DeKalb County School District officials could face opposition in May as they seek approval for $500 million on various improvements, but go about it with no list of projects for voters to see.
District officials say it was a necessary move to stay in line with the past practices of seeking an extension of a 1-cent sales tax on the same ballot as DeKalb’s other districts — City Schools of Decatur and Atlanta Public Schools — as well as neighboring Fulton County. The lack of transparency could impact votes for a district a few years removed from a multimillion dollar deficit and threats of potential state oversight.
“We needed some time, based off the fact that we have to do more in-depth analysis with what we need,” said Daniel Drake, DeKalb County School District’s director of planning. “We will develop five project focus areas and then we’ll come back and dress the skeleton with more details in the process, through summer and fall.”
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