Parents in fast-growing Limestone County have been upset by a plan to shuffle school districts to handle all the new students, and this week voters sent one school board member packing.

Incumbent District 7 board member Earl Glaze lost to challenger Warren Herring by a 39-61% margin in the Republican primary on Tuesday.

Many parents oppose redistricting, saying it would disrupt their lives, but superintendent Randy Shearouse said it is necessary because of increased growth in parts of the county. District 7 covers East Limestone, which the superintendent said in February has 2000 new homes in planning, out of a total of 2600 across the school district.

The newly elected Herring said, “Redistricting is a big thing.” He echoed some of the concerns about redistricting, in his interview with AL.com.

“Because people have bought property, they’ve built houses in order to be in a certain zone in a certain area and to have the board come in and move the lines around and send them to another school!” he said.

“And that’s going to increase the time they’re on the bus. If they have to go to Elkmont, for example, that bus ride could be an hour, hour and a half up there when they’re 10 minutes up the road. And I feel for those families.”

The Limestone county school board votes on a redistricting plan Tuesday.

Glaze said he is okay with the electorate’s decision.

“Voters wanted to go a different direction, and I am perfectly good with that,” Glaze said in a text message to AL.com.

Glaze signaled his support for the redistricting move in an interview with AL.com in February.

“We’re going to have to move some kids around in some form or fashion,” he said. “What that is right now, I don’t know.”

Herring said the increasing Limestone County population requires a more structured plan. “It’s exploding,” he said of the growth, with the 2022 population of 110,900 an increase of 34% over the previous 12 years.

“I want to work with the school board to develop a strategic plan for not just the east side of the county, but for the whole county because the whole county is being affected by what’s going on,” Herring said.

The board has seven members elected in staggered elections for six-year terms. No Democratic Party member is vying for district 7 position, an official told AL.com, noting that an opposition can run as a write-in.