BAY MINETTE, Ala. — The Baldwin County Board of Education has reached a decision on how to proceed with re-drawing its voting-district lines.

During its regular work session in Bay Minette Tuesday, the board decided on a new map of districts, which would be based on feeder patterns and line up board districts with county voting districts.

The decision came after Board Attorney Scott Lewis presented the board with three potential redistricting options at the work session.

In his address to the board, Lewis pointed out that the selected method “does a better job of keeping communities of interest together.”

But he also explained its disadvantage.

“This doesn’t preserve cores of existing voting districts,” Lewis told the board.

The other two options consisted of making adjustments to current board voting districts and drawing district lines that would keep municipalities intact.

According to Lewis, adjusting current districts would make the least changes to district lines.

“It requires relocating the fewest voters, which is 15,000,” he said. “The others  (options) are going to require relocating 40,000 voters.”

However, Lewis pointed out that this option didn’t “respect political boundaries.”

“Douglasville would be in District 1, and Bay Minette would be split,” he said. “Spanish Fort would be in the Bay Minette area, and Daphne would split.”

“I much prefer map two ,” District 6 Board Representative Robert Callahan Jr. said. “I think people think in terms of feeder patterns.”

Other board members expressed similar comments.

Upon hearing the board’s recommendation, Lewis explained that the selections he presented were not the only options for redrawing board voting district lines. Instead, they were researched and narrowed down from numerous ideas.

“There may be another way to skin this cat,” Lewis said.

“Feeder patterns make the most sense,” District 7 Board Representative Tracy Roberts said.

Upon the board’s decision to move forward with re-drawing district lines based on feeder patterns, Baldwin County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Alan Lee asked Lewis about the timeline to re-draw those lines.

“We need to get this approved by the September board meeting,” he said, explaining that community hearings needed to be planned before then.

Lewis added that once the board approves the new district lines, they will be sent to the state for approval.

As previously reported, the school board’s need to re-draw voting district lines required by the state and occurs every 10 years once census data is released. Census data indicates that Baldwin County’s population increased by 50,000 over the last 10 years and redistricting would bring each of its seven school-board districts to an ideal number of voters represented to 26,000.