The Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education voted unanimously on Wednesday night to accept a plan that would repurpose 16 schools, including closing more than a dozen buildings.
The school district says since enrollment is down across the system, the APS Forward 2040 plan would save the district $25 million a year, according to a report from WSB-TV.
Channel 2’s Courtney Francisco was at the standing-room-only meeting and heard passionate arguments from parents.
“It’s only going to make enrollment worse,” said Addison Clapp. “It’s only going to make education worse for our future communities.”
“You’re going to drive them into the charter schools, and you’re going to drive them to private schools. You’re going to drive them to homeschooling. Now, you’ve further divided a community. Now, you’ve closed a school. Property values have dropped. Because property values have dropped, gentrifiers will come in at an accelerated rate and purchase these homes,” Sherry Wilson predicted.
Board members told the crowd before the vote, more money means more options for kids. Critics said they’ll keep organizing despite the decision.
“That is not good for anybody on any day of the week,” said Wilson.
The schools closing include:
- Cleveland Elementary School
- Continental Colony Elementary School
- Dunbar Elementary School
- Finch Elementary School
- Frank L. Stanton Elementary School
- Jackson Primary Elementary School
- Perkerson Elementary School
- Peyton Forest Elementary School
- Scott Elementary School
- Smith Intermediate Elementary School
- Toomer Elementary School Annex
- Usher Collier Elementary School
- Douglas High School 9th Grade Building
Students at those schools will move to other nearby schools. Maynard Jackson High School, Midtown High School and King Middle School will expand capacity.
The board now has to figure out what to do with vacant properties once the buildings close and students move to other schools. For example, they can lease them to developers, turn them into affordable housing or convert them to community centers.
The board will also have to make decisions on rezoning neighborhoods. Community forums will be held early next year as the redistricting process begins.
State Representative Bryce Berry (D-Atlanta) issued a statement calling last night’s vote “disheartening.”
“APS has a tough job, and I know these school closure decisions aren’t made lightly. Still, I worry about what this means for families — especially in Southwest Atlanta — who rely on neighborhood schools for stability, connection and community,” Berry said.
“For years, some state leaders have insisted that districts ‘do more with less,’ pushing them to shrink their budgets, while demands on classrooms keep growing,” Berry said.” That pressure doesn’t fall on abstract systems; it lands on real students, real educators and real neighborhoods now facing the loss of their local schools.”