Carstarphen in the center, geared up and ready to play
Atlanta Public Schools (APS) Superintendent Carstarphen signals that she plans on APS annexing DeKalb Schools as the City of Atlanta increases its borders into DeKalb.
As reported by the AJC, Carstarphen indicates she expects the City Council to allow the school system to expand as the city expands. Writes Carstarphen:
“I am pleased to see the City grow, and we are excited to learn that outstanding institutions like Emory University, the CDC, and CHOA want to become part of the City of Atlanta. The School Board and I want to ensure that the students and families served by APS also get to participate in that growth.”
EMORY IS GOING TO ATLATNTA
Emory Annexation Dominos
September 7, 2016 – Once Emory is annexed into Atlanta, it isn’t a stretch to see the scenario where the adjoining neighborhoods, including Druid Hills High School and two other elementary schools, would eventually end up annexed as well.
.
QUESTION: What happens to county school district property when a city annexes an area in that county?
ANSWER: Annexation – What happens to the Property – It would appear that if Druid Hills is annexed into Atlanta Public Schools (APS), or if any new city school districts form in DeKalb, all educational matters including taxing and title to real estate held by the county are likely to move to APS or new cities respectively.
DEKALB SCHOOLS SUED ATLANTA OVER ANNEXATION
DeKalb County Schools sued Atlanta (DeKalb County School District v. City Of Atlanta 2016CV284278) for annexing homes near Emory University. The annexation, approved by the city last year, took in more than 100 residents on 16.31 acres. County leaders have publicly voiced concerns that Emory’s annexation push could prompt other neighborhoods to petition the city. Here is the Petition For Declarative Judgement on that case.
DCSD contended that Atlanta failed on at least two grounds to follow the statutory prescription for annexing property via what is commonly known as the “60% Method” provided for by O.C.G.A. §§ 36-36-30 through 36-36-40. DeKalb Schools also challenged the statutory scheme for annexation on due process grounds.
Motion To Dismiss
The court held a hearing on this case in April and granted a Motion to Dismiss in full a few days later.
Emory Annexation Dominos
If the Druid Hills/Fernbank area get annexed, the students within the new City of Atlanta will go to APS and the schools within the new City of Atlanta boundaries will become Atlanta Public School property. The ensuing negotiation for the transition will be interesting.
If these schools and certain territories are annexed, many of the students that currently attend these schools would be displaced. They could find themselves in DeKalb and their school suddenly outside of their school district. DeKalb will be forced to redistrict and find new schools for the approximately 2000 students that attend these DeKalb schools now but will be outside of the City of Atlanta boundaries. And, of course, the staff of those schools will need to be hired by APS or find other jobs within a smaller DeKalb district.
The Emory Wheel is reporting that a Sept. 5 vote to approve Emory University’s petition for annexation into the city of Atlanta has been postponed in an effort to resolve issues between Atlanta and DeKalb County, according to Atlanta City Councilmember and Emory Director of Development Alex Wan.
Emory filed for annexation in a June 27 petition and had anticipated its main campus to be annexed into the city of Atlanta by the first week of September. However, the Atlanta City Council delayed the vote following an Aug. 1 letter from DeKalb County Commission citing numerous objections, including increased demands on DeKalb County infrastructure and legal infirmities that require corrections or more collaboration before the proposal is approved.
Wan said that the Atlanta City Council is aiming to vote on the proposal by Dec. 4, which will be its last meeting of the year. If the proposal passes on time, the annexation would take place Jan. 1.
Superintendent Carstarphen on the hold for Superstar Jack Breedlove. Superstar Jack is in high school and kicks over 50 yards … by the way.
“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
Surprise, surprise, surprise! Isn’t that what I’ve been saying for oh, about 7-8 years now? Dekalb School Board member for District 2, Marshall Orson has long had his eye on annexing into the City of Atlanta. But in the constant flipping of leadership and the many distractions in DeKalb over the years, this has gone unnoticed and rarely discussed.
Marshall’s election bio from the Clairmont Heights Civic Association includes the following >>
Marshall served on “The board of directors of APPLE Corps (Atlanta’s original local education fund) from 1986 to 2003 (including six years as chair or vice-chair). Marshall subsequently served on the board of the Atlanta Committee for Public Education and was a member of the founding committee of Great Schools Atlanta.” and “Leadership Atlanta’s Education Impact Team which he co-chaired in 2007 and 2008, and the 2010 [Atlanta] Education Summit committee.”
This would not be the first time there have been suspicions that Marshall Orson was the man behind the curtain of this annexation of his neighborhood to the City of Atlanta >>
DeKalb School Board to discuss allegations against Orson
27 Mar 2015 OCG News Staff
“The DeKalb County Board of Education will consider at its April 1 meeting whether board member Marshall Orson violated board policy by allegedly supporting annexing a portion of DeKalb County into Atlanta.”
“Recent news reports and communications from stakeholders of the DeKalb County School District have raised important and serious allegations that Marshall Orson, a member of the Board, has violated the principles and protocols in the Board Member Handbook as well as Board policy. In accordance with established Board protocol, the DeKalb County Board of Education will consider these allegations at the next Board meeting on Wed., April 1” according to a statement by Board Chair Dr. Melvin Johnson” [NOTE: We long-ago established that the board does not follow their own protocol, as proven by the TSA debacle.)
“State Rep. Karla Drenner has called for an investigation of Orson after reading his emails that a constituent obtained through an open records request, according to news reports. The emails reveal Orson supports annexing a portion of DeKalb County into Atlanta, which would take schools and resources out of the DeKalb School District.” +++
I am chuckling at how others in DeKalb are so behind the eight ball on this issue and think that suing will stop the annexation momentum. Good luck with that. Orson and friends are unflappable. Orson’s own bio states that he is “co-founder and partner in [a] media strategy and crisis management firm”, so don’t think that legal threats are a bother to him in any way. All the legal hurdles have been handled — you are up against a Duke-educated lawyer and a neighborhood of very wealthy, powerful people – many of whom are lawyers – as well as the City of Atlanta. Just say bye-bye and move on. Dunwoody schools will surely follow eventually, after which DCSD will be about 15,000 fewer students in total. Perhaps this is what DCSD needs/deserves.
The voters of District 2 have placed and held Marshall in the Board seat since 2012. They were fully aware of his deep connections to Atlanta and the whisperings of annexation of much of their district into the city. This is what the people of this district want and are legally entitled to. This is really not news – it’s a long-range goal that is finally coming to fruition for the people of Druid Hills, Emory University and the City of Atlanta.
Know people think I am broken record but now is not the time to be selling off the old Briarcliff location. until DCSD knows the outcome of Druid Hills High School Briarcliff is a great location where most of those students could be located. Personally think either Emory or CHOA wants Briarcliff property. Think deal has already been made.
Stan, do you have any arguments or reasons for why APS should not be allowed to serve the communities being annexed into the City of Atlanta?
When they covered the annexation a few episodes back, the “Georgia Gang” tv show claimed that only a handful of current DCSD students would be impacted by the annexation. I think they said that only 4 or 5 DCSD students live within the area being annexed, so only one or two households would be moving from DCSD to APS.
DSW2Contributor,
Should people be allowed to annex into Atlanta Public Schools? I’m a firm believer in “Self Determination”.
What are the ramifications? As you stated the current Emory annexation doesn’t affect but a handful of students. However, if you’ll take a gander at my map above, you’ll notice that Druid Hills High School and Fernbank ES are right on the border of the City of Atlanta. It is only a matter of time before those neighborhoods get annexed and the Emory annexation could be setting precedent.
@DSW2Contributor >> Isn’t Druid Hills High School actually located on the Emory property? In fact, I always had heard that Emory may actually own the land the school sits on … True anyone?
Found my own answer >> http://www.ajc.com/news/the-news/QCN3zmWMGgZTRGSPly4CmM/
Q&A on the News
12:00 a.m. Monday, July 3, 2017
Q: If Emory University is annexed into the city of Atlanta, would Druid Hills High School become a city of Atlanta school, since it would then be located on city of Atlanta property? —J. Richard Estes, Atlanta
A: Druid Hills High School is not Emory property, is not part of Emory’s annexation petition, and will remain in unincorporated DeKalb County, a spokesman for Emory University told Q&A on the News via email. The school is part of the DeKalb County School System.
Mark Neisse reported on the details of ‘why’ in 2016 >>
Atlanta may expand to cover Emory University
Mark Niesse The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
4:33 p.m Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016
http://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt–politics/atlanta-may-expand-cover-emory-university/bV4ykfyUQuFQ6VSMMLoIXP/
Maureen at the AJC has been discussing this for a long time too >>
Annexing Druid Hills into Atlanta: A cherished DeKalb school community will be lost
By Maureen Downey – December 7, 2014
http://getschooled.blog.myajc.com/2014/12/07/annexing-druid-hills-into-atlanta-a-school-community-will-be-lost-in-process/
Druid Hills annexation into Atlanta: ‘An opportunity to join a city on the ascent’
By Maureen Downey – February 3, 2015
http://getschooled.blog.myajc.com/2015/02/03/druid-hills-annexation-into-atlanta-an-opportunity-to-join-a-city-on-the-ascent/
“It is only a matter of time before those neighborhoods get annexed and the Emory annexation could be setting precedent.”
What can be done to make DCCSD and DC a more desireable place to live (and stay) to stop this from happening?
Perhaps I shouldn’t be asking a Jester
I will tell you Andy – and I won’t speak for Nancy or Stan but I don’t think they would disagree. I think a county of over 700,000 people and a school district with 100,000 students, with budgets of over a billion dollars each is the problem. Breaking the county into smaller communities would provide better quality of life for residents of DeKalb. We need more cities and we need to give those cities complete autonomy over their communities. DeKalb will still function as the overall county – providing county services – but cities would be the first line of community spending. This is done all over up north and in the midwest and it works out quite well – especially for school districts. When you create large, bureaucratic communities, you cannot possibly offer the customer service and quality of response that people want in their day to day dealings with government entities. Plus, the big multi-million dollar holes that exist and offer refuge for corruption are much, much smaller, making it easier to identify ‘mis-spending’ – ala the ‘contractor’ who worked on Commissioner Lee May’s house and was paid with county funds. http://www.myajc.com/news/local-govt–politics/payment-issue-latest-dekalb-probe/YIXhmONVdpAaHwBYd0ZmiI/ Or the millions in construction ‘contracts’ that were paid out to the husband of the school district’s former COO by the former Superintendent who lied about knowing she was married. http://www.myajc.com/news/local/pope-and-reid-back-prison-for-dekalb-school-construction-case/n6CPC9TrSyl3dxa4QGTAuL/
Etc. Etc. Etc.
Cere you and Tim say many truths. Why we ever trust what the multiple utterances of the Dist. 2 rep. is beyond me. You even documented why he should not be trusted.
Tim. Briarcliff should be rehabbed for the very reason you stated.
DeKalb schools own the Druid Hills property. There is an historical house on the property that the school system does not own.
I advocated some time ago that the Druid Hills property should be sold to Emory because of this very possibility of losing it. Emory would have gladly purchased the property for a reasonable price and we would have had the money to have already built its replacement.
Don, Briarcliff to rehab is $29million. To tear down and rebuild new school on property they own is $48 million. DCSD has budgeted $84 million for new school in Brookhaven. Told that Brookhaven is getting new school because of the fact they feel they carry the county with their tax money. Guess getting a new Elementary
School in their city is not enough.
Tim, Briarcliff HS is effectively a condemned building. The studies say about $28 million to get it out of the condemned state it is in. Right under where it says $28 million to repair, it says “The school campus has been abandoned for a number of years, is in deteriorating condition, and is recommended for demolition.” If the building were repaired, it would likely be a money pit and would eventually need to be demolished and rebuilt sooner than later.
Pat Pope long ago said the building was condemned and had asbestos. But — the $1000/day rental of the campus for filming of Teen Wolf continued for two seasons! Not sure where that money went.
https://patch.com/georgia/northdruidhills/teen-wolf-spotted-in-north-druid-hills
Stan, saw the same type report for Georgian Terrace Hotel. Look at what the city got by remodeling. . Even if you tear Briarcliff down and rebuild on the property you would be talking $48 million compared to $84 million budgeted for new H.S. That would leave $36 million to use to build new Middle School to form new cluster. Druid Hills if Orson get his way will be gone.Even if it is not gone it is overcrowded. Lakeside is overcrowded and contrary to popular beliefs will not be accepting any students from Cross Keys cluster. The addition DCSD is to relieve Lakeside overcrowding only. As a matter of fact plans are to make Sagamore Hills E.S. back into a split feeder school and ship some of their students to new H.S. In Brookhaven. Cross keys is overcrowded. So DCSD wants to sell property that sits in the middle of three schools that are overcrowded to build a school that sits outside the area. Does this makes sense to anybody? So what or who benefits from this? Believe you are seeing the rebirth of the Druid Hills Charter cluster. Marshall Orson’s baby. Also think deal is in place for CHOA or Emory to buy Briarcliff property. No way would either of those organizations be able to use Briarcliff. Doubt either one of them wants to go before Dekalb BOC to ask for rezoning. After how they both stuck it to Dekalb would not expect a friendly reception. That explains why DCSD plans on tearing bldg down and then asking for rezoning on property. DCSD does the dirty work.
Have two questions…First one is if DCSD does not have to follow zoning laws why do they need rezoning unless it is profiteering on their part. Two if they do not have buyer already….How do they know what type rezoning to ask for…..Stan, if you can answer these two questions you would make me happy.
Also please note that $29million estimate to rehab Briarcliff includes total including furniture, computers and everything.
If Druid Hills High School is annexed into the City of Atlanta, no problem!
Any DHHS students who are “left behind”– those who live in the DHHS attendance zone but are not annexed into the City of Atlanta – can be redistricted to the more than 4000 open high school seats that DCSD projects for the year 2022.
Just redistrict those Region 2 DHHS students into Region 3, Region 4, or Region 5. (Even after the E-SPLOST-V new schools and additions, Regions 1 and 2 will have a total of 83 open high school seats in 2022, so don’t look there.)
The longer bus ride will be good for the redistricted students, and I’m sure that someone will figure out how to realign middle schools and how to relocate the International Baccalaureate Program at DHHS.
The repairs at Briarcliff are hardly a remodel. $85 million was budgeted for a new school at Briarcliff or for a cost neutral high school at another location. What do you mean by profiteering? Properties with different zoning restrictions have different values. As far as I know, attempts to rezone the Briarcliff site are just rumors.
Stan, if it is a rumor and not true, it is a fellow BOE member who is spreading the rumor. This person told me that Jeff Rader was giving advice on how to get property rezoned and how appreciative he was for the help. This person also said how nice it would be to have an medical facility on property for us aging people. Marshall Orson is behind this and it appears you are not on the inside of his plans. Emory or CHOA wants Briarcliff. The Druid Hills Charter Cluster will be reborn in APS.Face it if DCSD was selling property as residential land they would leave the building in case somebody wanted to turn it into condos like APS did with Bass H.S. In my background is serving on the Board of Directors of National Association of Remodeling Industry GA. Chapter for 12 years. Yes rehabbing would be a remodel falling under category of renovation much like Georgian Terrace Hotel and BASS H.S.
Forgot to ask. You said BOE budgeted $85 million for new school at Briarcliff or another cost neutral site. Why was Cobb School system able to build a new 2500 seat High School for $48 million? Of course they reused land they owned. If you really had intention of using Briarcliff property ….Who recommended an $85 million budget and what is the cost neutral price?DCSD should take a lesson from Brookhaven that land is to expensive, that is why they opened their State Charter School outside the city limits. They couldn’t afford it so now they want DCSD to pick up the bill.
Stan, since you do not want to answer my last two questions, I have one more that you might answer. Since Dr. Green took over DCSD has been running Fast and loose with the rules. One example is the way they did not follow their own rules when the named John Lewis E.S. Their excuse was they did not have enough time to get public feedback as required. Not sure who to blame for that other than BOE. Regardless of time constraints, they did not have the required number of people on the committee. Time constraint can not be used for not doing this, as required by BOE policy.
Next when they put ESPLOST up for vote, for first time ever DCSD did not publish a list of projects. Instead the gave a vague list of things they wanted to use the money on.
Here is my question for you..
Where on the vague list does the demolition of Briarcliff without reconstruction fit on the list of what DCSD said they were using ESPLOST Funds for?
Ok Tim. What are your questions?
Cobb County School System just rebuilt Walton H.S. For $48 million. They rebuilt a 2500 seat 304,000 sq ft building. Why is DCSD budgeting almost twice as much to rebuild a building on land DCSD already owns? As you have pointed out before, 70% of the responses returned on survey came from one school. Which school was that and how can anybody claim that was valid opinion of what people in the Cross Keys Cluster want? Also you refer to new school as the New Cross Keys H.S. While other BOE members refer to it as the New Brookhaven H.S.? Think if is by some miracle built at Briarcliff site it should be named Briarcliff. This would give cluster a new identify and a fresh start. Plus the students and parents being redistricted from Sagamore Hills would not be stuck with the negative connotations of Cross Keys.
Atlanta Public Schools spent $147 million on North Atlanta HS. Across Georgia, I believe the average cost of a high school is $40 million. There are a number of factors that drive the cost of a high school.
There is a policy guiding the process for naming a new high school.
Stan I am very conflicted here. You and I do not always agree. The one thing I have always respected about you is you put more information out about DCSD than any other source. Also I have never caught you in a lie. Now I have been told by another BOE member that DCSD plans on asking for rezoning of Briarcliff property as soon as demolition is complete. He also was very appreciative of the advice Jeff Rader gave on accomplishing rezoning. You say asking for rezoning is just rumors. So several of my questions such as …unless DCSD already has buyer of property, how do they know what zoning to ask for?
Instead I will ask you one question. Since Dr Green has become Superintendent, DCSD has been running fast and loose with the rules they operate with. As you documented naming of John Lewis E.S. Broke many of their own rules naming it. Then ESPLOST referendum came and instead of voters getting specific list of projects as required by law for passing ESPLOST and always supplied before, they chose to give a vague catch all list list.
Now here is my question…..Where on that vague list does the demolition of Briarcliff fit? Without reconstruction it does not help overcrowding.
Maybe I am a cynic but it seems to me that current DCSD plans benefit students from Dunwoody, Lakeside and Brookhaven the most while DCSD uses Cross Keys Cluster as nothing but an excuse. Oh and almost forgot the parents from Druid Hills get the rebirth of Druid Hills Charter Cluster
DCSD plans on asking for rezoning of Briarcliff – Are you referring to the board or administration. This hasn’t been discussed with me. I doubt this would come before the board as an action item.
How do they know what zoning to ask for – There are several standard types of zoning. Some are more restrictive than other types. Obviously, the least restrictive would make the property the most attractive.
Demolition of Briarcliff – The former Briarcliff HS site is condemned. The Facility Condition Assessments recommend demo. November 3, 2016 – A formal Request for sealed Bids was issued. March 20, 2017 – Complete Demolition Services, Inc. was awarded a lump sum construction contract for demolition services.
Tim, I don’t know anything about what’s happening to the Briarcliff property, but my understanding is that rezoning can dramatically change the value of a property. For example, out in Gwinnett and Cobb, a property becomes much more valuable once it is rezoned from farming to residential homes. In downtown Atlanta, the Atlantic Station area became much more valuable when it was rezoned from industrial (steel plant) to whatever zoning it is that allows office towers, retail and townhouses.
Knowing how it works, I would prefer to see the rezoning be done by the school district *before* it sells the property (so that the school district gets more money when it sells the property) rather than after (when a developer would pocket the money).
Stan, I just find it odd that DCSD is exempt from zoning laws and do not voluntarily follow them and now when it comes to the profiteering of the Briarcliff property runs to the zoning board to ask for rezoning.
Unless DCSD already has a buyer for property….how do they know which rezoning to ask for?
Still waiting for you to answer my question.
Where on DCSD vague list of projects for ESPOLST does demolition and profiteering of Briarcliff property fit?
Tim, I’m pretty sure all your questions have have been answered at least once.
Where does the profiteering and demolition of Briarcliff property fit on vague ESPLOST list provided to voters prior to vote for ESPLOST?
Like I thought. You can’t find where it fits on the vague project list. The whole ESPLOST fiasco should be investigated. Everything from the start until now smells fishy. Why did you ask what my questions were if you were not willing or capable of answering a hard question. If you are unable to answer my question…. Who can????
Tim, How do you define “profiteering” and how does that apply here?
Stan, even though you will not answer my question…I will answer yours. Profiteering is taking advantage of unusual or special circumstances to make excessive profits. Especially by manipulating circumstance to make excessive profits.
DCSD is manipulating the circumstance by asking for rezoning of property. As you are well aware DCSD is not required to follow zoning laws . Since DCSD is exempt from zoning laws their request is to make higher profit. They are manipulating the circumstances by asking for rezoning for the future owner because they are expecting a more favorable outcome for their request than Emory or CHOA might receive. DCSD has to already have a buyer for that property or else they would not know what type rezoning to ask for. DCSD has abandoned the community surrounding the Briarcliff property. DCSD does not care what harm they do to that community. This has been proven over the years by the appearance of the school. In 2013 when I first got involved, Briarcliff had 6′ tall weeds growing in front of building. We also called it the Homeless Hotel because of the number of homeless people living in the building. They had it made . They had electricity, water, showers and even a washing machine. DCSD was aware of this and the negative impact it was having on community. Now DCSD wants to stick it to the Briarcliff community one last time. By manipulating the circumstance they want to avoid the fight that was fought when Pat Pope wanted to sell that property to the Sembler group. DCSD has never engaged with anybody from that community about what should be done with building because they are not concerned about communities…..Now I’ll ask you one last time… Where on vague list of projects given to voters before passage of Esplost does demolition of Briarcliff fit? Also what type rezoning is DCSD going to request?
Tim, My correspondence with you ad nauseam has been courteous and polite. Your messages to me have been hostile and disrespectful. I’ve given you some leeway due to your frustration with the situation. I would ask that you check yourself.
There are numerous connotations of profiteering, and I was asking for clarity. To answer your question, it is not uncommon for various developers and property owners to request their property be rezoned. That being said, I’m not aware of that request being made. The request hasn’t come before the board. I’m furthermore not aware of any potential buyer or offers.
June 6, 2011 – The Board of Education approved a joint resolution of E-SPLOST IV for $496 million in projects, including the demolition services for the Old Briarcliff High School.
Stan I sincerely apologize if my remarks have been hostile. Must admit since my heart attack you are not the first to call me on it. Do not know if it due to all the drugs they have me taking or just a change in my attitude. That is why I mentioned the fact that you put out more information than any other BOE member and I have never caught you in a lie. Both were meant to be compliments.
I would like to know where demolition of Briarcliff fits into the list of projects for ESPLOST funding. I have read what. DCSD put out before ESPLOST vote and can not make this project fit. Can you….is all I ask.
E-SPLOST IV
The school board had a 3/20/2017 BUSINESS MEETING. Agenda Item C. 9. a. E-SPLOST IV Project: Bid #17-752-017 for Demolition Services at Former Jim Cherry Center (Old Briarcliff High School).
One of the supporting docs to that agenda item was a Chronology of the Agenda Item. It says that On June 6, 2011, the Board of Education approved a joint resolution of E-SPLOST IV for $496 million in projects, including the demolition services for the Former Jim Cherry Center (Old Briarcliff High
School). I haven’t confirmed this, but it was presented to me.
E-SPLOST V – The E-SPLOST V project list includes “Build a new 2,500 seat Cross Keys HS at Briarcliff site (or “cost‐neutral” location in Brookhaven area)”. That means we either build a new Cross Keys HS at the existing Briarcliff site or sell it and use the funds to buy land in Brookhaven. Whether we sell the Briarcliff site or build on it, the current building is condemned and needs to be demolished.
Demolish Vs Repair the Briarcliff Site – All the Facility Condition Assessment (FCA) reports over the years for Briarcliff have said the same thing. The Former Briarcliff HS May 20, 2016 School Assessment Report says the Replacement Value is $29,379,374 and the Repair Cost is $22,944,849. The report goes on to say in 8 different places that the building has been abandoned for a
number of years, is in deteriorating condition, and is recommended for demolition.
Think of an old car. If you have an old car that is worth $5,000 but requires a $4,000 repair, what do you? Repairing that old car doesn’t seem like the right decision.
The same assessment report that said that it recommends demolition also said for $29 million could be brought up to today’s standards including all new furnishings Instead of rehashing something that obviously the BOE does not want to do, let’s talk about the property only.
First thing… What is DCSD plans for when they lose Druid Hills H.S.? Think at this point it is not if, but when will it be lost.
Next Dan Drake says it will cost $85 million to build a new H.S. at Briarcliff site. Why will it cost so much to build on property already owned? As I have pointed out. Walton H.S. was rebuilt into a 2500 seat 304,00 sq ft school for $48 million. Why will it cost Dekalb County taxpayers almost twice as much for same thing?
Right now Cross Keys, Druid Hills, Lakeside, Dunwoody, Tucker and Chamblee H.S. Are or will be overcrowded. How may of these schools will be helped by building in Brookhaven?
Since the addition at Lakeside is just for it’s own overcrowding and will not accept any students from Cross keys Cluster. How is any of what DCSD doing anything but shuffling students? Where are the additional seats actually coming from?
Think Dan Drake is giving the same type advice that got us on the Merry go Round that we are currently on. We keep spending money on the same schools and never seem to catch up. Sounds like the definition of crazy to me.
I have never heard… What are the plans for Sequoyah M.S.?