I live in the

northern end of Peachtree City, however, so I have to limit my comments

to the area I know best. As a Peachtree City resident whose house will

probably fall into a school district outside the Peachtree City city limits,

I am very upset that my children will not be able to walk or bike to school

safely.

There are people

lobbying the board to make these decisions based on proximity to the schools,

which is a reasonable and well-developed strategy. I myself signed a petition

over the weekend supporting this effort. I do not believe, however, that

the county will listen to the concerns of Peachtree City citizens without

the support of the city government. This is where you, our elected officials,

have the opportunity to rise to my challenge or lose my vote.

Central to

my point is the new elementary school that will be built at Ga. Highway

74 and Dogwood Trail, just north of the city. It allegedly will be ready

to open for the next school year. It's in Fayette County, but not in Peachtree

City.

When the lines

are redrawn it is likely that many Peachtree City residents will have

to send their children to school in another city. I'm not aware of any

other instances like this in the county; it seems ridiculous to me that

we would have to cross city lines, as well as a busy highway, to get our

kids to school.

Peachtree City

has an extensive cart path system that many of us use to get around without

a car, and many children traverse these paths on foot and on wheels to

get from point A to point B without the danger of car traffic. There are

many children who will no longer be able to use these safe and convenient

paths between home and school.

The Fayette

County School Board cannot be faulted for this consequence. In defense

of the board members, they are trying to do whatever they can to accommodate

the increasing number of students in the county. They have to work to

build new schools and distribute county children as evenly as they can,

and they're forced to work within the parameters set for them. There's

only so much land. But as an individual citizen of Peachtree City, I'm

outraged. Peachtree City can't support another school because all our

available land has been devoted to apartments and big box stores!

Fayette County

Schools are among the best in the state. Please see https://www.gppf.org/2000reportcard.htm

for the details about how our schools measure up. My family moved here

primarily because of the caliber of the schools and family-centered environment,

where children can walk to school and play outside safely.

I am confident

that any new school built in this county will meet or exceed the standard

set by the others. But if the lines are redrawn and our children have

to leave town to go to school, we lose the benefit of the cart paths,

which arguably are among the most attractive features of Peachtree City.

This isn't an issue the school board will consider, because it's well

outside their purview. But you, our local government, caused this problem,

and you need to fix it!

You've issued

building permits without regard for long-term impact on the citizens of

this town. You continue to allow developers to build apartments, somewhere

in the neighborhood of 800 units less than a mile from me. Our city schools

are overcrowded because you continue to encourage population growth without

considering the impact of that growth.

I (and many

others who may or may not share my opinions) pay property taxes every

year to support an infrastructure for which apartment dwellers do not

pay. This infrastructure includes our cart path system. Because of this

uncontrolled growth, my children will be unable to attend a school within

walking distance of our home.

My family,

and many others, will not be able to use the cart paths that our tax dollars

pay to maintain. Meanwhile, citizens who do not pay property taxes can

send their children toddling off to school along the cart paths, comforted

to know they don't have to cross any busy roads and they will be safe.

I bear no ill

will toward the good people who live in these apartments. They did not

make the decision to build these units in an area already bursting at

the seams. I love Peachtree City. This is a great place to live, whether

in an apartment or in a house. But I think you see my point.

Our city government

has exhibited strong tendencies toward "planning" development

without thinking ahead. In my opinion, the mayor has demonstrated consistently

that he couldn't care less about the plight of families in this town,

so I have no expectation that he will deign to help us. But the current

council members, as well as the council and mayoral hopefuls, have an

opportunity to step up and show us that you care about us.

Contact the

school board. Contact the State Board of Education. Make an effort to

understand how your land use decisions are impacting the ability of our

children to get a good education at a school in their community, and do

something about it.

This decision

about redistricting will be completed before the end of 2001. The election

is about 6 weeks away. There's still time.

Megan Millians

Peachtree City