About three dozen Gwinnett County parents spoke Thursday evening against the school district’s plans to put their children and others in different schools beginning in the 2015-16 school year.
Gwinnett officials want to change the boundary lines for nearly three dozen schools in the central and western parts of the county to ease overcrowding and other factors as Georgia’s largest school district continues to grow. District officials unveiled the proposed changes in October and made some revisions earlier this week.
Changes were not made in some areas, though, and parents were not happy. Several speakers against the plans received standing ovations from much of the audience of about 250 people.
“There is a lot of concern that the redistricting is wrong,” one parent, Nidal Ibrahim, said to applause. “I hope you will hear that. I hope that you will react to that.”
Many parents, particularly in the Brookwood High School cluster, said they bought homes to be close to high-performing elementary, middle and the high school in the area. They said they were worried that their children would be forced to attend lower-performing schools and friendships their kids have made with other students would end. Some parents threatened to move to stay near those schools.
“It will have an adverse impact on her education,” said Martir Herrera, whose daughter attends Gwin Oaks Elementary School. “I ask you to keep us Brookwood.”
Gwinnett County traffic safety engineer Ash Khan echoed those comments and raised traffic concerns about the changes.
“Our children are set up for success there,” he said. “Please do not take it away from them.”
About a dozen parents also spoke against plans to move about 80 students from Peachtree Elementary School to Simpson Elementary School, saying it insufficiently addresses overcrowding. Peachtree has more than 1,800 students; Simpson has about 800 students. Some parents accused the district of not wanting less affluent students to attend Simpson.
“The perception is if you live in an apartment complex, you cannot attend Simpson Elementary School,” said Chavelle Hunter.
Gwinnett officials have said demographics and test scores are not factors in redistricting.
Russell Brown was the only speaker who voiced support for the changes to Peachtree and Simpson elementary schools.
“I like the way the boundaries were drawn,” he said. “I think it will benefit both areas.”
School board members said they will seriously consider the comments, but acknowledged the final decisions will not please everyone. The board is scheduled to have a final public hearing and then vote on the plans at its Dec. 18 meeting.
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