Cardinal Lake Estates Opposed to Redistricting Plan

Cardinal Lake Estates parents made it clear at an informational meeting Sunday (March 13) afternoon that they want to keep their B.B. Harris Elementary School community in Duluth intact. They oppose moving 120 students attending Harris ES to Chesney Elementary School to make room for students from Mason Elementary School. The redistricting proposal by Gwinnett County Public Schools involves moving 270 students from Mason ES in the Peachtree Ridge Cluster to Harris ES in the Duluth Cluster. Instead, splitting the Mason ES students between Harris and Chesney elementary schools was suggested along with other ideas at the meeting.

Harris ES and Chesney ES are both located in the Duluth Cluster and are both under capacity. Harris ES has a current enrollment of 669 with a capacity of 875 students. Chesney ES has 888 students with room for 1,150. The redistricting has been proposed by GCPS to relieve overcrowding in the Peachtree Ridge Cluster, especially at Peachtree Ridge High School and Hull Middle School.

The parents and others attending the meeting questioned the timing of the redistricting since new elementary and middle schools are proposed for the Peachtree Ridge Cluster in 2013 or 2014. According to Christy Espy, who answered questions from attendees as the parent representative for Harris ES on the redistricting, GCPS has purchased an existing building to be repurposed for the new schools on Northbrook Parkway. There apparently are no plans now for a new high school to relieve overcrowding at Peachtree Ridge High School, she said.

Espy and another parent Courtney Bernardo organized the meeting at the Cardinal Lake Estates Clubhouse and invited representatives of other neighborhoods to participate. There were at least 100 or more who attended. Espey and Bernardo, who also serve as Harris ES PTA co-presidents, both emphasized the importance of filling out input forms available on the GCPS website and submitting them to the school system’s Planning Department. “We encourage you to make copies and also send them to the school board,” Bernardo said. Forms were available at the meeting. Deadline to submit the forms is April 1 for forwarding to the GCPS Planning Department April 11. GCPS plans to post an adjusted redistricting map reflecting the public input April 18. The initial map was released March 7.

Participants also expressed concern about the redistricting timeline. “Slow it down. It’s moving too fast” and similar comments were frequent. An alternative redistricting plan drawn by a member of the Duluth community that Espy presented to the group for discussion seemed more palatable than the GCPS proposal. But they wondered if the figures would work and if there would be enough time to obtain input on it. 

The alternative map divides the area proposed to be redistricted away from Mason ES to Harris ES into three portions demarcated by Northmont Parkway and Old Peachtree Road. Some students would remain in the Mason attendance zone. The rest would be split between Harris and Chesney elementary schools. A portion of the Burnette Elementary School attendance zone in the Peachtree Ridge Cluster would be redistricted into Chattahoochee ES in the Duluth Cluster. Meeting organizers said the alternative map would be posted on the Duluth Redistrict Facebook site. The alternative map and the power point presentation shown at the meeting are included with the photos accompany this article.

Jennifer Falk urged redistricting opponents to attend as many Gwinnett County Board of Education meetings as possible and to get on the agenda to speak if possible. The opportunities include regular BOE meetings and at the GCPS Instructional Support Center in Suwanee, and an March 31 at Norcross High School. “Become informed and know what you want to say,” she advised, “and do your input form prior to appearing before the school board.” The BOE is scheduled to vote on the redistricting at the April 21 meeting. 

Someone suggested that redistricting plan opponents wear purple, the Duluth Cluster color, to show solidarity at the board meetings. 

Duluth Mayor Nancy Harris, a former B.B. Harris ES principal, and District III Gwinnett Board of Education Member Mary Kay Murphy were in the audience at the meeting. Harris is drafting a position statement opposing the proposed redistricting in the Duluth Cluster for action by the city council.

Murphy, who represents the Duluth Cluster and part of the Peachtree Ridge Cluster, announced an additional public comment opportunity at 7 p.m. April 20 at the school system’s Instructional Support Center. Any changes to the redistricting map as the result of that input would be posted on the GCPS website the next day, Murphy said, and would be considered by the full board when it votes that night during a meeting that starts at 7 p.m. The April 20 public hearing would replace the 5-7 p.m. period previously scheduled prior to the April 21 board vote, she said.

“I can’t advise you on strategy,” Murphy told the group, “but from what I’m hearing, you’re moving in the right direction.” She suggested calling and e-mailing GCPS Planning Director Greg Stanfield and all five school board members as well as submitting the alternative plan to Stanfield.

Murphy stated she was opposed to the redistricting as currently proposed. “I can’t vote for this as drawn,” she said.

Rae Saidman questioned why adjusting boundary lines within the Duluth Cluster to relieve overcrowding and eliminate trailers at Berkeley Lake Elementary, the only school in the Duluth Cluster over capacity, had not been included in the plan. “Mason (ES) is not over capacity. It’s not in trailers like at Berkeley Lake,” she said. 

The current redistricting proposal also includes shifting about 130 students from Hull Middle School in the Peachtree Ridge Cluster to Duluth Middle School in the Duluth Cluster. About 180 students at Peachtree Ridge High School would be redistricted into the Duluth High School attendance zone.