St. Johns County commissioners, school board approve new districts

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – St. Johns County has a caller program of however districts are drawn up.

The region commissioners and schoolhouse committee each voted unanimously connected a plan, known arsenic Plan B-1, connected Thursday greeting that volition beryllium successful spot for the adjacent 10 years. The program volition reshape the territory and is required by instrumentality pursuing the census.

St. Johns County is 1 of the fastest-growing counties successful the authorities and has seen large changes successful the past decade.

County leaders focused connected 2 areas the astir erstwhile redrawing the caller map.

An important happening to note: Redistricting is successful nary mode related to pupil attendance zones and volition not impact wherever a kid attends school. However, it whitethorn alteration which committee members correspond each voting district.

The 2 districts getting a batch of discussions were District 2, location to Flagler Estates and District 4, wherever the Ponte Vedra Beach assemblage is located.

Commission Chairman Henry Dean said the caller program creates adjacent representation, particularly erstwhile it comes to voting.

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“It provides what we are required to supply nether the national Constitution, which is fundamentally 1 man, 1 vote,” Dean said.

Plan B-1 was the fashionable choice.

School committee subordinate Tony Coleman who represents District 2 said the caller program it keeps Flagler Estates and West Augustine together, 2 of the oldest areas helium said helped physique St. Johns County.

“Historically, District 2 has produced teachers, farmers, nurses, doctors, dentists, mayors, councilmen, senators, and subject vets,” Coleman said.

In the bluish portion of the county, District 4, which covers the Ponte Vedra Beach community, including Neck Road volition not beryllium divided up. That’s thing schoolhouse committee subordinate Kelly Barrera was pleased with.

“I don’t privation to spot those radical chopped retired of District 4,” Barrera said. “I tin perfectly enactment program B-1 and enactment immoderate of the plans that support District 4 together.”

The astir important changes to territory maps are expected successful the Northwest portion of the county, wherever the colonisation maturation has been concentrated.

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District 1 successful Northwest St. Johns County volition shrink and District 5, which covers downtown St. Augustine, would beryllium expanded north. District 2 successful the southwest would besides grow north.

The caller layout provides balance, leaders said.

Dean said due to the fact that of the maturation successful St. Johns County, Districts 1 and 4, represented astir 65% of the county’s population, portion the different 3 districts added up to 35%.

“We had to adjacent that retired by instrumentality and that is the close happening to bash to person adjacent practice from each district,” Dean said.

It wasn’t instantly wide erstwhile the caller districts would instrumentality effect.

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