Don't split up Pottstown
Hello, my name Nancy Braitman and I thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony to the LRC. I live in Montgomery County, and I am a retired teacher for the Philadelphia School District. As an educator who has worked in an underfunded school district, I am concerned about education equity in PA.. Gerrymandering by splitting school districts needs to stop. In my county, the city of Pottstown, which is only five and a half square miles, is split into two state house districts, with a Republican and a Democrat serving as state reps. The Pottstown School District, which serves a large minority student population and is extremely underfunded, has no single representative who is fully invested in the needs of Pottstown students and parents, and the larger community. There should be one representative for Pottstown, who is fully focused on Pottstown’s needs. But thanks to gerrymandering, Pottstown has two representatives opposed to each other. As you consider which maps to create, please keep in mind that splitting school districts, unless they are super large, is a very bad idea for students and their families. Draw the Lines PA has sponsored contests to create maps that are compact, contiguous, and keep communities of interest intact. Many maps have been created by high school and college students which meet these standards. Please consider using one of the excellent maps they have created. Thank you.