Wednesday, September 26, 2001

I am writing to issue a challenge to our Peachtree City government officials, prospective members of our government included. I want to be as straightforward as I possibly can to prevent any confusion, because the citizens of this town who elect you deserve your unequivocal support.

As most of us are aware, the Fayette County school district lines are about to be redrawn. Many children will be assigned to a different school for the 2002 school year. Lots of good people across the county will be impacted by these changes, some for the better, some not.

I live in the northern end of Peachtree City, however, so I have to limit my comments to the area I know best. As a Peachtree City resident whose house will probably fall into a school district outside the Peachtree City city limits, I am very upset that my children will not be able to walk or bike to school safely.

There are people lobbying the board to make these decisions based on proximity to the schools, which is a reasonable and well-developed strategy. I myself signed a petition over the weekend supporting this effort. I do not believe, however, that the county will listen to the concerns of Peachtree City citizens without the support of the city government. This is where you, our elected officials, have the opportunity to rise to my challenge or lose my vote.

Central to my point is the new elementary school that will be built at Ga. Highway 74 and Dogwood Trail, just north of the city. It allegedly will be ready to open for the next school year. It's in Fayette County, but not in Peachtree City.

When the lines are redrawn it is likely that many Peachtree City residents will have to send their children to school in another city. I'm not aware of any other instances like this in the county; it seems ridiculous to me that we would have to cross city lines, as well as a busy highway, to get our kids to school.

Peachtree City has an extensive cart path system that many of us use to get around without a car, and many children traverse these paths on foot and on wheels to get from point A to point B without the danger of car traffic. There are many children who will no longer be able to use these safe and convenient paths between home and school.

The Fayette County School Board cannot be faulted for this consequence. In defense of the board members, they are trying to do whatever they can to accommodate the increasing number of students in the county. They have to work to build new schools and distribute county children as evenly as they can, and they're forced to work within the parameters set for them. There's only so much land. But as an individual citizen of Peachtree City, I'm outraged. Peachtree City can't support another school because all our available land has been devoted to apartments and big box stores!

Fayette County Schools are among the best in the state. Please see http://www.gppf.org/2000reportcard.htm for the details about how our schools measure up. My family moved here primarily because of the caliber of the schools and family-centered environment, where children can walk to school and play outside safely.

I am confident that any new school built in this county will meet or exceed the standard set by the others. But if the lines are redrawn and our children have to leave town to go to school, we lose the benefit of the cart paths, which arguably are among the most attractive features of Peachtree City. This isn't an issue the school board will consider, because it's well outside their purview. But you, our local government, caused this problem, and you need to fix it!

You've issued building permits without regard for long-term impact on the citizens of this town. You continue to allow developers to build apartments, somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 units less than a mile from me. Our city schools are overcrowded because you continue to encourage population growth without considering the impact of that growth.

I (and many others who may or may not share my opinions) pay property taxes every year to support an infrastructure for which apartment dwellers do not pay. This infrastructure includes our cart path system. Because of this uncontrolled growth, my children will be unable to attend a school within walking distance of our home.

My family, and many others, will not be able to use the cart paths that our tax dollars pay to maintain. Meanwhile, citizens who do not pay property taxes can send their children toddling off to school along the cart paths, comforted to know they don't have to cross any busy roads and they will be safe.

I bear no ill will toward the good people who live in these apartments. They did not make the decision to build these units in an area already bursting at the seams. I love Peachtree City. This is a great place to live, whether in an apartment or in a house. But I think you see my point.

Our city government has exhibited strong tendencies toward "planning" development without thinking ahead. In my opinion, the mayor has demonstrated consistently that he couldn't care less about the plight of families in this town, so I have no expectation that he will deign to help us. But the current council members, as well as the council and mayoral hopefuls, have an opportunity to step up and show us that you care about us.

Contact the school board. Contact the State Board of Education. Make an effort to understand how your land use decisions are impacting the ability of our children to get a good education at a school in their community, and do something about it.

This decision about redistricting will be completed before the end of 2001. The election is about 6 weeks away. There's still time.

Megan Millians

Peachtree City

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