Schools

Redistricting Concerns Roswell Residents

Some Roswell residents are frustrated with the limited scope of information Fulton County Schools will take into account during the redistricting process.

The redistricting process of area schools is underway and not everyone is thrilled with the way Fulton County Schools is approaching the endeavor.

Because a new high school is being built at in Milton, North Fulton school district lines are going to be reworked – some more drastically than others. The county is currently in the middle of holding a series of redistricting to gather information from the public and find the best way to reorganize students at several of the area’s high schools and subsequent feeder schools.

But despite the school system’s repeated declaration that they want redistricting decisions to be heavily fueled by parental input, Roswell resident Michael Nyden says the way the system has called for input is flawed and he’s not alone in his thinking.

Find out what's happening in Roswellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Nyden leads an unofficial group of mostly Roswell residents who are “very concerned with the potential impact of redistricting.” The group has even assembled a group page, “Roswell Residents for Reasonable Redistricting,” on Facebook. The page acts as a venue for parents to share thoughts and frustrations about the redistricting process. As of late Sunday afternoon, the group page was 87-members strong and Nyden says the number continues to climb as more people come to know about the impending redistricting.

“Not everyone is even aware this is going on,” he said. “And this is something that impacts everyone in a community…it even impacts those without school-age children because it affects property value. People purchase homes to be in a certain school district.”

Find out what's happening in Roswellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

School board member Katie Reeves acknowledged the impact to communities at the first redistricting meeting, Feb. 23. Reeves told those who were in attendance that high schools reflect neighborhoods.

“Look around your neighborhoods and look at your neighbors, because that's what your high school will look like," she said.

But that’s part of the concern for Nyden and his group, who are afraid that neighborhoods and a sense of community are being overlooked because of the limited scope of information requested by the school system.

“Despite Mrs. Reeves assertions to the contrary, redistricting doesn’t always work out well; witness its impact on the Atlanta [Public Schools],” he said.

Local parents have been instructed to stick to specific criteria, including the following:

-In terms of factors such as natural geographic barriers, homeowners associations, and shared amenities such as common areas, youth teams or events, what neighborhood areas should remain together and why?

-What traffic concerns do you have that may impact the safe and timely transportation of students to and from schools?

-Are there residential development trends in your area that may impact future school enrollment?

-Thinking about the past three years, have there been issues regarding multiple school rezonings in your area?

Parents were told that anything beyond those four criteria won’t be reviewed. It will be left out of the school system's database for planning the new school districts.

“We’re concerned about the narrowness of information the school board is requesting from the affected communities,” Nyden said. “They seem unwilling to hear anything else.”

However, according to an informational e-mail sent out to parents by the Roswell High School PTA, "There are no scripted questions in any of the remaining rounds. Participants share likes or dislikes about the individual attendance zone plans. It is an open, facilitated forum."  

Nyden says he and other concerned residents only ask that the school system would “engage in a true dialogue” and consider intangibles.

“Roswell has a sense of place. That’s a lot of what it means to live here, to go to school here,” he said.

Understanding the impact to that “sense of place,” Roswell Mayor Jere Wood has proposed a resolution for tonight’s Roswell City Council meeting asking the Fulton County School Board to “consider city boundaries and the unique character of cities in making attendance zone decisions.”

The mayor is also hosting a meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, Mar. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Hembree Park Community Activity Building to offer the residents from all of the North Fulton cities an outlet to air all views on the redistricting. School board members and several state representatives are reported to have been invited to the meeting.

The initial nine redistricting maps – three for elementary, three for middle school and three for high school – will be available online the afternoon of the next county redistricting meeting, which takes place Wednesday, Mar. 16 at 7 p.m. in the gymnasium of Alpharetta High School.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here