Denita Dowell-Reavis
The Alexander County Board of Education will pay a regional planning group to redraw voting districts for the 2026 school board elections. The Western Piedmont Council of Governments will update the districts for $5,300 and have them ready for public review by July.
In November 2024, Alexander County voters approved a referendum that requires the districts to be redrawn to match the 2020 census. The referendum also established that Alexander County School Board members must be elected by political party.
Redrawing the voting districts would not affect the boundaries of schools nor the schools’ attendance lines.
Western Piedmont Council of Governments (WPCOG) data analyst Taylor Dellinger told the board that the county is not the only area that needed to go through this process. Redrawing the districts is called “One Person-One Vote”, a constitutional requirement to ensure equal representation.
Dellinger says, “The idea is that one district doesn’t have more voting power than another.”
Based on population, each district needs to include 5,206 people; that 5,206 can be above or below by five percent.
The new law requires Alexander County to have seven school board districts with each member serving a four-year term; terms are staggered. Corey McLain, Shannon Oxentine, and Jesse Bowles won the most recent elections in 2024. If they choose to run again, Matt Reese, Anthony McLain, Robert Arguelles, and Josh Dagenhart would be up for re-election in 2026.
Dellinger told board members the voting districts will be as close to the elementary school districts as he can make it.
“I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that we are not going to put two members in the same district. I think that’s fair,” says Dellinger.
The county school board underwent redistricting in 2001 to meet the 2000 census numbers. At that time, the county was split into four voting districts for the board.
Jesse Bowles District 1 Wittenburg
Robert Arguelles District 1 Wittenburg
Matt Reese District 2 Taylorsville
Josh Dagenhart District 2 Taylorsville
Shannon Oxentine District 3 Ellendale, Little River
Anthony McLain District 4 Sharpes, Millers, Sugar Loaf, Gwaltney
Corey McLain District 4 Sharpes, Millers, Sugar Loaf, Gwaltney
Dellinger says the new districts will solely look at the number of voters.
“We don’t look at party, race, or gender. They must be compact and contiguous,” added Dellinger.
The districts are also expected to keep neighborhoods and subdivisions together to minimize split precincts. Each of the board members who file for office would have to live in the district where he/she runs.
The board unanimously approved asking WPCOG to do the work. They hope to be able to get public input on the proposal by July and vote on the new districts by August. Filing for 2026 school board elections begins this December.
The local election board will be responsible for making sure people know what district they are in and where to vote.
The district had another proposal to redraw the voting lines from a Raleigh law firm for $20,000.