Sam Sweat's master plan: Amli will no longer have the Flat Rock “millstone” tied around its neck. Therefore, families with middle school aged children will wait in line to fill vacancies. Basic supply and demand will allow owners to raise rent. …and the kicker, north-of-the-parkway PTC neighborhoods will never be zoned back to a school in their community because Booth will always be full. There you have it; the ultimate plan. Can you say “decimate Booth”, I thought you could.

It is my understanding that the BOE is going to dicuss the redistricting maps on Nov. 6, but will not vote on them until their regular meeting in Nov. or possibly Dec.

If they expect a crowd at the work session, why don't they move to a larger facility?

feeding Bennett's Mill is crazy! Starting middle school is a difficult time for children and they need to have support of their friends. Feeding from nine elementary schools means many children won't have a strong support system when they start middle school.

How can you have a nine elementary school feed into a school with opening enrollment of 500. Can someone work out which schools, I guess I am too confused now.

You forgot the part where all the kids are from 3 different cities. It would not be so laughable if they (BoE) did not post "keeping neighborhood identity" as part of their own power point!

They truley are a disingenous group...they need to go.

It is outrageous that they would put ANYONE back into Booth with the "Scalpel Approach" used by Sam Sweat. Someone should investigate why he would move out high tax-payers and move in renters to PTC schools. He has moved out walkers?? AMLI is a 6 mile busride? What did the corporate AMLI people give him to make this change? Did he think we wouldn't notice? It is local BUBBA politics and we think he is lining his own pocket!!

should not be voting on this important decision. The courts found that Mr. Powers' primary residence was not in Fayette County, therefore he was ineligible to run for another term on the school board. Not living in Fayette County also means he is not legally eligible to SERVE on the school board.

I think Bob Todd should immediately replace Powers.

"I live in an expensive house therefor I should be treated better that others."

Do us all a favor and move to someother state.

marks, it's customary to actually be repeating something someone actually said (or wrote).

Get over your feelings of lack of self worth and answer the question. Why would you redistrict an apartment complex that has the capacity to put many more children into a school that is supposedly overcrowded. That is the issue - Not the rents they charge, it's their "capacity", "numbers" "bodies" How much can we spell it out for you. Who said anything about expensive houses. You did. Stop stirring the pot and stick to the issues. Let me ask you again why would you redistrict an apartment complex 6 miles away into supposedly overcrowded school and remove kids from that school who live within walking distance?
Bet you can't come up with an answer because guess what there isn't one.

go to http://www.fayettega.org/taxes.htm and get an education. Who pays for our schools? Do you think your neighborhood's property taxes stack up to this?
Amli at Peachtree City Phase I paid $295,074.68 in property taxes last year.
"Just stirring the pot" as mainframecpu would say.

Why did you not delve a little deeper into the tax records and find out what your neighbors pay. Does my neighborhood's tax bill stack up to Amlis yes ten fold. The tax bill from our neighborhood is approx. $3,000.000.00 Two thirds of which go to schools. Add the other neighborhoods involved and you are looking at nearer 5 million. $920 per unit at Amli v between $6,000 and $21,000 per unit, and yes we have less units than they do. Before everyone jumps up and down saying who cares what you pay remember you asked the question "Who pays for our schools"

I think she was referring to Amli Phase 1 - Peachtree City with 312 units. The other Amli that was just redistricted at Kedron is 217 units so Phase one's taxes are actually under a $1000.00 per unit. A pretty good deal.

Use a calculator and ye will know. Amli @ Kedron, www.amli.com has 217 apartments. That means that each pays (on average) $1,359.79 in taxes each year. I live in a house in the affected area that's modest by comparison and pay over $5,500 each year in taxes. So 217 of these families are paying nearly $1.2 million in taxes each year.

Aside from the fact that common sense tells you that apartments by their nature are a more transient group than folks in houses.

Just running the calculator.

"Someone should investigate why he would move out high tax-payers and move in renters to PTC schools."

To see post Click here

I was commenting on the post made by 'Kedron Hillbillie', look up.

As to your question of: "Why would you redistrict an apartment complex that has the capacity to put many more children into a school that is supposedly overcrowded."

If you look at the map from the BoE you can plainly see that some areas of PTC were carved out.

What I haven't seen on the this blog is anyone talking about "WHY" the BoE did it this way.

Not one single person on the this blog has considered that the BoE’s reasons were based on current and future population growth.

Everybody is complaining about where the lines were drawn with no clue as to the real reasons why.

To me it's rather straight forward.

The county bought the land for the new school where land was available. Not necessarily next to any place that was "convenient" to anybody. Most land that is available in those size requirements are usually out in the middle of nowhere or a developer want's property rezoned for higher density and is willing to "donate" land to the county as consideration.

The BoE builds the new school where and when it can. Then they have to fill it. Often times “filling” it requires redistricting students from other areas until there is sufficient population in relative close proximity. Once there is sufficient population within a reasonable proximity the BoE redistricts again hopefully sending kids back to somewhere closer to their homes. It happens all the time.

Future development drives when this can occur, not the BoE. The BoE’s consideration is to get the new school up and operational as soon as possible with staff and kids.

I can't imagen the flack that you same people would be writing if the BoE built a school and then mothballed it until the area was developed sufficiently to support it?

Why is it that no sooner then the doors to a new school open and trailers start popping up in the parking lots. The answer is that at the time the new school was being designed and future population guesses were being made and the county/BoE had no idea of some developers plans to build an additional 2,000 houses in the same district.

There is a huge misconception that developers tell the county and BoE years ahead of time about future developments. That’s crap. Did anybody know about the 5,000 homes planed for the other end of TDK? When do you think PCDC told Coweta County about the 2,500 homes they want to build in Senoia?

I can guarantee you in both cases Coweta County was caught off guard and is now going, “oh shucks, where are we going to build the new schools to handle all of this?” “Where’s the money going to come from to build three new schools for all of these kids?”

It takes years for a bond to get issued and it takes years to get a school operational from the time it’s decided one is needed up until the time the doors open.

Waiting until more schools are needed and then looking for land and funding to build them is simply not an option. Once the development has started, the price of the land is too high for the county to purchase it.

The county/BoE can’t wait until a new school is needed. It simply takes to long for the process. They have to build when the land and money are available.

As an example, look at the land across the street from Holy Trinity Church. That land owner is now holding out for $400,000/acre. That will make that the most expensive land in the county by some 200%.

Finally, someone who can take their emotion out of the equation and look at logically! You are a breath of fresh air!

I’ll be honest, I felt queasy when I heard that my daughter might get shifted to another school and then I checked myself. I grew up moving on an average of every 3 years. My father climbed the corporate ladder and pulled us all along the way. That experience did give me the desire to raise my children with more stability. However, I also grew up with a friendly and adaptable attitude that actually thrives on and seeks change. My parents always treated each move as a new adventure and we actually learned to look forward to the next unique experience. I have now lived in PTC longer than I’ve lived any where and sometimes I find it bores me. Change is good for kids, it teaches them coping skills.

Both of my older children attended a couple of different elementary schools in town due to my moving within the city or redistricting. They adapted just fine and knew more kids from different areas of town as a result.

If the folks writing in don’t like the idea of change for your child, might I suggest that in a growing and changing community such as ours, you might have more success at achieving stability and control over your child’s future in a private school. There are some good schools here in town.

Why was an apartment complex redistricted into an over crowded school 6 miles away while children who are within walking distance taken out.

That's where the BoE drew the line.

They had to draw it somewhere and that's all there is to it.

And before you ask, my child got "redistricted" three times in three years. So yes, I know exactly what you're going through.

Your best option is to support your child, support their school and make it the best school it can be.

Unfortunately "that's where they drew the line" is not good enough. This is not a new complex they have been going to Flat Rock and Sandy Creek since they opened. The first Amli is full of kids zoned to Booth and Mcintosh. This Amli was not as successful because of the school zoning (per their office). The point is the line was changed to send kids to Booth at a time when we are being told it was over crowded. There should have been no extra kids from anywhere put into a school that was overcrowded. How hard is that to fathom. If nothing else a bad PR move at worst Corporate bribary. The best option for my child is to finish his 8th grade year with his peers.

I sorry I don't have good answers for you.

Did you ask these questions at the last meeting?

What did the BoE tell you?

The BOE doesn't seem to have good answers for us either. Figures that don't add up. Criteria that seems to have been ignored. Target populations of schools that leaves the county way out of wack in a few short years.

Initially, the BOE presented the information where the public had no comment. Then the BOE had a forum where we could talk and they could not (their rules). Now Monday, there will be another forum where they talk to each other and the public gets to listen with no comment. The result is no give and take and total frustration. The information, misinformation, supposition, etc. available doesn't make sense and no one seems to want to (or able to) clear it up. It gives the distinct sensation of having things rammed down your throat.

I understand that in the past, there was more direct public input allowed. Actually, citizens/parents allowed on the "committee". I assume that it was more direct than just sending e-mails that get no response. I know they get a lot of e-mails and cannot respond to each one, but doesn't that tell you that this high tech solution to public input is ineffective and contributing to the frustration?

By definition, a forum is "an opportunity for open discussion." Not exactly what has been taking place. I know my e-mail will be another one added to a great big stack in the BOE office. My problem with the new boundaries is that, by leaving the FRMS/SCHS district unchanged, we will be faced with a severely overcrowded FRMS. If you look at the BOE's figures, FRMS will exceed capacity by more than 300! The other schools projected to be be over capacity are Whitewater (17 over) and Fayette Middle (4 over). Why in the world have they drawn the boundaries so that the projected school capacities are SO lopsided, with FRMS's situation standing out like a sore thumb?! Even though the figures are projections, there is no doubt that, with all the growth in the north part of the county, the FRMS student population is going to grow far beyond its capacity. The BOE's answer to this is to just close their eyes and hold their hands over their ears. It is indeed very frustrating.

Now do what any other concerned parent would do.

You and a few hundred of your closest friends make an appointment with a member(s) of the BoE for the sole purpose of "discussing" your issues.

The members of the BoE are "elected" just like the mayor, sherrif, city council members, congressmen/women.

I don't know if it's an option, but can the County Council get involved? They're a few of them that are going to be facing an election soon.

Take a day off of work, it will be worth it, and get your answers.

There seem to be enough concerned parents that I would think banding together and attacking the problem via the legal system may be an option.

With all of the people involved, I can't believe there's not a lawyer, or five, in the group.

I feel your pain, but blogging won't get you answers. Go to the source.

Don't we have a state Representative, or two, running for re-election some time in the near future? Call em. If you can bring say a thousand votes to the table, they'll listen.

What people seem to forget is that the BoE works for you, not the other way around.

If I hire a lawyer or doctor and he/she doesn't do what I tell him/her to do, I fire them and get another one. It's not like there's a shortage of them.

They work for you!

All I can tell you is whatever you decide to do, do it quickly.

And we have been looking at alot of what you have suggested. Wheels are in motion. You are exactly right that the BOE works for us.

Blogging helps to blow off steam and share ideas. We're a pretty scattered group. I've actually picked up a lot of interesting ideas from both sides from blogging.

Blogging is kinda like intense brainstorming.

Thank you for your input.

Peachtree Parkway is going to be a sea of yellow. Ironically, any Booth bus picking up apartment kids will pass at least 7 neighborhoods closer than Amli on the way to the apartments. At the same time, the kids from north of the parkway only a bike ride away from Booth can wave as the Bennett's Mill bus starts it's 8 mile journey to Lester Road in Fayetteville. I hope the BOE didn't pay much for that software.

The BOE wonders why parents question their decisions. They redistrict an apartment complex six miles away into Booth a supposedly "overcrowded school" and remove kids who live on top of the school. I rest my case.

"We are dealing with a small group of PARENTS there"

Just stirring the pot-
MainFrame