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SANDY SPRINGS
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Parents rally against school closure and redistricting plan
By Bob Pepalis
Parents of elementary school students
in Sandy Springs asked the Fulton County
Board of Education not to disrupt their
children’s education by closing Spalding
Drive Elementary and redistricting students
from every school in the city.
The school board held a work session
with a public comment period on Nov.
12 at its North Learning Center in Sandy
Springs. Board members heard from seven
of the approximately 40 parents who
attended the meeting, many wearing Save
Spalding Drive Elementary shirts.
Spalding Drive parent Natasha Crocker
said that closing the school would have
minimal capacity relief. She suggested
redistricting a larger school instead would
eliminate more unused classrooms, but
Crocker said parents were prohibited from
offering comments on this idea because it
did not fit the approved criteria for closure
and redistricting.
“You want community feedback. FFere
it is. Nobody in the community wants
this. Everyone is speaking out. You have
Republicans, Democrats, state leaders,
local leaders, businesses, realtors, families,
everyone is saying, don’t do this,” Crocker
said.
State Sen. Josh McLaurin and other
Democrats have joined with Republicans
— including Fulton County Commissioner
1/ BROOK
December Highlights
1 Holiday Lights
Opening Night
Brook Run Park \ 4-8 p.m.
1 Holiday Lights
Free display nightly
Brook Run Park
3 Art Commission Meeting
City Hall | 7:30 a.m.
C Zoning Board of Appeals
^ Meeting
City Hall | 6 p.m.
H Free First Saturday
1 Winter Wonders
Dunwoody Nature Center
1 p.m.
2 Every Christmas Story
Ever Told (And Then
Some)
Stage Door Theatre
9 City Council Meeting
r.itv Hall \ F) n m ^
Planning Commission
Meeting
City Hall | 6 p.m.
Sustainability
Committee Meeting
City Hall | 8 a. m.
Dunwoody Farmers
Market
Final market for 2024
Brook Run Park
9 a.m. - noon
Free Community Art
Workshops
Spruill Center for the Arts
City Hall closed ^
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Dunwoody
Georgia J
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Parents of Spalding Drive Elementary School students were joined by High
Point Elementary parents and Sandy Springs City Councilmember Melody
Kelley, center, in voicing opposition to closing Spalding and redistricting
students from every elementary school in the city. (Photo by Bob Pepalis)
Bob Ellis and State Rep. Debora Silcox — to
support Spalding Drive Elementary as a
cornerstone of the community.
“I am fully against the proposed closure
and stand in solidarity with the community
of SDE,” McLaurin said. “This is a
misguided move by FCS.”
Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul and
city council members Andy Bauman, Jody
Reichel, Melissa Mular, and Melody Kelley
have offered support for Spalding Drive.
“Let me be unequivocal. I want
Spaulding Drive Elementary School to stay
open,” Kelley told the school board.
Kelley said the school district triggered
a redistricting process that may make sense
from an operational perspective. Flowever,
it lacks a mechanism to have insightful and
innovative conversation around alternatives,
like smaller school models or updating
programs to compete with private schools.
“I am disappointed in how this
process is being handled as it seems very
rushed vs. identifying options to keep
the school open and delivering a ‘win-
win’ solution that will not negatively
impact our families throughout the City,”
Councilmember Melissa Mular told Rough
Draft. “The school closure and associated
redistricting is very disruptive to children
in their vulnerable forming years and it is
disappointing that FCS does not take the
impact on the children into consideration.”
Phillip Draa said he and his wife,
Melissa, live in the Spalding Drive
attendance zone and have a first grader
attending there with two future Spalding
Tigers still at home.
“Why are we closing a school that
provides disproportionately great results
for economically disadvantaged kids and
students with disabilities?” Draa asked.
Andreas Garcia said his family’s home
is zoned for Woodland Elementary, but his
son attends Spalding Drive for its special
needs program. Fie attended special needs
pre-K for two years before moving to special
needs kindergarten. Now he worries about
the effects on his son if Spalding Drive
closes.
“There are so many people that have
special needs kids that just need a little help
so they can go to regular classes and that
foundation, that rock star team that we
have in Spalding Elementary, is very crucial
to that success,” Garcia said.
Fligh Point Elementary parents joined
in the call to stop the closure as the school
district’s initial redistricting plans would
affect students at the other six elementary
schools in Sandy Springs.
Dr. Dhaval Desai said a study of the
initial redistricting map proposals shows
FCS would send 100 to 150 students from
Fligh Point Elementary to other schools.
“Fligh Point has a very strong culture,”
Desai said. “And let me emphasize that,
I cannot emphasize that enough from
6 | DECEMBER 2024
ROUGHDRAFTATLANTA.COM
