Parents aren’t able to transfer their kids from one public school to another as easily this year because there’s not enough room to accommodate them.

Budget reductions means teacher layoffs and increased class sizes, which translates to less space for transfers.

A 2009 state law lets children transfer to a school within their district, so long as there’s space.

Superintendent John Jackson of Oconee County Schools near Athens says they had about 500 slots last year, and that's reduced to a hundred this year. He says they had to deny requests.

"So when parents requested intra-district transfers from one school to another in the school district, we weren’t able to grant as many because we were already pushing the upper limits for the different grade levels," says Jackson.

The Department of Education says some schools have reached capacity and are too full to offer transfers.

Lawmakers allowed for larger class sizes this year due to school budget concerns.

Tags: budget cuts, schools, Oconee County Schools, school transfer