New Louisiana city of wealthy white residents faces exodus of parents who resisted 'racist secession' amid fears around 8,000 children could be kicked out of schools

A breakaway city of wealthy white residents in Louisiana faces an exodus of parents who voted against the 'racist secession' amid fears their children could be kicked out of school.

The creation of St George was given the green light by the state Supreme Court last week, ending a 'hostile' and divisive ten-year campaign that splits wealthy white residents from poorer black neighborhoods.

Supporters hailed the ruling as a final victory in their long struggle to take back control of the area's 'failing' education system.

But opponents claim the split is racially motivated and will create a 'white enclave', leaving struggling black communities behind.

Now, there are fears of an exodus of families who live within the new city limits but voted against its creation.

The Altazin family live in the new city of St George but their children live outside the boundaries of its proposed school district, meaning they could be kicked out of their current schools. Pictured from top left to bottom right: Kye, 2, Dani, 37, Ryan, Emma, 8, and Hayden, 12

Norman Browning (pictured with his family) spearheaded the campaign for the new city of St George in response to violence and falling grades at public schools in Baton Rouge

St George will have 86,000 residents across a 60-square-mile area in the southeast of East Baton Rouge Parish

Those particularly worried about their predicament include the Altazins, who live in St George but send their children to schools in the area of Baton Rouge the new city has separated from.

Should a new St George school district come to fruition as planned, their children could be forced out of their current schools because they would be likely unable to live in one district but attend school in another.

Mother-of-three Dani Altazin, 37, said she 'loved' the programs her children were currently in, so the family would consider moving out of St George to keep them there.

She added that a 'swathe' of others were facing a similar dilemma.

There are currently 8,349 pupils who live in the area of the proposed St George school district, but attend schools elsewhere, according to figures provided to DailyMail.com by the One Baton Rouge campaign, which opposed the new city.

Andrew Murrell, a leader of the St George campaign, did not directly answer questions put to him on what would happen to these pupils, only pointing out that the new school district is yet to be created.

Mrs Altazin accused the St George campaign of failing to 'prepare logistically' for the realities of running a new city.

'There's no guarantee that St George can give my children the same education they receive now.

'There's so much uncertainty.'

Her eldest son, Hayden, 12, attends Sherwood Middle Academic Magnet School, while her daughter, Emma, 8, attends Baton Rouge Center for Visual and Performing Arts.

The Baton Rouge school system has been heavily criticized over falling grades and ill-discipline.

But Mrs Altazin, who works in procurement at a local hospital, said she 'adored' the specialized programs Hayden and Emma are enrolled in and was hoping her youngest son, Kye, 2, would have the same opportunities.

Now she fears the choice will be snatched away from her.

She said it was 'unfortunate' that this was being done 'by the same people that are trying to push school choice' as the driving factor behind the creation of St George.

Mrs Altazin added that she and her husband, Ryan, were seriously considering moving out, but that the 'terrible' state of the local property market made this unlikely.

Browning, 71, was educated in the Baton Rouge public school system before working there. Pictured above in a Baton Rouge High School yearbook photo

St George (right) will become a separate city to Baton Rouge 

Plans were first drawn up for a new school district in 2012.

The campaign was spearheaded by Norman Browning, a former volunteer Woodlawn High, a school plagued by racial tensions and violence.

Browning told a 2014 PBS Frontline documentary, 'Separate And Unequal', that years of bussing following the end of segregation in the 1950s had destroyed the sense of community in the area.

The campaign for a new school district couldn't marshal the two-thirds majority vote needed in the legislature.

Instead, they launched a bid to create their own city, eventually securing the simple majority required (54 percent) in 2019.

But only those who would be living in St George were given a say - meaning 46 percent of residents who voted opposed the move.

They are now stuck. Altazin said the split had created a 'hostile' atmosphere among neighbors.

Others have used stronger language.

Resident Paul Brady wrote on Facebook: 'The segregationist won. I'm no longer a citizen of Baton Rouge. I now live in the white enclave of St George.'

M.E. Cormier, Executive Director of the One Baton Rouge campaign, said she 'sympathized with the people of St George'.

'They don't know what tomorrow looks like. It's incredibly unclear as to when tax collection will begin and how those tax dollars will be distributed. If there is no timeline to require our governor to appoint a new mayor.

'Once a new school system is formed, you can't live in one school district and attend a school in another school district.'

Leader of an anti-St George campaign group, M.E. Cormier, said she sympathized with residents who live in the new city but opposed its creation. 'They don't know what tomorrow looks like,' she added.

The split campaign emerged out of the ashes of a failed campaign to create a new school district by the wealthy, predominantly white residents of southern Baton Rouge

The establishment of St George was stalled by a legal challenge by Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and Mayor Pro Tem Lamont Cole.

They argued that St George would siphon over $48million in annual tax revenue from the city-parish government, with devastating effects for East Baton Rouge and its poorer black population.

Opponents also argued that St George had not proposed a balanced budget and would have insufficient funds to provide its own public services.

They have also pointed to research that shows more than 70 percent of St George's 86,000 strong population will be white, with less than 15 percent black. 

Lower courts in Louisiana supported Baton Rouge's arguments, but last week the state's Supreme Court overruled its decision, paving the way for the city's creation.

The ruling increases the likelihood that campaigners will be able to create a new school district within the city - one of the prime motivations behind St George's establishment.

Following the decision, Murrell said in a statement: 'This is the culmination of citizens exercising their constitutional rights.

'Now we begin the process of delivering on our promises of a better city.'