Anxious Clayton County students and their parents fearful their school system will lose its accreditation have few viable options.

Their neighboring school systems don't want them, and state lawmakers have done nothing to provide any other real alternatives.

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Home schooling isn't really an option for many families whose parents must work to make ends meet. Private schools could be the best answer for some, although that comes with drawbacks as well.

Our Lady of Mercy Catholic High School in Fayette County and Landmark Christian School in Fairburn stand ready to help if the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools makes good on its threat to pull the accreditation of the 52-000-plus student Clayton school system Sept. 1.

"We've gotten a lot more interest from kids from Clayton," said Daniel Dorsel, principal of Our Lady of Mercy. "We think there are great kids in Clayton County, and I try not to turn anyone away who wants a Catholic education."

But that education comes at a steep price, effectively ruling that option out for some like Linda Smith. "The fees [at private schools] are astronomical, so I don't think that's going to happen," said Smith, whose daughter attends Jonesboro High School. "It just seems like all the avenues are blocked."

The cost to attend Our Lady of Mercy next year will be more than $10,000, although 40 percent of the school's students are on some sort of financial aid plan. The school lists 223 students in grades 9-12, well below its capacity of 500.

Tuition at Landmark Christian, which has campuses in Fairburn and Peachtree City, stands at just under $12,000, with a maximum financial aid plan that covers 50 percent of that fee, according to the school's Web site. A private Christian school with 779 students from grades k4-12, Landmark Christian has received just two phone calls from possibly interested families from Clayton County, Headmaster Matt Skinner said last week.

Attending another nearby public school system doesn't appear likely. Ray Hudalla, chairman of the Henry County School Board, said he had received numerous e-mails from parents concerned about a possible influx of students from Clayton.

Fayette County school officials confirmed they had received several transfer students from Clayton County the past few months but said that some were because of families moving to new homes. Specific numbers were not available, district spokeswoman Melinda Berry-Dreisbach said.

Worried Fayette County residents wasted no time voicing their concerns to elected representatives.

Fulton County officials said data concerning transfers from Clayton was not readily available. Spokeswoman Susan Hale said the responsibility of such information is left to individual schools. The same held true for DeKalb County Schools, spokesman Dale Davis said.

State Sen. Valencia Seay remains frustrated in her bid to give Clayton's students more options. She was unsuccessful in floating the idea of a "unified" school district in which Clayton would piggyback off the accreditation of a neighboring system. Under such a plan, Clayton students would have remained in their schools under the accreditation banner of another county for a short period until Clayton could meet all nine SACS requirements.

Making sure all the state's kids are properly educated should be the top priority for all elected officials, Seay said.

"Nobody wants to do the right thing," she said.