More than 200 parents crowded into the Fontainebleau High School cafeteria Monday night to voice their opinions about the attendance boundaries for the new high school on Louisiana Highway 1088.

After a split 9-6 vote between two plans, the plan approved includes areas south of Louisiana Highway 36 and east of Abita Springs and subdivisions south of Lonesome Road including Reserve, Estates of Reserve, Greenleaves, Greenleaves Lakes, Laurelwood, Oak Island, Deerfield and Hunters Glen.

The committee formed to develop attendance maps voted on the final two options presented at the meeting that was led by Donna Addison, who also served as moderator during the public hearing preceding the vote. Main points of contention from parents included the additional travel time and mileage that will be required to attend the new school. Many parents from Abita Springs and the surrounding area were concerned about their children traveling in excess of 20 miles or an hour each way to attend the new school if the plan they were included in passed.

Residents of Mandeville subdivisions that empty onto Lonesome Road, including many areas not included in the new school’s district on previous maps, were upset about their subdivisions becoming a part of the new school district without warning on the same night a vote was scheduled.

Mark Tipton, a resident of Greenleaves, wanted his subdivision to stay with Fontainebleau because of the two-mile proximity to the school, the increased traffic that would be encountered by traveling to La. 1088, the fact that many homeowners bought in the subdivision because of the school district and the breaking up of the Monteleone Junior High School district that the proposal would cause.

Other parents agreed, citing long bus rides and the additional travel in mileage and time it will cause parents to pick students up after extracurricular activities. In addition, parents said it would be ridiculous to pass a high school on the way to your child’s high school, stating that students should attend the nearest school to build community.

Kelly Tveit, a parent who lives off Lonesome Road, said, “I sincerely hope that the committees that are deciding our children’s future take into consideration the social and emotional aspects of constantly uprooting them from their peer groups and placing them into a situation where they don’t feel as if they belong.”

Other parents expressed disappointment and dismay about the process that was undertaken and said they purchased their home specifically to be in Fontainebleau’s attendance district.

Still other parents were concerned about the prospect of having children in so many different schools, since only present freshmen will move to the new school and older students will remain at FHS.

The new high school will be open next fall and include ninth- and 10th-graders. A principal will be named later this year.

The proposed options can be viewed in detail on the School Board Web site at www.stpsb.org.

Addison said comments and e-mails about the proposals will be sent to the School Board for its consideration in deciding the attendance boundaries.

Parents are also invited to voice their opinions at a special School Board meeting Oct. 16 that will consider the new high school’s attendance boundaries. The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. at the C. J. Schoen Administrative Complex.