Atlanta Public Schools won't approve new school boundaries for another few months, but parents Monday went before the school board to make a case for how the lines should be drawn.
Don't close a school that's meeting state academic standards. Don't split up neighborhoods. Don't jeopardize property values.
School board members will consider this input and more before finalizing the district's first major rezoning in 10 years. APS has enough seats to serve 62,500 students but has roughly 49,000 enrolled. Schools in some parts of the city are overcrowded while others have empty seats.
"I would hate to see this community destroyed," said Cameron Ford, who was speaking against the rezoning of Bolton Academy in North Atlanta. "I believe redrawing the lines would tear the community we’re in apart."
Four scenarios were released in late November to start discussions about new school boundaries. 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.
But many parents don't like what's being proposed.
"The past year has been a difficult one for the families of the Atlanta Public Schools system," said Grady High parent Anne McGlamry. "We were just beginning to emerge from the ugliness of the cheating scandal and the accreditation debacle, when this demographic nightmare hit."
District leaders have said they are open to making changes, and that the maps were intended only as a starting point. Consultants hired by the district will take the input, modify the maps and narrow the options down to two. Financial estimates for the remaining options will be released, and a second round of community meetings will be held in January before a final recommendation is given to Superintendent Erroll Davis.
The changes will have to be approved by the school board before they go into effect during the 2012-13 school year.
Chairwoman Brenda Muhammad said the board is committed to getting public input before making a decision. The board will also consider academic impact and cost.
"By the time everything is evaluated, said and done, the scenarios may not look anything as they look now," she said.
Melody Cook-Blount said she moved out of DeKalb so her daughter could attend Beecher Hills Elementary, a school listed for closure on two plans. But the school is thriving and should not be closed, even though it is small, she said.
"I ask you consider the quality and not the quantity of schools," Cook-Blount said.
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