In one of its wildest meetings in years, the Coweta County Board of Education got an earful Tuesday night from concerned parents over new attendance lines for seven elementary schools.

As a result, director of operations Doug Bennett is not sure the board will be ready to approve the lines at its Feb. 8 meeting.

Nearly 300 parents packed the Central Middle School gym and let their displeasure rain down upon the board. Parents chanted, yelled and got in board members' faces to protest the redistricting.

“The board wants to make it a racial issue and that's something we've never even mentioned,” said White Oak parent Vicki Dell.

Dell said her main concern is that students will actually be bused past two elementary schools to get to the school the system wants them to attend.

The new lines were drawn for several reasons, according to Bennett. Right now, many of the system's underachieving students are at Newnan Crossing and the system wants to create a more “heterogenous” mix.

“As long as the students are in one spot, they never advance. The system wants to spread the students out,” he said.

Bennett also discounted rumors that Pathway Communities asked the board to redraw the lines. Pathway is building SummerGrove, a new subdivision of 2,000 upscale homes next to Newnan Crossing.

“Are they calling the shots? No. But 2,000 homes does have a huge impact on the school system,” he said.

Most of the questions Bennett answered last night concerned why the board is doing this when they will probably have to do it again next year when another elementary school is built.

“We've got 700 new students coming into the system every year. We barely catch our breath before we have to plan for those students,” he said.

One group that Bennett heard from was the Bedford Forest subdivision in Sharpsburg. Last year, their children went to Thomas Crossroads. This year, many of the students were moved to Poplar Road. Next year, if the lines are approved, 65 students would move to Newnan Crossing.

“The board is going to have to look at geographical issues when making their final recommendation,” he said.

Bennett said the board did not announce if any more public hearings would be conducted before the final vote.

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