In less than three weeks, some concerned parents in eastern Coweta County should have a better idea where there middle school children will go to school in the fall.

School officials and construction crews are crossing their fingers that Lee Middle School will be ready to occupy when the new school year opens in August.

So far, the system has been blessed with an unusually mild winter that has helped speed construction of the new school near Willis Road Elementary School.

But school system public information officer Dean Jackson said the school board has set Feb. 8 as the decision day.

"If they decide the school can be opened, we're going to proceed with redistricting. If not, we're going to look at different options," he said.

During last week's Board of Education meeting, all of the board members hoped the school would be completed on time.

"If they can get it dried in to where they can do inside work during the next few weeks, they should be OK," said board member Steve Bedrosian.

Lee Middle School will help cure some of the overcrowding at East Coweta Middle School, which has been in the direct eye of Coweta's growth spurt in the last few years.

If the school can't be opened in August, it could require putting additional mobile units at some of the county's other middle schools to house the students.

Jackson said the board may address the issue during this weekend's board retreat.