Over a hundred concerned parents crowded into a redistricting meeting at Fontainebleau High School Monday night to express concerns and opinions on where the population of the new high school located on Louisiana Highway 1088 should originate.

St. Tammany Parish School Superintendent Gayle Sloan said a committee of teacher representatives, principals and parent representatives from the feeder schools affected will make the redistricting recommendation to the School Board, which will make the final decision.

Sloan said every time a new school is built there is resistance to move. When Fontainebleau was built there was resistance, she said, and she expects resistance to moving from Fontainebleau now. Sloan said the new school building is expected to be completed in early spring 2009. The new principal, not yet named, will be able to accept supplies for the school and place them in the school over the following months in preparation for the school opening in the fall of 2009.

One setback for the new school is the exit ramp from Interstate 12 will not be complete until after the school opens. The ramp is now set to be finished in 2010.

The general plan is to open the new high school with ninth- and 10th-graders, about 500-700 students. The school has been built for about 1,200 students in grades nine through 12.

Sloan said the timetable is to have a redistricting recommendation by October or November, name a principal in November and consider teacher appointments in December. The new principal would start at the school in January.

Donna Addison, principal of Monteleone Junior High, is chairing the committee that will make the redistricting recommendations to the board. She said the three scenarios presented took into account data from the feeder schools, including transportation considerations, numbers of students, demographics of the areas and subdivisions. The maps were not simply a matter of geography, she said, but designed to provide a mix of students at both schools.

The three maps may all be rejected, or one may seem to be the most favored by parents. Addison asked that parents examine the maps closely at a break session and make notes on note paper provided that will enable the committee to review all comments later. Also, comments and suggestions will be accepted online through the School Board Web site.

The three scenarios were presented on three maps. Two of the three would split the district into three parts, but the Monteleone Junior High district, located south of the new school, was included in all three scenerios. The other two maps contained variations, adding the Abita Springs area to the new school’s district and leaving a slice through the middle of the district that would remain at Fontainebleau.

Abita Springs area parents were the most concerned, citing a long distance commute and long bus rides to the new school as not beneficial to their children, particularly those interested in extracurricular activities.

Many parents were concerned about a two-hour bus ride for students each day, and many were concerned about the effect the change would have on junior high school boundaries. They were also concerned about how the committee was chosen (principals consulted PTA’s for recommendations of parents), and many parents said they did not think their opinions will truly be considered.

Addison said they will consider all comments, and that no decision has yet been reached.

After the parents viewed the maps in detail, more comments and suggestions were made, including a question of why Hunter’s Glen was not included in plans for the new school. Addison replied that Louisiana Highway 59 was used as a cut off.

One mother complained she will have two children in two different schools, and another said that, according to all three maps, her child will still attend Fontainebleau although she lives a mile north of the new school.

One resounding suggestion was that the School Board look at an east-west division of the district rather than north-south.

Addison said all comments and suggestions will be taken into account, and another meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m.

Deputy Superintendent Trey Folse said parents look at the three proposals online and make suggestions. The link for comments will be from the School Board Web site at www.stpsb.org. The boundaries were expected to be posted Tuesday, a school system official said.