Single-Member Districts

The Board’s decision is a result of the settlement of a lawsuit which challenged the way LISD school board members are elected. Currently, all seven board members are chosen by all of the voters within the geographic boundaries of the district. This system is known as “at-large” representation. Ultimately, it’s about creating a system that provides a larger, more diverse pool of candidates a better opportunity to be elected to the school board.

The board decided unanimously to support a new plan under which five members will be elected from specific geographic districts called “single-member districts,” while two members will continue to be selected at-large. The plan is called a 5-2 single-member district/at-large plan. LISD trustees believe this plan represents the right way to encourage minority candidates to successfully run for school board. In addition, this decision saves significant tax dollars that would have been necessary to continue to defend the lawsuit.

Currently, all seven trustees are elected every three years in elections in which all of the voters within the geographic boundaries of LISD may vote for all candidates – a system known as “at-large” representation. The candidates are not required to reside in any particular area, only within the district.

Under the 5-2 plan, LISD will be divided up into five separate geographic single-member districts, and only voters in those districts would be able to vote for board members who run to represent those districts. A candidate must reside within the district for which he or she seeks election. Two places on the school board would continue to be elected at-large, and candidates running for those places may reside anywhere within LISD boundaries. All voters may vote for an at-large candidate.

Many factors were considered by the Board and balanced during the creation of the proposed single-member districts, including traditional neighborhoods, school feeder patterns, demographic makeup via census data, and voting precincts. Additionally, per the settlement agreement, one of the single-member districts were required to be made up by a majority of voting-age residents consisting of minority populations. Also, by law, the variance in the population between the largest and smallest single-member districts cannot exceed 10%. All of these factors required numerous tradeoffs in creating the proposed map. 

Demographic experts worked with the parties on both sides of the lawsuit to arrive at proposed single-members districts that were mutually acceptable.

No. Federal and state laws outline the process for changing electoral systems, and do not call for a ballot measure. It is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees to decide on the system and the single-member district boundaries. 

The LISD Board of Trustees will take effect for the May 2024 election.

All current trustees are in the process of completing the three year terms to which they were elected. Trustees currently are at different points within their terms, and all will be able to fully complete their current terms. The 5-2 system that includes single-member districts will be phased in starting with the three terms that would expire in May 2024. Current trustees who choose to run for re-election would do so under the 5-2 system.

Review the single-member district map here.

The LISD Board of Trustees will be required by law to consider any required changes in the District boundaries every ten years based on changed census figures.

School districts across Texas employ a variety of electoral systems. Some districts elect all trustees at-large, as LISD has historically done. Some districts have implemented “hybrid” systems, where some places on the board are elected at large and some are elected from single-member districts. LISD is moving to a hybrid system. Other districts employ a hybrid system that allows voters to cast multiple votes for a single candidate if multiple seats are on a ballot. Finally, some school districts, such as Dallas and Houston, elect all members from geographic single-member districts.

In recent years, as demographics across Texas have changed, more districts have moved from an at-large system to hybrid and single-member systems.

Once the new 5-2 system is in place, every eligible LISD voter will be able to vote in three total trustee elections – elections for the single-member district in which they live, and elections for the two at-large positions. All eligible LISD voters will still be able to vote in other LISD elections, such as bond referendums.

The answer is the same as if no one ran for an at-large place. The constitutional doctrine of “hold over” could apply. That doctrine says an elected official continues to serve until his/her replacement is qualified and seated. If that occurred, the current Board member would continue to serve until a special election could be called.

That principle does not apply, however, if the official is not qualified to hold the seat. The person must reside in the single-member district. So, once the transition plan is implemented, if the current member does not live in the district up for election, he/she could not “hold over” if no candidate filed to run in that district, and a vacancy would be created. The Board then would fill the vacancy as directed in the statute that governs vacant Board seats.