Parents pack school board meeting in fight to save Sandy Springs school

SANDY SPRINGS, GA. — Person after person took to the mic in front of the Fulton County School Board on Tuesday.

Their points or reasons varied, but the overall message to the board was the same: keep Spalding Drive Elementary School open.

The Sandy Springs school is one of two elementary schools, along with Parklane Elementary in South Fulton, being considered for potential closure.

The district says they need to close schools as enrollment has dropped throughout the county over the past few years.

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When deciding which schools to close, the district looks at factors like enrollment, school conditions, and the ability of nearby schools to absorb the displaced students.

Academic performance is not one of the factors considered.

“If you want community feedback, here it is: nobody in the community wants this,” a Spalding Drive parent told the school board.

“We understand they have a problem, but what we are saying is closing Spalding Drive is not the solution,” Mark Silver, another Spalding Drive parent, said.

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Silver told Channel 2′s Michael Doudna that he moved to the area because of Spalding Drive’s reputation.

He says his daughter is thriving, and the school is an example of what public education should be.

However, if Spalding Drive Elementary were to close, redistricting proposals would impact the entire area, redistricting roughly 15 percent of Sandy Springs students.

“It is forcing students to go to a school they might not want to go to,” Silver said.

And then there is the education performance.

According to most performance metrics, Spalding Drive is the second-best elementary school in the Sandy Springs area.

As former Spalding Drive Elementary student and now state representative Deborah Silcox points out, “I know it does have some lower enrollment, but I do think some students are looking for a better student and teacher ratio, and if it is the second-best school in the area, why would you close it?”

Parents believe that the school’s low enrollment can be addressed.

The county is set to accept open enrollment for the first time next school year.

Parents say they have more than 100 people on the waitlist for the school’s pre-k, and if allowed to participate in open enrollment, Spalding Drive would meet the enrollment threshold.

“I think what the parents are asking for is time, time to prove that Spalding Drive is just as vibrant of a community as it has always been, State Sen Josh McLaurin, D-14, said.

The school board would not say anything on the record.

However, they are having multiple meetings on the potential closure, and no final vote will be taken on the proposal until next year.

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