Category Archives: Chamblee High School

DeKalb Commissioners Not A Fan of the E-SPLOST High School Building Additions

Posted on February 15, 2017 by | 77 comments

Stan Jester

DeKalb County Commissioners are unanimously asking the DeKalb County School District to build a new high school in Doraville and not add a bunch of classrooms to Lakeside, Dunwoody, and Chamblee Charter High Schools.
The gym, cafeteria, locker rooms, hallways, fields, etc … at these schools are already overburdened. These building additions to Lakeside, Dunwoody and Chamblee Charter High Schools will end up with more seats but little in the way of common space improvements for the students they already have, let alone the additional seats. I’m strained to understand how building additions are a good idea. Apparently all the Commissioners feel the same way.
The school district recommended the building additions because they believe it is the will of the people. It strains credulity that the will of the people can’t come up with one good reason why this is a good idea for Lakeside, Dunwoody or Chamblee.

1. The County urges the School District to build a new high school in Doraville and give priority to the redevelopment of schools in the southwest and southeast area of the county as it determines projects to be included in its capital improvement program;
2. The County urges the School District to consider the infrastructure impact caused by adding space for a substantial number of new students at Lakeside, Dunwoody and Chamblee Charter High School;
3. The County urges the School District to consider public infrastructure needs as it builds new schools, and redevelops existing schools to increase capacity;

[poll id=”3″]

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners
The Board of Commissioners serves as the legislative branch of the DeKalb County government. The Board is comprised of seven commissioners:

  1. District 1 – Nancy Jester
  2. District 2 – Jeff Rader
  3. District 3 – Larry Johnson
  4. District 4 – Steve Bradshaw
  5. District 5 – Mereda Davis Johnson
  6. District 6 – Kathie Gannon
  7. District 7 – Gregory Adams

RESOLUTION

A RESOLUTION BY THE GOVERNING AUTHORITY OF DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA, TO URGE THE DEKALB COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT TO CONSIDER VARIOUS ISSUES RELATED TO ITS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
WHEREAS, the Governing Authority of DeKalb County believes that its efforts to attract new businesses, new jobs and new employers to the County, in part, depends on the success of its public school system; and
WHEREAS, the DeKalb County School District (“School District”) is preparing to issue general obligation bonds in an aggregate amount no to exceed $200,000,000 which will be paid back from the proceeds of an educational SPLOST (“E-SPLOST”); and
WHEREAS, this Resolution accompanies a bond resolution whereby the Governing Authority is pledging to set a millage rate for school purposes sufficient to pay the debt on the School District general obligation bonds to the extent the E-SPLOST proceeds are insufficient to pay that debt; and
WHEREAS, the School District is a separate legal entity from DeKalb County and the Governing Authority of DeKalb County technically sets the millage rate for the School District, for school purposes; and
WHEREAS, the taxpayers of DeKalb County are involved and interested in the building of new schools, the redevelopment of existing schools and ensuring that sufficient public infrastructure, like sidewalks, roads and traffic signals, are in place when schools are built or redeveloped; and
WHEREAS, the Governing Authority of DeKalb County wants to encourage the elected members of the Schoo District and the Superintendent to consider various issues and priorities as set forth below; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Governing Authority of DeKalb County as follows:
1. The County urges the School District to build a new high school in Doraville and give priority to the redevelopment of schools in the southwest and southeast area of the county as it determines projects to be included in its capital improvement program;
2. The County urges the School District to consider the infrastructure impact caused by adding space for a substantial number of new students at Lakeside, Dunwoody and Chamblee Charter High School;
3. The County urges the School District to consider public infrastructure needs as it builds new schools, and redevelops existing schools to increase capacity;

77 Comments

Posted in Chamblee High School, Dunwoody High School, Lakeside High School, SPLOST

Is 600 More Seats At Chamblee Charter HS A Good Idea?

Posted on January 17, 2017 by | 109 comments

Please help me understand why this is good for anybody in the Chamblee Charter High School cluster community?

Chamblee Charter High School (CCHS) currently has 1,624 students enrolled. School district administration is currently predicting CCHS will have 2,328 students (518 students over current capacity) by year 2022. To address the capacity issues, the administration plans on constructing a 600-seat, three-story addition extending the current footprint and bringing the school to 120 classrooms with a 2,410 student capacity
The conceptual plan includes

  • 116 space parking lot in front of school fronting Chamblee Dunwoody Rd
  • Kitchen extension (984 sq/ft)
  • Cafeteria extension (1,891 sq/ft)
  • Media center expansion (2,647 sq/ft)
  • 2 story employee parking garage
School Kitchen Cafeteria Media Center
Existing Size Proposed Addition Revised Size Existing Size Proposed Addition Revised Size Existing Size Proposed Addition Revised Size
Lakeside HS 4,258 1,546 5,804 8,560 2,025 10,585 6,466 4,391 10,857
Dunwoody HS 2,469 1,731 4,200 7,536 485 8,021 5,795 2,020 7,815
Chamblee Charter HS 4,322 984 5,306 7,719 1,891 9,610 6,963 2,647 9,610

Stan Jester

How is this 600 seat building addition good for the existing Chamblee Charter HS community? Chamblee Charter HS Governing Board and Chamblee MS PTSA expressly don’t want it. I am opposed to this addition for the reasons below.
In the school district and board’s infinite wisdom, we are moving forward with this plan. Please help me understand why this is good for anybody in the CCHS cluster community? I suspect, like whatever support there is for the Dunwoody additions, any support for the CCHS building additions are driven by redistricting.

Guideline for Educational Facility Site Selection
This GA DOE Guideline for Educational Facility Site Selection applies to the existing sites on which a new educational facility will be constructed. In accordance with these guidelines, the minimum useable acreage requirements of the State Board of Education are 20 acres plus one acre for each 100 students in FTE for High School Facilities.
If the new capacity for CCHS is 2,400 students, then the total site acreage for this high school should be at least 44 acres.
However, the 2016 Chamblee Charter HS School Assessment Report says the school has a total area of 20.6 acres. The guidelines allow for a waiver or variance of the minimum useable acreage requirements. Unless DeKalb Schools plans on purchasing 20+ more acres, then DeKalb must get waivers for the GA DOE Educational Facility Site Selection guidelines.
Guideline for Square Footage Requirements for Educational Facilities
The Georgia Department of Education spells out the facilities square footage requirements in the Guideline for Square Footage Requirements for EducationalFacilities
FOOD SERVICE
Formula for Cafeteria Requirements:Middle and High School = Total FTE divided by 3.15 multiplied by 12
(FTE x 3.809). The bare minimum requirement for a school with a capacity of 2,400 students is 9,141 sq/ft. The conceptual plan has 9,610 sq/ft. While the cafeteria meets state standards, it won’t exceed the standards by as much as it does now. The added cafeteria space is not proportional to the added student capacity of the school. There is less cafeteria space per student.
Kitchen Requirements and all support areas for food service: Schools with more than 2,100 students require at least 4,200 sq/ft of kitchen and food service area. The conceptual plan has 5,306 sq/ft. Once again, while the conceptual plans for the kitchen addition meet state standards, the addition is not proportional to the added student capacity. There is less kitchen space per student.
MEDIA CENTER SQUARE FOOTAGE
The DOE guidelines require a minimum of 8,175 sq/ft for 2,400 students. The conceptual plan has 9,600 sq/ft. The conceptual plans are proportional to the new building addition.
HALLWAYS
Major high school facility corridors shall be at least 12 feet wide with an additional foot added for each width of lockers to be located in the corridor. The corridors already meet state standards and will not be adjusted. As the population grows to capacity, the students can expect to be packed in the hallways like sardines.
GYM – PHYSICAL EDUCATION
High schools must have a gym of at least 22,000 sq/ft. The size of the gym will not be adjusted. All problems with the current capacity of the gym will be exacerbated as the student population grows.
Traffic, City Code, Parking, etc…
The above list is not inclusive of all the reasons I object to this building addition.

Please help me understand why this is good for anybody in the existing CCHS cluster?
I’m still waiting to hear from anybody that has anything positive to say about the Dunwoody building additions. DHS school council, Dunwoody School Daze, the two ladies from Kingsley and Chesnut that wrote the board and senior administration regarding their concerns about my representation of the community, I challenge you all to tell me the positives that would come from the Dunwoody HS building additions that wouldn’t happen otherwise. –Stan

Furthermore, not only is it a bad idea once … the district plans to continue adding building additions to these schools every 5 years or so.
November 2016 FAQ
10. Why build to a utilization of 100% rather than adding additional capacity?
Rather than risk the cost of “overbuilding” by adding much more capacity than is needed, or “underbuilding” by building much less capacity than is needed, the District is recommending adding capacity as the forecast data indicates is needed. Our buildings will be designed so that, if warranted, we can add additional building capacity to accommodate future student capacity needs at each school where possible.

Related posts

Pros and Cons of adding 600 seats to Dunwoody HS
January 7, 2017 – Moving forward, I’m trying to understand the support for the building addition at Dunwoody High School.

109 Comments

Posted in Chamblee High School