FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Parents made their final pleas to the Fulton County School Board to try to save their schools, but it was not enough to save the two schools the district was looking to close.
The school board voted 4-3 on Thursday night to close both Parklane Elementary School and Spalding Drive Elementary School.
Parents from both schools say that the county’s reasons for closing the schools are flawed and hope enough school board members side with them to keep the doors open.
The problem for the district is both schools are small and old, and in a district with declining enrollment, money is a factor.
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“We are elected to make the difficult decisions,” said board president, Kristin McCabe, who voted no to close both schools.
Dozens of parents laid out their case to keep their schools open, but some felt the board had already made up their mind before the vote happened.
“Really disappointing to tell my daughter she’s going to have to switch schools because she’s a budget line item,” said Parklane parent, Jennifer Agel.
School Board District 6 representative, Kimerly Dove, said over the last decade enrollment at Parklane dropped more than 50 percent. However, other board members said enrollment across the district is an issue.
“Fulton County Schools needs to be innovative in how we address lower enrollment,” said District 7 representative, Dr. Michelle Morancie said.
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Parents at Spalding Drive said the decision Thursday night will make the enrollment issues worse. They said in a survey they sent to parents, more than half said they plan to leave the school district.
“It creates a complete lack of trust in the school district, so we will have to look at our alternatives,” said Spalding Drive Elementary parent, Raymond Grote.
Parents at Spalding Drive Elementary schools said they are looking at filing a motion for a temporary restraining order against the board for closing the school or looking into making Spalding Drive a charter school.
Fulton County Schools superintendent said they will make it a priority to place staff at the closing schools in vacancies across the district.
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