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District lines being redrawn

By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@TheCitizen.com

The parent committees have been established, and the Coweta County School System has embarked on drawing new district lines for the 2006 school year.

The new lines are necessary, since the school system will be opening Welch Elementary School and Lee Middle school next August, said school spokesperson Dean Jackson.

But in addition to filling up the new schools, the system is also looking at the racial balance of its schools. Jackson said all schools are governed by Department of Justice guidelines that were established in the early 1970s.

“The guidelines say that each school should have around 20 percent minority students with a 15 percent deviation on either side,” Jackson said.

With the deviation, schools are in compliance as long as the minority population of each school ranges from 5 percent to 35. But Jackson said four schools — Newnan Crossing, Jefferson Parkway, Atkinson and Ruth Hill elementary schools — exceed the federal guidelines.

“I don’t think we’ll have a real problem with Newnan Crossing because that’s just a few students over and future growth will take care of that. But Ruth Hill is nearly 70 percent minority,” he said.

Two representatives of each elementary and middle school in the county have started meeting to draw up proposed maps for next year. Jackson said the school system has started early this year because board attorney Joe McNabb wants to have the maps sent to the Justice Department by the middle of December.

“This still gives us time to tweak the maps for next year in case the Justice Department has any comments,” Jackson said.

By the middle of November, the committee should have completed enough of their work to display the maps for all parents to view.

“We want everybody to be involved in this process and there will be plenty of time for people to offer comments,” he said.