E. Rivers parents march against APS redistricting plan

By Helena Oliviero

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

More than 200 Atlanta intown residents took to the streets Sunday with a simple message for Atlanta Public Schools: don’t change our children’s elementary school.

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Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com Residents of Brookwood Hills march on Sunday from Brighton Road to E. Rivers Elementary to oppose the redistricting plans of the Atlanta Public Schools.

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Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com Michele Torres waves her poster to passing vehicles along the 2000 block of Peachtree Road joining about 200 Brookwood Hills residents marching Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012, to oppose the redistricting plans of the Atlanta Public Schools.

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Carrying blue and gold balloons, banners and signs, residents in the Loring Heights, Peachtree Hills, Brookwood Hills and Collier Hills communities marched along Peachtree Road, walking about a mile until they reached their beloved elementary school, E. Rivers.

One proposed redistricting plan calls for splitting up these intown neighborhoods and sending some of the children to a new, yet-to-be-built school.

Brian O’Neill, father to three young children, two of whom attend E. Rivers Elementary, sees no reason for moving children from E. Rivers to the unknown.

"E. Rivers is a pretty amazing place. It’s very diverse and we believe if the school board and demographers took a close look at the school, they would decide to build it so it would be large enough to accommodate kids there now and the bubble they think will occur," said O’Neill, who walked alongside his wife and children. "It’s a successful school, and we feel a model school, and we feel APS should hold it up as a model for APS, and not break it apart."

Even though one proposal would keep his children at E. Rivers, O’Neill said his Loring Heights neighborhood is united in fighting against all the proposals that would slice up the current attendance area.

The citywide redistricting — the first in almost a decade — is proving to be a challenging task. APS has enough seats to serve 62,500 students but has about 49,000 enrolled. Schools in some neighborhoods are overcrowded and expected to add almost 5,500 in the coming years, while others are as little as 20 percent full.

Under two new proposals to redraw Atlanta Public Schools boundaries recently unveiled, about a dozen schools will close and new schools will be built in crowded north Atlanta.

But capacity isn’t the only issue driving the new boundaries. School officials also want to make sure students don’t have to travel far to school and can walk when possible.