The debate on whether Charles Drew Charter School will be allowed to add a high school to its middle and elementary school facilities comes to a head Monday evening, when the Atlanta Public Schools board meets to discuss the issue.
APS's board, which meets at 6 tonight at 130 Trinity Avenue in Atlanta after a community speaker sign-in period that lasts from 5 p.m. to 5:50 p.m., would have to vote to revise Charles Drew's charter if a high school is to be added.
The proposed high school, which would open in 2013 with 100 freshmen, has strong corporate and community backing, including support from former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.
But the idea has one key opponent: APS Superintendent Erroll Davis.
The superintendent opposes adding a high school because the district has what he described as "an over supply of empty seats in the area for 9th through 12th grade students."
The district also is spending $40 million to renovate nearby Maynard Jackson High. And like other districts in metro Atlanta, APS is looking to shrink its workforce.
"Expanding the number of student seats in the same area at a time when we are embarking on a workforce reduction in the face of vacant student stations doesn't coincide with the district's strategic direction for that area," Davis told the AJC in May.
Supporters point to the strong academic performance of Drew students as evidence that a new high school under the same umbrella would be a boon to the district.
The new charter high school would be built across the street from Drew's current facilities and would have capacity for 600 students. It would include a 500-seat theater and a track.
Parents of Drew students have backed the idea of a new high school, arguing that they should be able to send their children to a school of their choice.
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