Peachtree Ridge to Duluth shift: 580 Students

The redistricting planned by Gwinnett County schools would shift 580 students from the Peachtree Ridge cluster to the Duluth cluster for the next school year. About 180 would be at the high school level, officials said Monday.

The area around Gwinnett Place Mall would be affected the most by initial plans. Also, students currently in Peachtree Ridge High in Suwanee would have the option to stay at that school for the 2011-12 school year, but would have to furnish their own transportation if they so chose, school officials said.

"The decisions are based on numbers, not socioeconomic factors," Greg Stanfield, planning director for Gwinnett County schools, said Monday. He also explained that the system tries not to split neighborhoods in such an effort.

The total number involved is about 700 students, with 120 shifting from Harris ES to Chesney ES within the Duluth district.

School officials have released an , and have begun the process of gathering public input. The school board is scheduled to vote on the redistricting April 21.

"It's emotional," Gwinnett schools spokesperson Sloan Roach said of the shift. "We want to know if people have other ideas. It's good to hear (feedback from the public)."

Overcrowding is most severe at Peachtree Ridge HS and Hull MS, with about 28-30 trailers in use at Hull, Roach said.

It's also a "domino" redistricting, Stanfield said, because shifting from Mason ES (Peachtree Ridge cluster) to Harris ES (Duluth cluster) is forcing the intra-cluster shift from Harris to Chesney.

The breakdown: Mason ES to Harris ES, 270 students; Hull MS to Duluth MS, 130 students; Peachtree Ridge HS to Duluth HS, 180 students.

As part of the public-input process, each affected school is forming a boundary committee, led by an educator and a citizen from that school. Boundary input forms are available on the GCPS Web site, as well as a complete timetable of the process.

It's the second straight redistricting involving a Suwanee-based cluster. Two years ago, some students were moved from North Gwinnett to Lanier in Sugar Hill.

"It provides relief now, but there are other things down the road," Stanfield said. "We are not growing as fast as we were."

The Gwinnett schools are adding 1,500 to 2,000 students annually, down from as many as 7,000 a year in the mid-2000s.

For a Duluth Patch report on the redistricting: 

Affected schools in the redistricting, per GCPS.

Cluster     School       Enrollment  Capacity
Duluth         Chesney ES   888                 1150
Duluth         Harris ES       669                 875
Duluth         Duluth MS     1761               1775
Duluth         Duluth HS      2404             2800

P. Ridge        Mason ES     1187              1200
P. Ridge        Hull MS         2409            1750
P. Ridge        P. Ridge HS  3226            2800