Parents of Students at Burch Elementary school in Tyrone are breathing a little easier this week after the Fayette Board of Education decided Monday night not to change any of its elementary school lines.

The announcement set off wild applause among the more than 200 parents crammed into the board’s meeting room in Fayetteville. The school proposal called for moving 70 students from Burch to Cleveland Elementary and North Fayette. At a public hearing in November, many Burch parents said they didn’t want their students moving further away.

In a prepared statement, Superintendent of Education John DeCotis said the parents’ input made a huge impact on the decision.

“However, based on feedback concerning the proposed changes, the decision has been made to wait and implement a comprehensive change rather than take a Band-aid approach. The main reason for this decision is to ensure, as much as possible, that students are not moved now and then again in a few years,” he said.

The school system wanted to relieve overcrowding at three elementary schools next year: Burch, Peachtree City and Peeples.

But parents who are concerned about overcrowding still have an option. DeCotis announced Monday night that parents could have their children transferred to another school, as long as parents provided transportation and filled out a transfer application by Jan. 31, 2006. Students at Peachtree City can transfer to Kedron, while Burch students can head to Cleveland. Peeples students will have the option of transferring to Braelinn.

DeCotis said a full look at the boundary lines will occur in the next few years when a new elementary school is built.

login to post comments