The Atlanta Board of Education will hold a public hearing Monday on a proposal to close Thomasville Heights Elementary School.
Atlanta Public Schools announced in late February that it plans to shutter the southeast Atlanta campus at the end of this school year.
The stated reason: Enrollment is expected to plummet when students who live at a nearby condemned apartment complex move out in the coming months.
The hearing is one-step in the process before the board is expected to vote on the school closure in May.
“No one wanted to be in the position we’re in today, and Purpose Built and APS worked hard for the last two years to avoid the closure of Thomasville Heights,” said Greg Giornelli, president of Purpose Built Schools Atlanta, during a board meeting last month.
APS contracted in 2016 with the nonprofit Purpose Built to operate and staff Thomasville Heights and three other schools. The outsourcing was part of an effort to turn around low-performing schools located in high-poverty neighborhoods. The contract was envisioned to last until 2030.
About 235 students attend Thomasville Heights. Most live at Forest Cove, a subsidized housing complex that’s slated for court-ordered demolition because of its poor living conditions.
City of Atlanta officials recently said the goal is to relocate residents by mid-July.
Next school year, the estimated 60 students who do not live at Forest Cove would be rezoned to Slater Elementary School, also managed by Purpose Built.
Officials, including Katie Howard who represents the neighborhood on the school board, describe the proposed closure as temporary. Giornelli has said the plan is to reopen the school once Forest Cove is redeveloped.
The pending closure has stirred concern in the community.
Bernard Arnold, a Slater parent who leads that school’s PTA, told the board last month that better communication is needed.
“We have a great staff and a great system going at our school and with the closing of Thomasville everything has been turned upside down, and we don’t have any voice at Purpose Built,” he said.
Purpose Built estimated about 45 educators will lose their jobs as a result of the closure.
School closure public hearing
What: Proposal to close Thomasville Heights Elementary School
When: 6 p.m. Monday
Where: Atlanta Public Schools’ headquarters, 130 Trinity Ave. S.W.
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