The St. Mary Parish School Board decided Monday afternoon to tentatively approve the second draft of its redistricting plan, pending a public hearing.

School board members will run in these districts in 2014, pending their approval by the Department of Justice.

Redistricting is required each decade after census numbers are tallied. The largest amount of growth in St. Mary was in the middle of the parish.

The Justice Department reviews electoral district lines in most of the southern states, including Louisiana, to ensure that minority candidates and voters have a realistic chance to participate in the political process and gain office.

While most districts stayed relatively the same, the most notable change is the move of District 4 representative Murphy Pontiff into District 3, represented by Ed Payton.

The board will bring the plans it preliminarily approved to the Oct. 13 meeting for a public hearing. Pending any changes after input from the public, the board plans to adopt the redistricting plan at its regular November meeting.

Those plans are included here for public consideration ahead of the meetings. Plans begin with District 1 on the far western end of the parish and conclude with District 11 on the far eastern end.