Mrs Curtis and her husband live at West Launceston but decided to send their six-year-old daughter Ava out of the area to Trevallyn Primary School.

She said the reasons included a family history of attending the school and they preferred what Trevallyn Primary School could offer their daughter.

Their second daughter, Heidi, will follow next year.

Mrs Curtis said she could see reasons for and against parental choice.

``I think there has to be a legitimate reason why parents want to send their child out of an area,'' she said.

``But I think having that choice is important.''

Deb Mitchell, of Trevallyn, whose son attends Trevallyn Primary School, said she could see both sides of the debate but ultimately parents should be making the best decision for their child.

``I understand there has to be some control over where parents send their kids, otherwise you might see large groups of children leave areas and for smaller places, the school is the whole community to them,'' she said.

Ms Mitchell said all schools should be resourced the same so all children were given the same opportunities.

Meg Roberts, of West Riverside, echoed Ms Mitchell's comments.

``At the end of the day if you support public education, you need to support the school in your area,'' Ms Roberts said.

``But if it's not working out for your child, for whatever reason, you should have that choice to move them.''

Erica Lowry, of Trevallyn, said it was a hard issue to debate but if another child came to your school because of something like bullying, they shouldn't be turned away because of where they lived.