- White ColumnsThe Purpose of the meeting was to encourage the community to rally in opposition to the new proposed Birmingham High School site on Freemanville Road to convince the BOE to choose an alternative site for this new school for the City of Milton. The following site locations were discussed at the meeting: The Old Milton High School location, Birmingham Hwy (south of the Cherokee County Line), and possibly Webb Road and Hwy 9. Information on additional potential sites and land swaps are also being considered at this time which will be discussed if needed at the next meeting.
The goal is to legitimize locations for consideration, then proceed with a meeting with the BOE to present these sites in addition to the signed petition. We would like to have a meeting with FCBOE before the new 2007-2008 school year starts.
At the meeting there was a call for volunteers to head up committees and also requesting emails, letters, and phone calls to the Milton City Council Members, Board of Education, our State Representative, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and the EPA.
In addition the community is being encouraged to attend the City Council Meetings and BOE meetings on a regular basis to go on record in opposition to this school site and a committee will be assigned to organize groups to attend these meetings.
Questions and answers were asked after the proposed sites were discussed and some of the questions were directed to Council Member, Bill Lusk who happened to be in attendance.
The consensus is that the community feels the decision to place another High School in Milton in such close proximity to Milton High School is inappropriate for the City of Milton, it’s residents and the City’s Land Use Plan which is in it’s early stages of development. The residents feel a school site should be better planned and placed in our community, and not decided on the sole factor of the criteria of a single land owner willing to sell a large tract of land. The planning should be based on the demographics of the area, projected population growth, and the wants and needs of the City of Milton’s Land Use Plan, the elected City Council Members and the input from the residents. Given the information on population for Milton, it should be relatively easy to plan for schools for our future and not just place another one less than 3 miles down the same road because the land happened to fit only one criterion for planning.
Meetings will continue to occur on a monthly basis and the next meeting is planned for July 16th, Monday night. The time and location have yet to be determined. The community is invited to attend these meetings and encouraged to become highly involved in this issue. The issue of this school being built on this particular site is having a great impact on our Land Use Plan for our City since the City Council, our Planning Commission, our Citizen’s Advisory Committee, and the new Planning Committee have had no opportunity for input whatsoever in the placement of this school for our community. Please attend the meetings and be an involved citizen. We need the support of many, not just a few, to achieve the goal of having a school more appropriately placed for our community needs and our City. Come to our meetings, contact your friends and neighbors and let your voice be heard. Do not count on others to make the difference for you. Join us and do your part. Take the first step by signing and forwarding our petition that is attached below.
Contact: Lisa Cauley – Chairperson, protectmilton@aol.com
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