The Fulton County school board approved a plan last week to rezone some students during the 2024-25 school year.
The proposal calls for the demolition of S.L. Lewis Elementary School in the city of South Fulton. A new school building will be constructed at the same location.
Fulton officials said the closure means all 490 Lewis students will be rezoned to Bethune Elementary, a few miles away in College Park. About 300 Bethune students will be reassigned to Heritage Elementary School and Love T. Nolan Elementary, also in College Park. Fulton says 56 Bethune students will be eligible to stay at the school.
“I understand that the upcoming changes for S.L. Lewis may raise concerns among our families, but they are necessary for the betterment of our students and staff,” board President Kimberly Dove said before the vote.
“We are taking every possible step to make this transition smooth,” she added.
The project is funded by a 1-cent Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (E-SPLOST). The S.L. Lewis building was rated “very poor” in a recent facility condition assessment conducted by the school district.
The board held two public hearings on the plan before voting on its approval Tuesday. The demolition of Lewis is scheduled to begin this summer. Parents will be notified of rezoning plans this spring, and new school assignments will begin in August. Construction of the new S.L. Lewis Elementary building is expected to take two years, and students will return in August 2026. The budget for the project hasn’t been determined yet.
The redistricting proposal is a multiyear plan. The board will consider a similar process in the fall of 2025 to close Bethune with plans for a replacement school. If approved, those students will be rezoned to the new Lewis Elementary School.
