When Tracey Flandermeyer heard about the school system’s redistricting plan, she thought her children’s overcrowded conditions would be solved at Peachtree City Elementary School.

The school on Wisdom Road in the city’s center is bursting at the seams and has more than 550 students at a school with a listed capacity of 512.

Surely, she thought, the Fayette County Board of education would agree to send some of the students to Kedron Elementary or Crabapple Elementary, both of which are currently well below capacity.

As of the end of January according to figures provided by the school system, Kedron had 413 students and a capacity of 737, while Crabapple only has 492 students at a school built for 800 students.

Overall, the system’s population stood at 22,329, but capacity is 23,451.

The other overcrowded schools in the county are Rising Starr Middle with more than 1,100 students at a facility built for 962, Burch Elementary with 741 students at a facility built for 662, East Fayette Elementary with 602 students at a 587-student school and Peeples Elementary with 841 students at a 737-student school.

But when the system late last year decided to cancel all redistricting plans, Flandermeyer and many of her neighbors in the Pinegate subdivision in Peachtree City were stunned.

As a result, 41 parents in Pinegate have asked for voluntary transfers of their students to Kedron next year, out of a total of 76 students transferring. Eleven students have asked to transfer from Burch Elementary to Cleveland Elementary, while four will transfer from Peeples to Braelinn.

The catch is that the system provides no busing service for voluntary transfers, meaning the parents have to drive their children or otherwise provide their own transportation to the new schools.

“It just doesn’t make any sense to me why they didn’t do this when they’ve got empty classrooms at Kedron and Crabapple,” Flandermeyer said.

The upset parent is moving her two children to Kedron next year and is upset over what she called a lack of response from the board and the administration.

“The overwhelming sentiment among our neighbors is that the board of education has dumped the problem in our laps to solve,” she said.

Flandermeyer loves Peachtree City Elementary and said her decision was not based on being upset at the school, but rather the crowded conditions. Now, she’ll have to provide transportation for her two children next fall.

“We’ve asked the school system to provide a bus, since there are 41 Pinegate students going to Kedron, but they said they don’t want to send two buses going to different schools in the neighborhood,” she said.

Superintendent of Education John DeCotis said the reason the system called off redistricting efforts this year is because the board did not want to do a Band-Aid approach to the problem.

“When we build new elementary schools in two years, we’ll be able to even out the enrollment at the schools,” he said.

DeCotis said he heard plenty from parents in Pinegate about the system’s actions, but said there were also numerous parents in the area who did not want to change schools.

“Anytime we do this it’s a balancing act, and we try and take into account as many people’s concerns as we can,” he said.

DeCotis said he also wanted to avoid a situation where students may have been redistricted next year, but then moved again in two years when a full-scale redistricting is planned.

The superintendent said the system could not provide a bus for the Pinegate students because it was made clear that if parents volunteer to transfer students they would have to provide the transportation.

DeCotis sympathizes with Flandermeyer’s problem, but said the board and the administration is committed to finding the best solutions for all 22,000 students.

Even though many in Pinegate are committed to taking their children to Kedron next year to avoid overcrowding, it doesn’t make the decision any easier.

“I love Peachtree City Elementary. We’re really sad to leave,” Flandermeyer said.

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