WOODMERE, Ohio — In December, the Ohio Supreme Court is expected to address the state’s new legislative maps, which some claim amount to partisan gerrymandering.
As areas across Ohio have been separated, including Woodmere in northeast Ohio, the question is will it remain disconnected.
Woodmere is just 25 minutes east of Cleveland. It covers about covers six to six blocks and is comprised of high-end stores and independent restaurants. Its population consists of less than 1,000 residents and is predominantly black.
Based on the maps recently approved by the Ohio Redistricting Commission, Woodmere would not have the same legislative representation as the school district its kids attend.
“Woodmere has always been that city that’s been separated from the other schools’ districts. So it’s not saying that it’s particularly right, but we keep doing this same thing to this particular community,” Rep. Juanita Brent, (D-Cleveland), who represents the Ohio House 12th district.
Woodmere, which is currently represented by Rep. Kent Smith, (D-Euclid), would become a part of Brent’s district.
Brent said the separation creates several problems.
For starters, “you’re having a school district that has five cities in it, but only one of them has been separated into a totally different house district. So when you are separating one small community away from the other four, you’re basically saying their voice should not be included with the other voice too,” said Brent.
That’s all due to redistricting, Brent said.
While kids living in Woodmere will still attend Orange City Schools, a predominantly white suburban district, the question is why does this even matter.
“You’re making decisions that’s affecting people in another house district particularly when it comes to funding our schools,” Brent said.
She added that a few years ago, a similar situation happened in another part of the state. When it came budget time, the city wanted to re-direct their education dollars towards something else.
While the governor vetoed the amendment in the budget, Brent said it’s still possible for any city across the state to decide they don’t want to pay their share of funding into a school district where the city itself isn’t apart. If it was ever approved, it could potentially cause a district to lose dollars come state budget time.
David Miller teaches eighth-grade science in Orange Schools. He’s also the local teacher’s union president.
Miller said he knows students in his classes will be impacted by the new legislative maps.
“Sadly, I think the negative viewpoint that could be taken, especially by our young learners, is that my voice doesn’t matter. It’s all cooked in the books.”
Due to pending litigation over the maps, Republicans would only say that the maps were a constitutional-drawn compliant with the law.
Now, it’s up to the Ohio Supreme Court to decide if the maps will stand.
