More than 600

students will call Willis Road Elementary School home next fall after

the Coweta County Board of education approved attendance lines for the

school.

Tuesday night's

public hearing on east Coweta's newest school drew relatively little opposition

after school officials adopted a new policy for drawing attendance lines.

The new lines

were created by a committee featuring representatives from each school

affected by the change.

For this batch

of new lines, representatives of Eastside Elementary, Jefferson Parkway,

Newnan Crossing, Poplar Road, Thomas Crossroads and White Oak met for

months tweaking lines that would form the new Willis Road school district.

The new school

is close to East Coweta High School and is the latest school to open in

the fastest growing area of the county.

Board chairman

Bill Covington thanked the committee for its hard work.

"We're

adopting 90 percent of their recommendations. They met an average of twice

a month, sometimes late into the night," he said.

The only change

the board made to the recommendations was to allow students who live in

the East Broad Street area of Newnan to stay at Newnan Crossing, instead

of moving to Willis Road.

"I think

that's a good change. It helps keep the kids stabilized after moving earlier,"

Covington said.

Board member

Alan Payton sympathized with a number of the parents.

"A lot

of parents say they're right on the line. Well, somebody has to be on

the line," he said.

Board member

Steve Bedrosian made a motion at the end of the meeting that all rising

fifth graders and all students who have been affected by other redistrictings

twice before Willis Road be grandfathered and allowed to remain at their

current elementary school if the parents choose to do so, and if parents

provide transportation to their current school.

The motion

passed unanimously.