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Madison Butler, left, and Abby Nunley hold up signs decrying plans to rezone the eastern districts of Hamilton County Schools outside of the Hamilton County Board of Education building Tuesday afternoon. A group of parents and students entered the building to request documents about the rezoning from Superintendent Rick Smith, who was unavailable.Photo by Doug Strickland.
Several dozen parents met on Wednesday night to consolidate efforts to oppose current school redistricting plans in eastern Hamilton County.
“This should be a community decision,” said event organizer Ryan Ledford. “Let the community get involved, let us help.”
Ledford and other parents vented their frustration that the school board planned to redistrict children in their area, and many were offended at being left out of the discussion, describing themselves as blindsided by the announcement.
Now the parents are organizing a three-part campaign to educate citizens, reach out to county officials and propose alternatives to sending their children to new schools in the fall.
“[Parents] haven’t had the opportunity to provide input and have their input considered,” said parent Chris DeLong, an engineer with a background in planned community development.
However, it remains unclear if the group of parents will be able to sway board members in time. New district lines have already been drawn, and the school board could approve them as early as March 15.
For the full story, see Thursday’s edition of the Times Free Press.
