[Archived] Community Meeting Scheduled on Proposed School Redistricting

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

Community Meeting Scheduled on Proposed School Redistricting

Alexandria residents are invited to a Community Meeting on April 3 to learn about the options for redrawing the three Alexandria school board election districts. The meeting will be held at 7:30 pm in the mini-auditorium of T.C. Williams High School, 3330 King St. Public comment will be welcome.

As a result of an increase in the City’s population based on the 2000 Census, and the shift in population among the three school board election districts, the City is required to redraw the district boundaries prior to the May 2003 general election so each district has approximately the same number of voters.

Under Virginia law, it is the City Council’s responsibility to redraw district lines. City staff have identified eight redistricting options which will be on display and discussed at the Community Meeting.

Citizens who attend the meeting will have the opportunity to comment on the options; all comments will be transcribed and included in the report to the City Council. To sign up in advance to speak at the meeting, contact Valerie Moore, City Manager’s Office, 703.838.4300, or via email at valerie.moore@ci.alexandria.va.us. Written comments about the proposed options or other comments should be sent in writing to: Ms. Joanna Frizzell, Law Clerk, Office of the City Attorney, City Hall, 301 King St., Suite 1300, Alexandria, VA 22314 or via email to joanna.frizzell@ci.alexandria.va.us (include school board redistricting in the subject line).

When commenting on a specific option, please identify the option and your position clearly. All comments must be received by April 26, 2002, to be included in the report to the City Council.

After the Community Meeting and at the close of the public comment period, City staff will review the comments and prepare a report for the City Council. The City Council will conduct a public hearing on the report on May 28 and select a preferred redistricting option. A public hearing on the ordinance for the preferred option is scheduled for June 15 with final vote by the City Council on June 25. The ordinance will be submitted to the U.S. Attorney General for review and preclearance under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The ordinance will become effective after preclearance. The Alexandria Electoral Board will notify all registered voters of their new district prior to the May 2003 election.

Maps of the proposed options will be available on the City’s web site athttp://www.alexandriavoter.org/redistrictingmaps.html Copies of the maps can also be viewed in the City Clerk’s Office in City Hall or at City libraries.

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