Duluth Parents, Teachers Oppose Redistricting

The Area III Gwinnett County Board of Education meeting was emotionally packed with speakers opposing plans for redistricting schools in the Duluth and Peachtree Ridge clusters. Duluth Cluster parents and teachers appealed to the school board to vote against the current redistricting proposal and to consider their input and alternative plans that have been submitted.

Between 15 to 20 speakers took turns at the podium in the auditorium at Norcross High School to address the board concerning redistricting near the end of the lengthy March 31 meeting. Two speakers were so upset, they struggled to speak through their tears.

Mary Kay Murphy, who represents District III on the school board, hosted the meeting. District III encompasses all or part of the Duluth, Norcross, and Peachtree Ridge clusters, including GIVE Center West, the Gwinnett Online Campus and Monarch School. Gwinnett County Public Schools CEO/Supt. J. Alvin Wilbanks and all five board members attended.

Current redistricting plans call for moving 270 students from Mason Elementary School in the Peachtree Ridge Cluster to Harris Elementary in the Duluth Cluster. About 130 students would be shifted from Hull Middle School in the Peachtree Ridge Cluster to Duluth Middle School in the Duluth Cluster. And 180 students at Peachtree Ridge High School would be redistricted into the Duluth High School attendance zone. 

In addition, an estimated 120 students in the Harris ES attendance zone would be redistricted into the Chesney Elementary School attendance zone. Both schools are located in the Duluth Cluster.

Duluth Mayor Nancy Harris and City Council members have issued a statement opposing the present redistricting plan. Harris read the statement in entirety to the school board at its March 17 meeting.

The initial redistricting map was posted on the GCPS website March 7. Boundary committees were formed at each affected school to hold informational meetings and collect input. Forms were also available on the website to provide input. Deadline to submit the forms was April 1. Boundary committees have a deadline of April 11 to review input and submit recommendations to the GCPS Planning Department. A map reflecting any revisions is scheduled to be posted on the GCPS website April 18. After a public hearing April 20, the school board is scheduled to vote April 21.

The way the Duluth community was divided by redistricting for the new Peachtree Ridge High School a decade ago still rankles. Speakers repeatedly called for restoring the community, returning and reuniting neighborhoods.

John Edgar, a Duluth High School teacher, read an open letter to the school board from the faculty and staff of Duluth High School. “The boundary for Peachtree Ridge was set right down the middle of the City of Duluth, along the railroad track, dividing neighborhoods and removing students who lived in Duluth to attend a school that is in Suwanee.…It is the fervent hope that the City of Duluth can be restored as a city and the children in Duluth can again return to their high school,” the letter stated.

“We are concerned that the proposed plan is short-sighted and does not take into consideration the impact on the students affected by the proposed plan, neither does it address the overcrowding at other schools in both clusters,” Edgar read. “The main reason we were given for this rezoning is due to Peachtree Ridge High School and Hull Middle School being over capacity and the need to get students out of trailers. The proposed plan, however, gives short shrift to the overcrowding, reducing the 700 over capacity students at Hull Middle School by only 120 and the 400 over capacity students at Peachtree Ridge High School by only 180 students.”

The letter also challenged the proposed relocation of students out of Harris ES to accommodate students to be moved from Mason ES. “This is an unnecessary disruption as both schools are under capacity,” according to the letter. Jackson Elementary and Berkeley Lake Elementary, two schools over capacity, are not included in the plan.

The faculty and teachers support an alternative plan that relieves overcrowding at Hull MS and Peachtree Ridge High School, minimally disrupts students, and balances enrollment among schools, Edgar read. This plan would restore the Duluth city limits as the boundary line for students to attend Duluth MS and Duluth HS and allow Duluth merchants who had been zoned into the Peachtree Ridge Cluster to again contribute to Duluth HS. The letter requested the school board reject the current proposal by the GCPS Planning Department and adopt the alternative. In addition to Edgar, Sigrid Serpico and Mary Ann Meeks represented the Duluth HS faculty and staff.

Dianne Ogden, co-president of the Duluth HS PTA, questioned why the current plan “gives us a fraction of students to solve overcrowding at Peachtree Ridge High School and Hull Middle Schools.” Ogden also said she was impressed with the hard work and awesome ideas contributed by parents to develop “a logical, clear, and well thought out” alternative plan. She urged the board “to consider our proposal and heal some old wounds.”

“My husband and I have two children at Berkeley Lake Elementary. You may say that the proposed redistricting of the Duluth Cluster doesn’t affect me, but it very much does,” Christy Creedon told the board. “We plan to raise our children in the Duluth Cluster and are concerned for the future of its fantastic schools.”

Creedon encouraged the board to move enough students from Peachtree Ridge HS to relieve overcrowding and fill Duluth HS closer to capacity. Also, she suggested shifting Mason Elementary and areas taken from Chattahoochee Elementary back into the Duluth Cluster. Another option, Creedon said, would be to move the area proposed to be redistricted from the Peachtree Ridge Cluster into the Duluth Cluster to nearby Ferguson Elementary School in the Meadowcreek Cluster.

Since a relief middle school for Hull MS is scheduled to open in 2013, she queried if waiting until then wouldn’t be a better time to redraw boundary lines

As a voter, Creedon said, “I will not support a new SPLOST to build new schools, which I have always done in the past, when there are underutilized campuses that are willing to take additional students if done correctly. Voters will pay attention to how this current redistricting issue is handled, and it will affect the outcome of the SPLOST in the next election.”

“Hull Middle School is very overcrowded, said Sean Murphy, the only Peachtree Ridge Cluster parent to speak at the meeting. “I think the Duluth Cluster parents recognize our problem. We need to put our trust in the (GCPS) Planning Department."

Phil Grant suggested dividing the Mason ES students proposed to be relocated to Harris ES between Harris and Chesney elementary schools because it would disrupt fewer students. Grant noted that his son Arshan, a fourth-grader at Harris ES, has collected 130-150 signatures against moving Harris ES students to Chesney ES to make room for the Mason ES students. 

David Lowry urged the board “to step back and look at the situation again and come up with a solution that benefits everyone.” His daughter Daelen, who accompanied him to the podium, is obtaining signatures from students at Duluth High School opposing the proposed redistricting, Lowry said.

“The current redistricting proposal does not benefit the Duluth Cluster, said John Pelchat, “and the goals of redistricting are not being achieved.” He asked the board to vote the current proposal down and consider four alternative plans that have been developed. “We want to help the Peachtree Ridge Cluster with overcrowding,” he said, “but not at the expense of our cluster.” 

Overcrowding at Berkeley Lake Elementary School is not addressed in the redistricting proposal, said Jenny Jenson, who expressed concern about safety of the children attending the school in trailers. There is no fence, she said, and the trailers are located at the front of the school openly accessible to the public. “If there is space available, we need to get these children into a safer environment,” Jenson said.

Berkeley Lake Mayor Lois Salter stepped up to the podium and addressed the school board. “I’ve never known our citizens to be this disturbed about any school issue,” Salter said. “The plan is poorly perceived. I hope you reconsider for all the reasons you’ve heard tonight. I hope, and everyone in Berkeley Lake hopes, you will find a better way.” 

Responding to speakers, Daniel Seckinger, the District II school board representative, commented: “I’ve never been through a redistricting where there wasn’t a lot of emotion. With three kids, I’ve been redistricted, too. In my 16 years on the board, I’ve never been involved in a redistricting where community input hasn’t been a part of the final draft.” Seckinger’s district includes part of the Peachtree Ridge Cluster. 

Wilbanks promised that all the plans that are were turned in would be reviewed. Mary Kay Murphy concluded the meeting by assuring concerned parents: “We’ll find a common ground.”

The “open mic” portion of the meeting followed the presentation of colors by members of the new Norcross HS Army JROTC, a welcome by Norcross HS Principal Jonathan Patterson and inspirational messages from Pickneyville MS and Summerour MS students. Wilbanks then gave presentations on GCPS Strategic Priorities for 2010-2020 and the proposed FY2012 $1.7 billion budget, a 6.1 percent decrease from FY2011. Wilbanks said the school tax millage rate will stay at 20.55 mills despite declining revenue due to the dismal economy. Redistricting opponents shared the podium with other speakers relating positive experiences in Norcross and other Duluth Cluster schools.