In one of

its wildest meetings in years, the Coweta County Board of

Education got an earful Tuesday night from concerned

parents over new attendance lines for seven elementary

schools.

As a

result, director of operations Doug Bennett is not sure

the board will be ready to approve the lines at its Feb.

8 meeting.

Nearly 300

parents packed the Central Middle School gym and let

their displeasure rain down upon the board. Parents

chanted, yelled and got in board members' faces to

protest the redistricting.

"The

board wants to make it a racial issue and that's

something we've never even mentioned," said White

Oak parent Vicki Dell.

Dell said

her main concern is that students will actually be bused

past two elementary schools to get to the school the

system wants them to attend.

The new

lines were drawn for several reasons, according to

Bennett. Right now, many of the system's underachieving

students are at Newnan Crossing and the system wants to

create a more "heterogenous" mix.

"As

long as the students are in one spot, they never advance.

The system wants to spread the students out," he

said.

Bennett

also discounted rumors that Pathway Communities asked the

board to redraw the lines. Pathway is building

SummerGrove, a new subdivision of 2,000 upscale homes

next to Newnan Crossing.

"Are

they calling the shots? No. But 2,000 homes does have a

huge impact on the school system," he said.

Most of the

questions Bennett answered last night concerned why the

board is doing this when they will probably have to do it

again next year when another elementary school is built.

"We've

got 700 new students coming into the system every year.

We barely catch our breath before we have to plan for

those students," he said.

One group

that Bennett heard from was the Bedford Forest

subdivision in Sharpsburg. Last year, their children went

to Thomas Crossroads. This year, many of the students

were moved to Poplar Road. Next year, if the lines are

approved, 65 students would move to Newnan Crossing.

"The

board is going to have to look at geographical issues

when making their final recommendation," he said.

Bennett

said the board did not announce if any more public

hearings would be conducted before the final vote.