The clock is ticking for DeKalb County School District to sign onto an economic development project that county leaders contend will revitalize the region and bring hundreds of jobs.
But DeKalb Superintendent Steve Green remains leery of the tax allocation district being sought for the former General Motors site in Doraville where developers envision a mini-city with office towers, mixed-use housing and parks. The ambitious project hinges on the school system, which takes 56 cents of every tax dollar collected in the county and so has a pivotal role in creating a TAD to fund development.
If DeKalb school leaders don't change course by June, developers say they will scale down their plan and the result could be strip retail stores, car dealerships and suburban housing. "The effect this development will have on the entire region cannot be overstated, " said Doraville Mayor Donna Pittman. "It is really disturbing to me the school board could possibly stop economic development in our city."
In a column for the AJC Get Schooled blog, Green responds to the criticism he and the DeKalb school board are standing in the way of economic development, writing, “Schools should be an investment in skills and scholars, not bright lights.”
To read more, go to the AJC Get Schooled blog.
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