SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — A group of parents in Sandy Springs is raising money to study whether the city ought to run its own school district.
Jody Reichel, who is also a city council member, is working with others on the proposal in her capacity as a private citizen.
"Over 50 percent of our tax bill goes to Fulton County Schools, so Sandy Springs paid $134 million last year toward Fulton County schools," Reichel told Channel 2's Mike Petchenik. "We only have 10 percent of the schools and 10 percent of the students."
Reichel told Petchenik she doesn’t believe Fulton County is doing a bad job educating students.
“We’re just saying, maybe we could do things better here,” she said. “We can cater it to fit the individual schools and the students.”
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Reichel said the district, which spans nearly 80 miles from North to South, takes a “one size fits all” approach that a local district wouldn’t have to take.
“If you do it for one Fulton County school, you have to do it for all the other schools,” she said.
As a consequence, PTA groups often step in to subsidize programs or resources for which the district can’t afford to pay.
“We want to pay teachers more, she said. “We want to be able to retain the best teachers possible.”
Reichel and other supporters have started a website and are raising money for a study to see if the proposal is even feasible.
Alex Kaufman, who is running for the state legislature, told Petchenik even if it’s feasible, it still has to clear several hurdles.
“It requires passing the House and the Senate, which is a high bar and then goes to the people,” he said.
Kaufman said it would require a constitutional amendment to lift a cap on the number of school districts in the state.
“I believe in local control,” he said. “I don’t believe the legislature should be telling local communities what they should or should not do.”
Dunwoody leaders floated a similar proposal a few years ago, but it was unable to garner enough support.
One concern previously raised during that process was the effect that removing Dunwoody from DeKalb County might have on other schools.
“We don’t want to hurt any other students,” Reichel said. “The Dunwoody study showed there was very minimal impact on the rest of the county because of some extra funding that the schools get.”
Petchenik reached out to the Fulton County School System, and they sent this statement:
“We support our citizens in exploring the interests of their community. The Fulton County School System prides itself of the diverse cities it represents. We are proud of the work happening in our schools and communities across our district, and will continue learning from one another to best meet the needs of our students. The success of our students and staff will continue to be top priority.”