Brookhaven Offers To Keep Cross Keys High School In City Limits
The DeKalb County School District plans to build a new Cross Keys on the former Briarcliff High site.
DeKalb County plans to build a new Cross Keys High School about two miles from its current location.
But the City of Brookhaven is willing to pay to keep the school closer to where it is now.
The current high school sits in a neighborhood, not far from Buford Highway and a good portion of its students live near it.
The DeKalb County School District plans to build a new Cross Keys on the former Briarcliff High site. However, it’s on the other side of Interstate-85 in unincorporated DeKalb.
Brookhaven’s offering to buy apartment complexes on Buford Highway to keep Cross Keys in its city limits.
Joe Gebbia, a Brookhaven city council member, said his biggest concern is student access.
“A lot of the students that participate in extracurricular activities do so because they can walk back and forth,” Gebbia said. “That’s important to them. What are these kids going to do after school if they can’t be doing that walk across the bridge?”
Gebbia said despite the school moving locations, he think it’s a net gain for the students. The current high school suffers from overcrowding but will be turned into a middle school.
Marco Palma, with Los Vecinos de Buford Highway, said keeping the school near students may not be worth it.
“The harm done by displacing people is greater than moving the high school a little outside of the city,” Palma said.
He said some 500 students could be displaced if the school is built close to where it already is.
DeKalb County will spend about $85 million to build the new school. It hasn’t yet responded to Brookhaven’s offer.
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