DeKalb County's magnet arts elementary school is supposed to move in two summers to a campus that's newer than the school's current 73-year-old site.

Problem is, the other campus isn't that new — it was built in 1958 — and while system officials plan $1 million in artsy upgrades, such as a dance studio and black box theater, parents are tired of making do with converted facilities.

RENEE' HANNANS HENRY/STAFF (ENLARGE)

Nadia Walker walks 6-year-old Tresure Trotter home.School redistricting plans include moving the DeKalb Elementary School of the Arts from Hooper Alexander Elementary School.

• More DeKalb news

"Our problem is that we know that Hooper Alexander [the school's current campus on Memorial Drive] is in terrible condition," said parent Nina Mitchell, whose daughter is a third-grader at what is also known as the DeKalb Elementary School of the Arts, or DESA. She said Terry Mill, the newer campus off Glenwood Avenue near East Lake, "is pretty much in the same condition," a notion DeKalb officials dispute.

"We want to make sure we're going into a facility built for the performing arts," Mitchell said. "It doesn't have to be brand spanking new, but just something that improves the program."

As system officials begin DeKalb's biggest redistricting effort in decades, including the closure of five schools, Mitchell is among some parents advocating changes to the plan. In this case, it's to delay the magnet arts school's move to Terry Mill. Parents at the school say they want to explore other options.