Dozens of parents Monday signed up to address the Atlanta school board about the upcoming rezoning.
For the first time in almost a decade, the district is planning to redraw attendance boundaries to relieve overcrowded schools and shutter those with low enrollment. APS has enough seats to serve 62,500 students but has roughly 49,000 enrolled.
The district released four scenarios in late November and since, parents have offered an onslaught of feedback -- most of it critical -- about the proposed changes.
Monday, several parents attended from Buckhead’s E Rivers Elementary, pleading with the board to keep the school's boundaries in tact.
Helena Marin fought back tears while addressing the school board. She said all three of her children are at risk of being sent to different schools.
“We love our school. It is part of my family,” she said. “Please think of the families and the kids. My kids are very scared.”
The preliminary maps were created by outside demographers and mapping specialists, and they will change as the district receives results from a demographic survey and considers parent and community feedback. Superintendent Erroll Davis is expected to make a final recommendation early this year.
Each scenario calls for multiple school closures and for additions or new schools to be built in crowded North Atlanta. School lines across the city will have to be redrawn to accommodate the changes. And that has parents concerned about what's in store.
Nicole Foerschler Horn spoke on behalf of parents at Springdale Park Elementary. She said in a week, the community collected more than 1,000 signatures against boundary changes.
“This process does not feel transparent to us,” she said. "Slowdown this process and make it more transparent and inclusive."
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