Fulton County school board members have passed a resolution calling for the city of Atlanta to postpone plans to annex part of the county.
The vote by the board at a meeting Thursday comes amid protests from hundreds of Fulton parents, who are against the annexation because it could mean their children would have to attend schools in the Atlanta Public School system or be transferred to other schools in Fulton.
The city of Atlanta is attempting to annex a section of south Fulton that would take in at least two Fulton schools, creating problems for students assigned to the schools, according to Fulton Superintendent Robert Avossa.
Students would not be able to continue going to Sandtown Middle and Randolph Elementary schools if the Atlanta annexation takes place, Avossa said. And the annexation could also create problems for APS and new potential students, he added.
Close to 2,000 Fulton students could be affected by the annexation, Avossa said.
“The city of Atlanta recognizes this confusion and legal uncertainty and has initiated a legal action petitioning the Fulton County Superior Court to declare invalid the existing local constitutional amendment that would bring those affected children into Atlanta Public Schools,” according to the Fulton board’s resolution.
“In light of the confusion and concerns of those children and their parents within the annexation area, and in light of the court action filed by the city of Atlanta seeking to have this law affecting school boundaries declared invalid, the Fulton County Board of Education believes that it would be in the best interest of the children and citizens living within the annexation area, if the proposed annexation is postponed until such time as there is a court ruling regarding the effect of this annexation on school district boundaries.”
Mayor Kasim Reed and other Atlanta officials have said they support moves by some south Fulton communities to join the city. A bill that would have allowed residents there to vote on annexation failed to move forward this past legislative session, amid a contentious battle between Atlanta leaders and supporters of the proposed city of South Fulton.
Though the bill failed to gain traction, Atlanta can still pursue annexing those communities through a petition method that requires the support of 60 percent of residents in the affected neighborhoods.
But a major stumbling block to gaining that support is a desire by some Fulton residents to have their children remain in Fulton County Public Schools.
To address those concerns, Atlanta filed a lawsuit in March challenging a law that would transfer Fulton County school property within annexed areas to Atlanta. If the city prevails, parents could be able to choose whether to send their children to Atlanta Public Schools or remain in FCPS. That legal challenge is still being vetted in court.
Reed’s office couldn’t immediately be reached Friday for reaction to the school board’s vote.
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