Atlanta schools can get it right, business leaders say

Collis Clovie, managing broker of the Century 21 Intown office, said school quality is often the most important factor for parents buying a home. “So if this goes farther than probation, we could be looking at a big problem,” Clovie said.

One of the nation's leading accrediting agencies said Tuesday that it has placed APS on probation because its school board is so dysfunctional that the district's quality of education is at risk. The board has until Sept. 30 to show progress on those issues.

One Georgia economist warned that Atlanta stands to lose more than its school system's accreditation. A troubled school system also can be a deal breaker for companies looking to relocate if they are worried that valuable staff won’t follow because of education concerns.

“There are people who will not move -- even if their jobs relocate -- if the move will jeopardize their children’s future,”said Mercer University Economist Roger Tutterow.

Business leaders, while acknowledging the seriousness of the probation, were mostly upbeat about the board's ability to deal with its governance problems and avoid the loss of accreditation that would come if the board fails.

“We are all going to be watching what happens very closely,” said Michael Redwine, a real estate agent at Atlanta Intown. “Our clients are going to want to know what’s going on and right now we don’t have much to tell them. But I think most people feel that these probationary issues can be resolved, so I don’t see this having a big effect right now.”

tThe impact the APS probation has on business depends on an individual company and its target employment base, metro area business leaders said. Those depending on a high school workforce might look elsewhere, while companies needing the technical skills of the area’s colleges may shrug the news off.

Metro Atlanta Chamber President Sam Williams said the APS probation will not have an immediate impact on business recruitment and retention in the area, but he said businesses interested in moving to Atlanta or expanding in the city will be watching.

“They’re going to give Atlanta the benefit of some time to get it fixed,” he said. “It is ours to lose.”

He said the probation leaves a “cloud of doubt” over the school system that will have ramifications for future business opportunities if not addressed quickly.

That cloud was cast over Clayton County in 2007 when the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placed the county system on probation. Unfortunately for Clayton that cloud turned into a catastrophic storm in 2008 when SACS  revoked the county schools' accreditation.

The real estate market in Clayton County all but collapsed. The fabric of the community was torn as those who could leave did, and those who couldn’t made do with what they had.

In 2008, about 30 percent of the Clayton’s residential and commercial properties lost value when compared to 2007, county officials said at the time. Last year the county assigned values on more than 80 percent of residential properties had to be adjusted downward.

“There were people intentionally avoiding Clayton County in 2009,” said Cynthia McDaniel, an associate managing broker at Century 21 Intown. “People with children and young couples who didn’t have children were looking anywhere but there.”

Clovie, the real estate broker, , said should APS lose its accreditation, private schools in the city could see an increase in applications.

“For those who really want to live in certain neighborhoods in the city, or for those whose jobs send them here, they might decide to go the private school route,” he said. “But to do that, the parents may buy a smaller home to adjust their finances.”

Many believe there is no way city officials would allow the APS situation to escalate past probation.

“Atlanta is too big and too important to the region,” said city resident Alicia Hutchinson-Brown. Even if APS did lose accreditation, which she does not believe will happen, Hutchinson-Brown doesn’t believe there would be an exodus of the city.

“This would not be a repeat of what happened in Clayton County,” she said. “Atlanta would not end up like that. The leadership of the city would never let that happen.”