School board chairwoman Jane Holbrooks can breathe a sigh of relief after the board voted unanimously to request the adjustment of an incorrectly drawn district boundary line in the most recent voting map.

The vote was taken during the Polk County School Board's regular session meeting on Feb. 12.

With the current map, Holbrooks’ residence falls just outside of District 1, which is the district she represents.

Legally, Holbrooks’ position on the board is protected until her term expires in 2014, according to the Polk County Board of Elections.

If the map remained as drawn, with no correction, Holbrooks would not be able to seek re-election in her current district after her term expires.

A public hearing was held before the regular session meeting on Feb. 12 to assess the public’s opinion on redrawing the maps to include Holbrooks in District 1.

Nearly a dozen people showed up to the hearing, but only fellow board member Terry Estes spoke.

“I feel like you would be doing the students and the educators a great injustice if you didn’t move the lines to include Jane Holbrooks in the districts she represents,” Estes said. “So I strongly encourage you to do whatever is necessary to leave her in her elected district.”

The school board’s approval allows State House Rep. Trey Kelly to present preliminary maps with corrected boundary lines to state lawmakers during this year’s General Assembly.

If legislators chose to accept the new map, it will then be passed to the Department of Justice for approval.

According to Susan Williams, director of elections for Polk County, the incorrect boundary line stems from the recent downsize and redistricting of the county’s school board.

In 2011, the board voted to reduce the number of districts in Polk County from nine to seven as part of required process to adjust district lines every 10 years. Adjustments are based on census data.

District maps are drawn up by officials with the state’s apportionment office.

Each district is drawn based on census data and then assigned a number. Polk County has seven districts, each labeled with corresponding numbers.

In Polk County, school board members are voted on by district, which means voters can only cast ballots for those candidates living within their district.