Cynthia Brictson and Michael Thurmond were on hand at the Austin Elementary School Council meeting Wednesday where John Jambro, Director of Design & Construction, delivered an Austin Replacement School Update.
Two things are perfectly clear; 1) The school district does not know what to do with the students during the rebuild. 2) The community would like a school with a capacity of 750 students and not a prototypical school with 900 students.
To that end, the district is currently performing a feasibility study to determine if renovation is a viable option. The output of the feasibility study will include
- Renovation and addition cost model
- Conceptual building plan
- Determination of a suitable location for a possible facility expansion
Austin ES Replacement/Renovation Timeline
| Identify Swing Space | Ongoing |
| Solicit Design Professional | Mar- June 2015 |
| (New) Feasibility Study | Mar – April 2015 |
| Planning / Design | June 2015 – April 2016 |
| Decommission and Vacate Austin ES | May 2016 |
| (Last day of classes) | |
| Move to Swing Space Location | May 2016 – June 2016 |
| (Aug ’16 School Year Start) | |
| Demolition and Rebuild of Austin | Sept 2016 – June 2018 |
| FFE & Equipment for Austin ES | July 2018 |
| Occupy New Austin ES | August 2018 |
2014 Dist 1 ES Enrollment & Capacity
Enrollment/Capacity Numbers in Oct 2014
| School | Enroll | Capacity | PctCap | Portables |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashford Park ES | 574 | 563 | 102% | 5 |
| Austin ES | 637 | 616 | 103% | 4 |
| Cary Reynolds ES | 1163 | 749 | 155% | 21 |
| Chesnut ES | 452 | 570 | 79% | 3 |
| Dresden ES | 1183 | 850 | 139% | 14 |
| Dunwoody ES | 979 | 973 | 101% | |
| Hightower ES | 832 | 635 | 131% | 13 |
| Huntley Hills ES | 493 | 532 | 93% | 3 |
| Kingsley ES | 568 | 500 | 114% | 5 |
| Kittredge ES | 458 | 590 | 78% | |
| Montclair ES | 1128 | 792 | 142% | 16 |
| Montgomery ES | 754 | 699 | 108% | 5 |
| Oakcliff ES | 730 | 752 | 97% | |
| Vanderlyn ES | 714 | 576 | 124% | 11 |
| Woodward ES | 1041 | 826 | 126% | 12 |
Austin ES Projected Enrollment
| Year | Enrollment |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 653 |
| 2012 | 647 |
| 2013 | 630 |
| 2014 | 637 |
| 2015 | 642 |
| 2016 | 655 |
| 2017 | 671 |
| 2018 | 678 |
| 2019 | 686 |
| 2020 | 691 |
| 2021 | 698 |
Related Documents
- Facility Condition Assessments Reports – Assessments for every school in DCSD
- 2011 Comprehensive Facility Assessment Report – Summary of assessments, methodology and approach for making assessments
- 10-Year Facility Master Plan – 10 year plan for building and renovating schools
- Enrollment/Capacity Numbers in Oct 2014
From Nancy Jester
The 10-Year Facility Master Plan “did not consider capacity and projected growth when SPLOST IV projects were identified,” according to Nancy Jester, former DeKalb Schools board member. “The SPLOST process is political. The data was made to fit the predetermined decisions in order to justify the building list.”
She goes on to say,
“The DeKalb Board of Education sent a referendum to the voters that funds building new elementary schools where we will only need 40% of the current capacity. Yet, in areas that are already at 100% and projected to need much more, DeKalb is adding very little capacity. Many communities are looking at having trailers in perpetuity. Even if some of the capacity needs were addressed in the next SPLOST, effectively a generation of children will have gone through school in trailers.
When SPLOST IV ends, DeKalb’s taxpayers will have given the school district approximately $2 billion to build and improve schools. It is unconscionable that we have so many children in trailers throughout the district. The weight of this fact was not lost on me during the SPLOST IV process while I was on the board. This is the primary reason I voted against taking this referendum to the public.”
According to the latest 
“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”