FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The Fulton County Schools District is officially recommending the closure of two of its elementary schools.
The school board heard the first reading of the district’s plan Tuesday evening.
The schools in question, Parklane Elementary School and Spalding Drive Elementary School are being recommended for closure due to what the district said was lower enrollment over multiple years and issues with the buildings’ infrastructure.
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However, parents of students at the schools say their programs are high-performing and specialized, and the closures of the schools will be harmful to students.
“You guys have the ability to set student-teacher ratios lower for schools like Parklane that are good for autistic kids because our autistic kids need smaller classrooms,” a Parklane Elementary parent said at the meeting.
However, the district says keeping class sizes small is costly.
“Can we continue to spend $7,000 per pupil more to provide small school environments?” Superintendent Dr. Mike Looney asked.
Looney said that’s on average how much more the district spends for students at the two elementary schools in question.
“I think just closing the door is saving about $2 million in savings annually,” Looney said.
However, they did not provide numbers on the exact amount that would be saved by closing the schools, which parents say they would like to know.
“There are still mistakes even in the numbers being presented this evening, and there is still not information about what the cost savings would look like,” Nora Robb, a Spalding Drive Elementary parent said.
Spalding Drive Elementary parents put together a 106-page document for the board last month and sent over 200 emails.
Among the reasons listed in the “Case to Save Spalding” document were the impacts on capacity, inconsistent data, conflicting models for capacity and need, complicated enrollment forecasts, and what were described as misrepresentations of the condition of the school’s physical structure.
“It would’ve been better I think if they would’ve at least listened to some of the ideas that we tried to present to them, and it at least incorporate it into the recommendation as an option,” Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul said.
They also said the school’s waitlist is an indicator of the enrollment forecast.
“Three years ago the waiting list to get into Spalding Drive was zero, now it’s over 100, which shows you that there is a path of people wanting to get in there,” Gabriel Sterling, who lives in the Spalding Drive district said.
The board will have public hearings about the closure recommendations in the coming weeks before they make a final vote on February 20.
“We’re still extremely hopeful,” Robb said. “I think the board has been very receptive to the data that we’ve provided them. Some of their questions tonight is indicative of the fact that they’re listening to us.”
If the board votes to close the schools, parents will be notified by March, and the schools will close at the end of this school year.
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