Clarification: This story has been updated to reflect a projected increase in enrollment at Parklane and Spalding Drive elementary schools.
In a packed room in early October at the Fulton County School System’s North Learning Center in Sandy Springs, the room was still as Alena Conley spoke about her son, who has special needs.
“When my son was diagnosed, I spent countless sleepless nights worrying about the future,” she said. “Would he end up just as another number? Another statistic?”
Spalding Drive Elementary School, she said, has been able to address her son’s needs. But Spalding Drive may close next year.
The school board announced in September that two elementary schools, Spalding Drive and Parklane in East Point, were being considered for closure and consolidation with other schools due to declining enrollment. Conley, like dozens of Spalding Drive parents, doesn’t want that to happen.
Concerned Parklane parents also showed up to a community meeting at Tri-Cities High School last week. Although the purpose of the meeting was to receive input on different attendance plans if the school closes, some parents expressed frustration that keeping the school open wasn’t up for discussion.
“I think the majority of the room doesn’t want Parklane to close at all, and it feels like, right now, we don’t understand where that voice gets to be heard,” Parklane parent Jenny Agel said.
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
At a school board meeting Tuesday, some Sandy Springs parents urged the board not to close either school this year, explaining that each school has a unique culture and that changing schools can be tough on students.
More community meetings are planned for November and December. Fulton officials will make a final recommendation to the school board in January, and the board will vote on the proposal in February.
Fulton, like many school districts in Georgia and across the nation, are witnessing an enrollment decline, which is resulting in difficult conversations about resources. Fulton’s enrollment has declined by about 7% over the last five years to roughly 87,000 students, according to state data.
In 2022, the most recent year available, about 49.6 million students were enrolled in the nation’s public schools, according to federal statistics. The number is projected to drop to about 47 million by 2029. Demographers are noticing a decline in birth rates and believe it will result in fewer children in school.
As communities change, school systems redraw district lines to balance the population and make efficient use of building space, a process called redistricting. For example, a neighborhood that was once full of young families could now be inhabited by retirees, leading to an enrollment decline at a school. On the other hand, another area may grow beyond a school’s capacity to accommodate all of the students in its attendance zone.
Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
Fulton’s policy states that officials can consider closing elementary schools with fewer than 450 students. Spalding Drive has 349 students, and Parklane has 351.
The district projects that enrollment would slightly increase at both schools, but the numbers would still be below the threshold of 450 students. Some Sandy Springs parents think Fulton is underestimating the area’s growth. They point to state population projections that show Fulton’s birth rate has been declining at a slower rate in recent years and could soon reach a plateau. Fulton also considers the age and function of building space and whether nearby schools have capacity to accept more students.
Board president Kimberly Dove reminded residents in September that the board won’t vote on the issue until February.
“This is not a final decision,” Dove said. “I ask that our communities still stay engaged in the process, but we do have a declining enrollment that was projected year after year in our district.”
Tarika Peeks, the district’s executive director of operational planning, told the school board last spring that slow home sales and private school enrollment — particularly in the central part of the district — accounted for some attrition.
“Overall, the district has experienced a decline in home sales over the past year,” Peeks said. “The lack of existing housing supply, increased costs and escalated interest rates (have) influenced the housing market uncertainty within the district.”
The proposed changes have gotten the attention of some local lawmakers. Sandy Springs City Councilman Andy Bauman issued a statement opposing the closure of Spalding Drive.
“The decision seems rash, based on faulty facts and assumptions and preordained with an all-too-fast process managed by the school system,” he said. “Even worse, the consideration seems based on dollars and cents and not with the best interests of our students and families in mind.”
State Rep. Deborah Silcox, who represents Sandy Springs and is a Spalding Drive graduate, urged the school board in October to reconsider its Open Enrollment policy.
The rule lets students from across the district enroll at schools they aren’t zoned to attend. However, school board policy doesn’t allow schools undergoing redistricting to participate in Open Enrollment.
“I think you would see the school fill up,” Silcox said.
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