Bethany Bend Redistricting Meetings Begin

As most Fulton County public school parents probably already know, the lines are about to be crossed, moved, thrown out and redrawn altogether when it comes to school districts.

Although the high school at Bethany Bend in Milton isn’t due to open until August 2012, the redistricting process of many North Fulton schools begins tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 23, and it’s expected to affect quite a few families north of the Chattahoochee River.

“While the impact may be negligible for schools in the eastern most region of North Fulton, all communities are encouraged to stay abreast of the proposed maps, once developed, and provide feedback on any changes affecting their community,” said Fulton County Schools Spokesperson Susan Hale.

Since the new school is a high school, the county will focus primarily on the rezoning of area high schools to alleviate current and potential capacity issues.

“However, alternative and draft high school plans may be accompanied by additional modifications to other levels in order to appropriately align elementary and middle school feeder patterns to the high school proposals,” Fulton County School Board member Linda Schultz said in an e-mail sent out to those on her community meeting mailing list. “These adjustments should impact a minimal number of students and would not be implemented until fall 2013.”

Both Hale and Schultz maintain that the new maps have not yet been drawn. The three public redistricting meetings are an important part of the map’s creation, according to Hale. Creation of the new school zones is expected to follow system policy by basing the alternative maps “primarily on geographic proximity, as measured by distance,” as well as prior re-zonings and feeder school alignment.

It’s a process that has worked for several years and the feedback has been positive, said Hale.

On the agenda for this first meeting is an explanation of how the process for input works, what the board-approved criteria is for developing the new boundary lines and finally a chance to break into small-groups for input sessions.

Based on feedback from those small-groups, system staff will develop alternative zone plans, which will be available for review at the next redistricting meeting in March.

This month’s redistricting meeting will take place Wednesday, Feb. 23 from 7-9 p.m. at Alpharetta High School.