Decatur’s school board will vote on whether to execute a lease agreement with Atlanta Public Schools for use of the East Lake Elementary School building, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Central Office/Beacon Municipal Center, 125 Electric Ave.

Chief Operating Officer Noel Maloof reiterated there are no specific plans for the building except to “temporarily offset pressure on [the city’s schools] while we’re doing construction.”

Any agreement also needs approval from the Atlanta Public Schools board.

East Lake is a far more economic solution than modular units. According to figures Maloof provided, total two-year cost for 24 modular units is $2.976 million while the total two-year cost for using 24 classrooms at East Lake is $390,000.

“We toured [East Lake last week],” Maloof said. “We won’t have to do a lot to get it in working order. But any use for us is temporary. We will not get in the way of the East Lake community. If we wind up using it, we would certainly vacate whenever APS needs the building.”

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Austin Walters died from an overdose in 2021 after taking a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl, his father said. A new law named after Austin and aimed at preventing deaths from fentanyl has resulted in its first convictions in Georgia, prosecutors said. (Family photo)

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