Parents organize to alter redistricting plans

By Patrick Fox

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A group of east Gwinnett parents is joining hundreds of others in asking the school system to change its redistricting plans.

Since the redistricting maps were unveiled last month, the district's central office has received about 1,000 formal notices from parents, many seeking a change in the proposed boundaries. More opinion forms are expected to filter in from schools affected by the redistricting.

The redistricting proposal, set for fall 2010, relocates some 9,000 students in 29 schools as the district cuts back on trailers and draws boundaries for six new schools. The Gwinnett school system, the largest in the state, has about 160,000 students.

The east Gwinnett group, comprised of parents in Snellville and Loganville, is drafting strategies to stop the proposed relocation of about 200 students at Magill Elementary in Loganville to Britt Elementary in Snellville.

The problem, according to parent Shoshone Abdulkariem of Snellville, is that Britt is already overcrowded. Just as important, she said, parents are upset that their children would now graduate from Britt to Snellville Middle School, while Magill students would graduate to nearby Midway Middle, which is set to open next year.

"A lot of residents here felt they had a hand in building that school," Abdulkariem said.

Parent Andrea Raphael of Snellville said the group turned in 160 opinion forms to the district office Wednesday, the deadline for the questionnaires.

"Britt already has about 900 students, and they want to reduce that to about 530," Raphael said. "They'll achieve it with a lot less disruption if Magill students stay at Magill and fewer students are removed from Britt."

The group is sending about a dozen representatives door-to-door to summon more support and address the board of education when it hears public input Nov. 19.

Greg Stanfield, director of planning for the district, said the case of Britt Elementary is part of a domino effect that involves several schools beginning with the new Snell Elementary. All suggestions will be considered, he said. The opinion forms will be reviewed by an educator and a parent based at each of the 29 schools affected. From there, he said, the planning department will evaluate any suggested modifications.

If district planners see clear alternatives that will accommodate a balanced student population with less disruption, the changes can be made and the maps redrawn before the Nov. 19 public meeting, said district spokeswoman Sloan Roach. The public would be notified of any changes to the proposal before that meeting, she said.

The school board is scheduled to vote on a final redistricting plan in December.

"We know people love their schools, and we want them to love their schools," Roach said. "So, when there's a proposed change, people need time to talk about it. We do get some good ideas through this process."