DALTON, Ga. – Hundreds of unhappy parents, teachers and staff members gathered Tuesday evening to voice their objections to the possibility that Park Creek School may be turned into a sixth-grade academy and the current students rezoned for the five other elementary schools.
The move would help alleviate the overcrowding at the Dalton Middle School without building a new school.
“Why are they shifting our students here and there – rezoning has occurred so often already,” said Maria Ocequera, her 10-year-old son Aaron standing next to her. “We don’t want this for our children.”
Ocequera and Silvia Magara, both parents of students at Park Creek School, led the hourlong meeting and provided information about the proposed change in both English and Spanish.
Dozens of families, with students and babies in tow, crowded into the pews and lined the walls along Trinity United Methodist Church. Park Creek teachers and staff, wearing red T-shirts that said “Peace, Love and Cheetahs” on the back, joined in the applause as parent after parent pleaded their cause, saying their children would be affected negatively if they were shipped to another school.