Darnell Walker, center, holds his children Julien, left, and Bryceton as they listen to Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith talk about plans to rezone area schools during a meeting in the gymnasium of East Hamilton High School on Tuesday night. Walker says his kids are right on the border of the redistricting, but they might be able to grandfather into their current schools.A group of parents say they’ll flock to the Hamilton County Department of Education today in a show of opposition to a school rezoning proposal for the county’s east side.
After knocking on an estimated 100 doors in the affected areas, parent Ryan Ledford said he’s gathered plenty of support from like-minded families who want to stop the rezoning plan, which was proposed by school administrators but not yet voted on by the school board.
“I’m not going to lie down. Nobody else is either,” he said. “These people are fired up.”
The school system is proposing to free up space at East Hamilton Middle/High School by moving students to Hunter Middle, Ooltewah Middle and Ooltewah High. East Hamilton currently is several hundred students over its capacity.
About 10 elementary schools would also be rezoned in an attempt to manage crowding on the county’s east side while two new schools are built in coming years.