information.
HIA officials were among the public speakers at the Jan. 12 meeting to oppose the maps currently under consideration, which they said split several historically disenfranchised southwest Houston communities across districts 5, 6 and 7. HIA officials also took issue with the North Forest community in northeast Houston getting split between districts 2 and 8.
Other changes being considered in those maps include moving the Lazybrook/Timbergrove area from District 7 to District 8 and moving parts of the Montrose area from District 4 to District 3. District 3 has the lowest population of the nine districts, according to the 2020 Census, while District 8 has the third lowest.
By law, no district can have a population that deviates by more than 10% from the "ideal" population, which for HISD is just over 164,000. As a result, district's below that number need to be expanded, including districts 1, 3, 5 and 8.
Four trustees will be up for election in November, including Kathy Blueford-Daniels in District 2, Daniela Hernandez in District 3, Patricia Allen in District 4 and Judith Cruz in District 8.
