Know your Zone!

Know your Zone!

School Board districts have been redrawn for 2016 elections

ralphhardin@gmail.com With School Board Elections a week away, many West Memphis residents may not be aware of which zone they live in and who their candidates will be when polls open (tomorrow for early voting, Tuesday Sept. 20 for day-of voting).

With the inclusion of the former Hughes School District community, the lines for each of the West Memphis School District’s five district zones were redrawn for the 2016-2017 school year, putting some neighborhoods in different zones than in previous elections.

The map above shows the new boundary lines for each zone, with the color codes also giving voters a heads up on their polling sites for next Tuesday’s elections.

Zone 1 (shaded in yellow) includes residents who live south of Broadway and East of 7th Street, as well as residents living east of South Avalon and Port Road and south of Rainer Road.

Zone 2 (shaded in red) includes residents who live north of Broadway and east of 7th Street, with the exception of a swath of homes north of Broadway between 7th Street and 14th Street but south of the bayou. Those residents will vote in Zone 3.

The remainder of Zone 3 (shaded in blue) includes living between Rich Road and 7th Street north of Broadway and between South Avalon and 7th Street south of Broadway, as well as a small section of land bordered by Rice and Auburn at the intersection of West Broadway and South Avalon.

Zone 4 (shaded in orange) includes residents west of Rich Road and extending and west of South Avalon down to Rainer Road, with Zone 5 (shaded in green) extending to residents in the southwest region of the district, west of Port Road and south of Rainer Road, as well as Proctor, Horseshoe Lake and the the newly incorporated Hughes community.

Polling sites for the School Board Elections are: Zone 1 – Wonder Junior High; Zone 2 – East Junior High; Zone 3 – West Junior High; Zone 4 – Richland Elementary;

and Zone 5 – Wedlock

Elementary, as well as Bonds Marine in Horseshoe

Lake and the Hughes Community Center in Hughes.

In addition to the five zoned seats, the West Memphis School Board also has two “at-large” seats. Both current school board president Gary Masner (At-large Position 2) and current school board secretary Randy Catt (Atlarge position 1) are seeking re-election, and both will be facing candidates.

Both of those races will appear on all school board election ballots. All voters, regardless of zone, will have the opportunity to vote on both at large races, which are two separate races for two separate seats.

By Ralph Hardin