Redrawn Cobb school board map passes Senate committee
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The map that accompanies S.B. 388, which would redraw the districts for the Cobb County Board of Education. Credit: Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Office
Legislation that would redraw the Cobb County Board of Education district map cleared another hurdle last week.
The latest: Republican state Sen. Ed Setzler's legislation, S.B. 338, passed the Local Government Operations Committee on Friday and now goes to the Senate floor for debate.
Why it matters: U.S. District Court Judge Eleanor Ross ordered lawmakers to redraw the map last month after she determined the current boundaries packed Black and Hispanic voters into three districts on the south end of Cobb while limiting their influence in the four, majority-white districts in the northern part of the county.
Catch up quick: The GOP-led Cobb school board commissioned the current map, which was adopted by state legislators and signed into law in 2022.
- A group of residents represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center and other civil rights organizations filed a legal challenge against the map, arguing that it was unconstitutional.
- The judge initially set a Jan. 10 deadline to have the map approved, but extended it to Monday, Jan. 22.
What they're saying: Setzler told Axios that his map, which doesn't pair any incumbents or draw sitting board members out of their posts, "was very carefully crafted to comply with the order of the judge and something I think everyone can be proud of."
- "It's not trying to maximize partisan advantage," he said.
The other side: Democratic state Rep. Teri Anulewicz, who plans to introduce her own bill redrawing the map next week, told Axios that Setzler's legislation splits communities of interest by putting elementary and middle schools in the southern part of the county into one district and the high schools they feed into in another district.
- "These changes that had been requested are not a big deal," she said of keeping those feeder patterns intact. "It will really help and keep in mind these true communities of interests."
What we're watching: The Senate is not in session this week, so the earliest day Setzler's legislation could be heard on the floor is Monday — the same day as the extended deadline set by the judge to adopt the map.
- It would still have to pass the House of Representatives and would then head to Gov. Brian Kemp's desk for his signature.
- Cobb County spokesman Ross Cavitt previously told Axios that the Board of Elections prefers to have the updated map in its system by Jan. 24.
- The Secretary of State's deadline is Jan. 27, Cavitt told Axios.