Families gather at Impact Church in East Point for a parent-led meeting to brief others on the pending future of Parklane Elementary School. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)
This story was updated on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at 5:34 p.m.
The Fulton County School District is considering closing two elementary schools as a way to save money, and parents are pushing back.
Last fall, students, staff and parents at Parklane Elementary in East Point and Spalding Drive Elementary in Sandy Springs learned their schools were being considered for closure.
As the timeline began for the closures, or redistricting, officials with the school district cited declining enrollment and building conditions as the primary reasons to move forward in the process.
Members of the FCS Board met with parents and the public for at least three rounds of community forums, presenting plans and proposals for consolidation of both Parklane and Spalding Drive.
Raymond Grote, a Spalding Drive parent with two kids attending the school, expressed concerns about how the timeline moved along.
“One of the big challenges early on was just the timing of this is incredibly fast,” Grote said. “It does not give parents a lot of room to maneuver or to find new schools or make decisions that are really, really impactful to their kids.”
One of the reasons for the consolidation was the district’s financial ability to keep both schools open, given the schools’ enrollment numbers. According to the FCS policy on school closures, which was last reviewed in 2016, elementary schools are required to have at least 450 students.
Screenshot of Parklane Elementary School’s enrollment numbers and other data from Fulton County School District. (DorMIya Vance/WABE).
Screenshot of Spalding Drive Elementary School’s enrollment numbers and other data. (DorMIya Vance/WABE).
Based on data from Fulton County Schools, Parklane Elementary has 366 students while Spalding Drive has 351. The district has also stated that in order to receive state funding for staffing, the Georgia Department of Education uses the 450-student minimum as a benchmark.
The policy also says that “schools with below these numbers cannot support staff and resources needed for an optimal educational program and are expensive to maintain.”
“The average district per pupil for elementary schools is $13,249. For Parklane Elementary $19,949. For Spalding $17,184,” said Marvin Dereef, chief financial officer of Fulton County Schools, in a January board meeting.
Based on the numbers, Parklane is over the district’s average by $6,307 and Spalding Drive by $3,542. However, Parklane parents said the smaller school has extra costs to serve their vulnerable and economically disadvantaged students.
“Are you actually saving that money? Because a lot of our extra costs are going to go with our kids,” said Christy Taylor, a Parklane parent who has avidly protested the closing of the elementary school.
“If our extra costs are (going to) special needs, our ESOL kids, our early intervention programs, they’re going with our kids wherever they go,” Taylor added.
According to FCS data, at least 20% of students at both schools have disabilities. Parklane, specifically, has a population of majority Black and Hispanic, or Latino, students who are 100% economically disadvantaged or low-income.
The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute also states that for schools that enroll more than 90% of students who are racially marginalized, on average $733 less is spent per student compared to schools with 90% or more white students.
“The disparities are not fair to the rest of Fulton’s 87,000 students and schools, or the Fulton taxpayers who expect fiscal responsibility in how their taxes are managed,” said FCS officials in an email. They added that fixed costs like utilities and maintenance costs the district more money.
Members of the school district board have also been very outspoken against the closure of the schools in their respective districts.
At a January board meeting, FCS Board Member Katie Gregory said the costs associated with the schools facing closure aren’t unique to Parklane and Spalding Drive.
“Those things create the same cost burden for all schools,” said Gregory in a January board meeting. Gregory represents District 3, where Parklane is located.
Dr. Michelle Morancie, a board member representing District 7, which includes Spalding Drive Elementary, said at the meeting that she hadn’t expected Spalding Drive to be under consideration for a closure.
“I would not vote to close the school, but I would like for the board to really think about how we can work collaboratively with families when these issues come up,” Morancie said. “Clearly the policy is not working, so we need to have a look at the policy.”
Parents of both schools have social media groups, websites and even petitions dedicated to their efforts to keep the schools open. They’ve also created documents with evidence to support their push to keep the schools from closing.
They plan to gather this evening for a public hearing held by the county before a final vote on whether to close the schools comes later this month, on Feb. 20.
