Fayette County School Board Chair Debbie Condon was reported as saying that annexation would be best for the school system since the “city” would donate land for a school.

In my estimation, her analysis is severely flawed. Without annexation, the area in question would have at most 900 homes, but a more likely number is 600 to 700.

Assuming 650 homes with one school-age child per home, the school system would have to build the equivalent of one new elementary school and buy the land.

With annexation at the density requested by the developers of 1,450 (which they say they need to pay for the bridge over the tracks), we could expect an additional 1,450 school-age children. That is the equivalent of one elementary school and one middle school.

The landowners donate land for the elementary school. The school system has to build two schools and still buy land for one. How does this benefit the school system?

Annexation would appear to cost the school system several million dollars more, several million dollars the system does not have.

Robert Brown

Peachtree City

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