Friends in other counties can help with this

Hey, I'm passing this along in case people in other parts of the state want to help out with this school situation.

They might not have heard of it, and I figure the more areas that hear opposition , the better! I know of people in Cherokee and Coweta counties that are sending this to their representatives.

Senator XXXXXX -

I'm writing today to urge you to oppose Bill 458 which would allow students in failing or failed school systems to attend schools in other counties.

Although the problem is centered in the Clayton/Fayette/Henry area for now, I worry about what the implications could be for other areas, including ours, at some point in the future. As a homeowner and taxpayer, any bill that could at some point force me to subsidize a county in which I have no vote is very unsettling to say the least.

Additionally, while the intention of the bill is good, I worry that in practice it would only serve to make life harder for those students while putting additional strain on those schools accepting them.

The only students who could attend the schools in neighboring counties would be those who could find transportation, where would that leave those who had no ride? And as for the students in the accredited schools, how fair would it be to them to suddenly have overcrowding and distracted teachers who have to deal with many new students who have been following a different curriculum and have a different skill set from the students who are enrolled in their local schools?

As a parent, I'm disappointed that this solution is the best the State could put forth to help Clayton County - parents don't need the headache of finding a way to transport their students, they need for the State to step in and replace the inept Board they tragically voted in.

Avoiding the litigation that would result from decisions that school systems in Fulton/Henry/Fayette Counties make in accepting or rejecting so many students and in choosing which few would have a seat in the lifeboat is reason enough to avoid passing this bill. But the very real, lasting and negative effect that this would have on property values in the entire Southern Crescent as well as the absolute injustice served on taxpayers who would have to directly foot the bill for the failure of the Clayton County School Board is the main reason that I find it hard to believe that this even made it to the floor.

Is there no way the State can put in a new, temporary Board and save the students in Clayton County from having to go through all of this?

Please don't vote for a bill that would enable the ineptitude of a few individuals to harm the lives and property values of so many citizens.

Please don't vote for a bill that would only serve to make life harder for thousands of students and their parents.

Thank you for your time

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.