Bethany Bend High School Redistricting Map Approved

According to the Milton Herald, the Fulton County Board of Education met this week and approved, with no changes, the final map for the Bethany Bend High School site in Milton GA that was presented by its Planning Department. This comes after much consternation by primarily Roswell residents, including Mayor Jere Wood, who wanted to keep Roswell residents attending Roswell High School. Roswell parents were also concerned about their teenagers driving further to Milton High School on busy roads. Residents of Edenwilde even organized a caravan to Milton High School and proclaimed the drive “a nightmare”, though school bus and other test drives by school officials were deemed reasonable.{[}]{[}]Interestingly, there were over 10,000 comments during the three rounds of public reviews of map alternatives, but only 640 comments, both pro and con, during the final 30 days before the vote. School Board member Katie Reeves indicated that she felt the drop-off indicated that parents realized that schools are seriously overcrowded and that the final map adequately addresses those issues.{[}]{[}]Here is an informational packet provided by the School Board that shows the final redistricting map for both the High Schools and Middle Schools and feeder school splits.{[}]{[}]In the end, the final map seems a marked improvement over earlier “east-west” focused maps that would have impacted many more students and parents east of GA400, many of whose students were reshuffled in the recent past with the recent openings of four new high schools. We do however, see a glaring omission in that the school system does not offer a “sibling hardship waiver” for parents whose children will be split between two high schools.{[}]{[}]For example, if you have your senior Michael going to Roswell High School but freshman sister Amy going to Milton High School, the logistics and time constraints become much more complicated. Plus, do the more active and supportive parents try to join rival booster clubs. And suppose both children are in band- which football game do you go to, Milton or Roswell? It would seem that giving these impacted parents an option to send their children to only one high school would just be common sense and would not dramatically alter the balanced attendance intended for the schools.{[}]{[}]What do you think?{[}]{[}]Here are previous articles written about the Bethany Bend high school site:{[}]{[}]Redistricting for Bethany Bend High School almost set{[}]{[}]Redistricting turnout low for new Bethany Bend High School{[}]{[}]Bethany Bend High School Principal Named in Milton{[}]{[}]New High School Site in Milton – Redistricting Info{[}]{[}]More progress on new High School in Milton{[}]{[}]New Milton High School Construction to Begin – Under Budget!