New Worcester School Committee Districts Proposal Up For Review

WORCESTER, MA — A proposed map of new Worcester School Committee districts will be up for discussion and public comment at a Board of Election Commissioners meeting set for Thursday.

In 2021, a coalition of community groups led by Worcester Interfaith and the NAACP sued the city to change how voters elect school committee members. Today, every Worcester School Committee member serves at-large, which means they can live in any part of the city. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs said the system has led to mostly all-white school committees, which leaves more diverse parts of Worcester unrepresented.

Worcester has agreed to settle the lawsuit by creating a new system for electing school committee members, with each one covering a portion of the city. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit released a proposed map of those seats on Monday. The six-seat plan includes two majority-minority districts that cover the center of the city from Webster Square all the way north to Great Brook Valley.

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The plan has some potential pitfalls for voters, however, because the six proposed school committee districts have different borders than the five existing city council districts. For example, District 2 Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson's district has five different school committee districts inside it, according to the plaintiffs' proposal.

"We are aware of the City’s interest in aligning the School Committee districts with existing wards and precincts. Our view generally is that 'the tail should not wag the dog' — i.e., meeting the terms of the Consent Decree should be prioritized above aligning the districts with existing wards and precincts," attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote in the proposal.

The plaintiff's and the city are creating boundaries with help from Nathan Persily, a Stanford University law professor. The Thursday Board of Election Commissioners meeting is the first of five that will be held to discuss the new school committee district lines. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 90 Holden St.