Gwinnett County school officials unveiled a redistricting plan Monday afternoon that could result in about 6,800 students attending different schools at the start of the 2016-17 school year.
Gwinnett plans to open a new elementary school and a new middle school by then. The redistricting plan was created to prepare for the new schools and ease overcrowding in other schools. Thirty-one schools would be affected, officials said Monday.
Most of the changes would be in the Norcross and Parkview clusters, where much of the district’s growth has taken place in recent years. The school board is scheduled to vote on the changes during its Jan. 21 meeting.
Gwinnett, Georgia's largest school district, has added about 11,000 students over the past three school years. Gwinnett's growth has prompted several redistricting plans in the past two decades, often to the dismay of some parents who don't want their children switching schools. In December, school board members approved a plan that required about 14,000 students — more than 8 percent of the district's enrollment — to new or different schools at the start of the 2015-16 school year.
The school district posted maps showing the areas affected on its website Monday, with forms to allow residents to voice concerns or raise questions about the proposed changes. A public hearing is set Jan. 7.
“If there’s a concern, we want to hear it,” said Steve Flynt, Gwinnett’s chief strategy and performance officer.
Officials hope the changes will reduce overcrowding in schools like Peachtree Elementary, which many parents complain is well over capacity with about 1,600 students while some other schools in that area have about 50 percent of that school’s enrollment. Flynt believes the changes will bring Peachtree Elementary under full capacity.
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