“No choice in a government school” read the headline from Neal Boortz’s provocative column last Saturday discussing parental opposition to school redistricting. Boortz said we North Fulton moms care more about where our kids go to school than what they learn.
The headline and accusation strike a nerve.
Boortz addressed how North Fulton parents are hotly contesting Fulton County Schools plans to reduce overpopulated Milton and Roswell high schools in August 2012, when they’ll open a new county high school on Bethany Bend near the Milton/Forsyth county line. Residents were given options curried by the county in three public meetings. A “final recommended map,” up for vote on June 14, was recently released — but all is not well.
Many North Fulton folks question the logic of this final plan, drawn by Fulton County staff seeking to balance capacity among high schools in Milton, Alpharetta, Roswell and Johns Creek. In one puzzling example, Roswell students must forgo attending neighborhood Roswell High School, and instead crawl through Milton’s historic Crabapple intersection to attend rival Milton High School.
The final map angers Milton residents, too, since it splits our city down the middle, playing havoc on municipal traffic plans and worsening life-threatening driving conditions.
Most tellingly, the decision is an arrow through the heart of Milton — a relatively new city, proud of its bucolic beauty and its Milton High School, where students have garnered significant awards. People pay big bucks — and taxes — to live here, and they expect more say in where schools are erected, as well as what goes on inside. Redistricting has thrown into sharp reality how little control residents actually have.
So, yes, Boortz hits us hard when he chides us for our lack of choice in public schools. Yet I see hope.
Parents know in selecting public schools, we’re subjecting our kids to the real world. There’s diversity within and there’s adversity throughout — including forces sometimes dashing best-laid plans. What better environment for bringing up resilient, savvy kids equipped for challenges?
Still, we expect in return a school system that doesn’t just pretend to seek involvement. We want one downright anxious to unleash our collective North Fulton potential. And, mostly, we want one we can hold accountable.
Fulton County Schools is looking now to become a charter system, an innovative move offering educational flexibility. Parents should go to fultonschools.org to learn more, and to ensure that our trust, this time, is not squandered.
Veronica Buckman lives in Milton. Reach her at vrbuck01@aol.com
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