Andrew Ziffer, the District 1 representative on the DeKalb County School District, told attendees at the Dunwoody Homeowners Association that the message he is hearing from his constituents is that they want clarity about school-closing decisions.
DeKalb’s Student Assignment Project (SAP), launched in 2024, has as its goal to maximize resources, ensure long-term academic sustainability for students, families, and DCSD staff with the closure or consolidation of dozens of schools over the next six to eight years.
In District 1, the tentative plan calls for the conversion of highly rated Vanderlyn Elementary to an annex for Dunwoody High School, the closure of Kingsley Elementary and Ashford Park elementary schools, and the expansion of Chesnut Elementary. Parents in the Dunwoody, Chamblee, Brookhaven, and Doraville areas have decried the changes, saying that high-achieving schools should factor in the closure decisions.
“I am the lucky owner of one of the most vocal communities,” Ziffer said of his post. “I enjoy it because we actually know what’s going on, and there are a lot of communities where we are trying to pull, and we get nothing from, and we don’t know how to manage that.”
Need for clarity cited as #1 parent concern
Ziffer said the main concerns he is hearing from his constituents is the need for clear communication and clarity about the future of District 1 schools.
“What parents want most is clarity, and 100% understand that there isn’t a lot of right now,” he said. “I’m trying to provide that for you.”
He added that the amount of information, along with misinformation, that is being circulated, is “amazing,” and the misinformation often detracts from the process of moving forward with plans to improve the schools.
He read a statement from interim Superintendent Norman Sauce regarding feedback received from the community about the SAP.
“We’ve learned a great deal from round 2 [of SAP feedback] … where there’s alignment and where there are still areas for growth,” the Sauce statement said. “This process is not about moving quickly, it’s about getting it right . . . No decisions have been made, and any future direction will be shaped by continued feedback and data review.”
Ziffer’s focus
Ziffer said his focus remains on the students, rather than the district office.
I’m always focusing on how we are improving the student experience in the schools,” he said. “I want to make sure our spending is focusing on the classroom instead of outside the classroom.”
To that end, the district is completing an audit of its central office to discern “where we have too much, and where we have too little.”
“Already there are a bunch of open positions in the district office totaling about $2 million, and Dr. [Norman] Sauce has made the decision not to fill them,” he said.
He said closing a single school would save about $4 million in operational costs annually, according to SAP predictions.
Specific school discussions
Ziffer said there have been discussions around moving Hightower Elementary School to the Sequoyah cluster, which would relieve overcrowding at Dunwoody High School. He also mentioned that “the conversation has shifted” in regard to Ashford Park Elementary, which has been slated to close.
We kind of scratched our heads about that [closure announcement],” Ziffer said. “It’s the most overpopulated school in DeKalb County, so maybe we look at that as a 911 situation.”
Attendees noted that discussions about school closures have vacillated between a one-year timeline and six to eight years, and that uncertainty is frustrating.
He said he questions the “practicality” and expense associated with converting Vanderlyn into a DHS ninth-grade annex, especially in light of the possible relocation of Hightower to the Sequoyah cluster.
In addition, Ziffer complimented the “Vanderlyn approach” of presenting data about the ramifications instead of “some other schools’ approach,” which has been heavy-handed in its criticism of the effort.
Ziffer did not mention specific “other” schools, but one attendee chimed in, “We’ve all watched the Oak Grove video,” a three-minute child-narrated video alleging that former school superintendent Devon Q. Horton, who has been charged with 17 counts of criminal fraud at his former school district in Illinois, is the architect of a “fishy plan” by hiring HPM, a construction management company.
