Redistricting options to be presented at EL forum Judicial nominations spark debate

Plan is to balance enrollment across three elementary schools Lawmakers will discuss whether financially struggling state can afford, or needs, new judges

“I’m not sure who determines whether these positions are essential or not. That’s the question.” STATE SEN. HEATHER SOMERS, R-GROTON

East Lyme — School officials will hold a forum on Thursday to update the community on plans for redistricting the town’s elementary schools for the 2019-20 school year.

The community forum is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the Mary Broderick Auditorium at East Lyme High School.

During the meeting, Milone & MacBroom will give a presentation and review maps of different potential redistricting scenarios, and parents will have an opportunity to ask questions, according to Superintendent Jeffrey Newton.

The Board of Education hired Milone & MacBroom to develop scenarios that revise the elementary schools’ enrollment boundaries to even out student enrollment across the district’s three elementary schools and account for future growth.

Currently, 368 kindergarten through fourth-grade students attend Flanders Elementary School, 173 students attend Niantic Center School, and 302 students attend Lillie B. Haynes, Newton said.

The school board asked Milone & MacBroom in developing the scenarios to create similar student enrollments at the three schools “to ensure equity in available resources across schools,” according to a presentation last month from the firm. The board also wanted to ensure the redistricting plan is sustainable and allows for new housing developments and the growth of the student population, which is projected to grow over 10 years.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, like other governors before him, has taken great pleasure in appointing judges to preside over Connecticut’s courts.

Since 2011, Malloy has nominated 87 people to serve on the bench, according to figures provided by the Judicial Branch. He has steadily added women, African-American and Latino judges to the courts, speaking, with each announcement of new appointments, of the importance of having a qualified and diverse bench.

The governor has not slowed down in his final year in office. This past week, Malloy nominated 16 new Superior Court judges and named three sitting judges to fill vacancies on the Appellate and Supreme Courts. He said during a news conference on Thursday that there are more nominations to come.

Lawmakers generally have honored Malloy’s requests to seat new judges, with the glaring exception of his recent nomination of Justice Andrew McDonald as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Some who opposed McDonald have signaled they are more likely to support Malloy’s second nominee, Justice Richard A. Robinson, for chief justice.

When it comes to conferring black robes upon the 16 newcomers named by Malloy, some say the lawmakers’ debate could center on whether cash-strapped Connecticut can afford — or even needs — new judges.

State Rep. Doug Dubitsky, R-Chaplin, a member of the Judiciary Committee that will hold confirmation hearings for the nominees before they are considered by the full House and Senate, said he understands Malloy is trying to fill vacancies

The board also asked the firm to try to create boundaries that keep neighborhoods together and limit student travel time, among other criteria, according to the presentation. Find more details about the alternatives in the document below.

In its analysis, Milone & MacBroom considered factors, including student enrollment, population trends, planned housing developments in town and the future capacity at the three elementary schools, according to presentations to the school board. Construction to renovate the three schools is slated for June and scheduled to be completed in August 2019, Newton said.

At meetings last month and this month, the school board reviewed potential redistricting scenarios and narrowed them down. At the forum, Milone & MacBroom will present the options of Alternative 3 and Alternative 4, along with slightly revised versions, Alternatives 3A and 4A, for the community to view and provide feedback on.

Under Alternative 3, the enrollment boundaries would be redrawn so a projected 14 students would move from Niantic Center to Lillie B. Haynes; 85 students would move from Flanders to Lillie B. Haynes; and 96 students would move from Lillie B. Haynes to Niantic Center.

Under a modified version, Alternative 3A, a projected 14 students still would move from Niantic Center to Lillie B. Haynes, but more students — 105 in total — would move from Flanders to Lillie B. Haynes; and fewer students — 68 in total — would move from Lillie B. Haynes to Niantic Center.

Under Alternative 4, a projected 96 students would move from Flanders to Lillie B. Haynes, and 96 students would move from Lillie B. Haynes to Niantic Center.

That option also could be tweaked, Alternative 4A, so the same number of students would move from Flanders to Lillie B. Haynes, but slightly fewer students — a total of 71 — would move from Lillie B. Haynes to Niantic Center.

Maps and presentations are available on the East Lyme schools’ redistricting website, bit.ly/ELredistrict.