Metro Atlanta students return to school

ATLANTA — The school year began Monday for several major metro Atlanta districts, including Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton counties.

DeKalb County school officials said the district is back on track after an $80 million budget gap. Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Atkinson said county leaders were forced to make cuts but tried to keep them away from students.

"We have made every effort to keep as many of the decisions away from the classroom as possible," Atkinson said.

However, a leaner budget does mean there will be about two more students in each class than last year. The district also had to cut bus monitors and some drivers.

"It puts a lot more pressure on the parents to be involved because now I understand we won't have as many paraprofessionals in the classrooms as we used to have. So we'll have to get in there and make sure for our kids that we help them as much as we can, help our teachers as much as we can," parent Cooky Huff said.

Still, Atkinson is excited about new curriculum focused on making teaching more consistent, with less of an emphasis on testing.

Two new school buildings will debut in Cobb and north Fulton counties. Cobb's Clarkdale Elementary School will reopen since 2009's devastating floods. Students there have spent the last three years attending two nearby schools.

"It's amazing to be all back together. It's been a long three years," teacher Sandy Moss said.

The new $16.7 million facility in Austell has more than 50 classrooms.

After two years of construction, Milton will open its new Cambridge High School on Monday. An estimated 1,200 students are expected to fill the $45 million building at the corner of Bethan Bend and Cogburn Road.

"It's really exciting to be the first class to go all the way through," a student said.

Fulton County Schools approved a controversial redistricting plan last year that shuffled hundreds of north Fulton students to the new high school. Many of the students zoned to the new school come from Alpharetta High School and Milton High School.

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