Dallas ISD Redistricting Map chosen is now published online

Regarding a related redistricting process, DISD has now published online the redistricting map that was approved by the DISD Board on 8/25/11.

(Needless to say the very fact that the chosen map was not posted online for the public until a week after it was passed by the DISD board is excellent documentation of the contrast between strong transparency in the Dallas City Council process and the lack of such transparency in the Dallas ISD process.  The Dallas City Council process had maps posted online for days before a vote.  The DISD process did not post the final map chosen until a week after it was actually voted on as the selected map.  Study the map for an answer as to why.)

The selected DISD map can be seen on the DISD web site if you go to the DISD home page at www.dallasisd.org and click on "Redistricting 2011" in the left hand column. That should take you to http://www.dallasisd.org/Page/6183

On that page you need to click on the last link at the bottom with the words "Illustrative Redistricting Plans-Draft Map Plans and Charts" That will take you to a page with several links to the plans that were passed.

The link I found most useful is the pdf file at http://www.dallasisd.org/cms/lib/TX01001475/Centricity/Domain/2711/plan12adopted.pdf This is a 15 mg file and may take a while to load. Smaller files are also linked below this file if you need to download smaller files. It is strongly recommended that anyone read this carefully who is interested in DISD governance, voters having the most power possible, and voters not being handicapped by the gerrymandered districts in the selected map.

We have a lot of very tedious work in front of us if one person one vote is to become normal in Dallas. Gerrymandering lessens the power of the vote by allowing politicians to select their voters first. That is not democracy! Our communities should not continue to be broken up by redistricting. We voters should be the ones making the decisions.

Redistricting should only be a mathematical process that is guided by principals such as those reflected in the Dallas City Council Redistricting Guidelines, http://www.dallascityhall.com/redistricting/pdf/Guidelines.pdf