Decatur’s school board approved a resolution Wednesday supporting the city’s annexation master plan. The approval’s not a surprise considering board members have individually expressed favoring annexation, at least from a long-term perspective, for several weeks. Wednesday’s move mentions specifically four short-term points where the city, in the words of Vice Chair Garrett Goebel, continues to “converse, discuss and collaborate” with the board on. First is that the commission put a General Obligation Bond on the ballot next year (probably November) to help pay for construction and renovation of school facilities. Second, an 18-month delay between annexation becoming official and when annexed students actually enter city schools. Third, help in identifying property for one and possibly two new schools. Fourth, caution in keeping the residential/commercial balance steady in the annexed areas (currently 81 percent commercial) so there isn’t a dramatic flood of students.
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