By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

Some members of the Pelham Board of Education will hold a closed-door meeting on Feb. 6 with a group of Pelham residents whose children currently are zoned for Chelsea schools, the School Board’s president said on Feb. 3.

Following a Feb. 3 Pelham City Council work session, city School Board President Rick Rhoades said “a couple” School Board members are planning to meet with the small group of parents at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 6, but said the meeting will not be open to the public.

“We just want to find some common ground so we can work through this,” Rhoades said of the Chelsea parents during a brief interview after the council work session. “You just can’t do that in a big open meeting.”

The meeting will come about a week-and-a-half after about 50 parents of children who currently attend Chelsea schools attended a Jan. 27 School Board meeting to voice concerns about their children possibly being rezoned to Pelham schools after the city finalizes its split with the Shelby County School System.

Pelham School Board members are working to finalize the city’s split from the Shelby County School System by July 1.

Some Chelsea parents said they are looking for a resolution to the school zoning issue quickly, as the end of the current school year is only a few months away.

Rhoades previously said the School Board is looking to “find a solution that is agreeable to everyone.”