The Fulton County School Board approved the first reading of motions Thursday to permanently close two elementary schools.
Despite great pushback from families, Superintendent Mike Looney supports closing Parklane Elementary in East Point and Spalding Drive Elementary in Sandy Springs. Looney says the system can save money by closing the schools that operate in outdated buildings.
During a board meeting at the South Learning Center in Union City, Looney said he understands that the issue is “emotional and personal” to families.
“If you look at some of our older facilities, just the way that they’re constructed and organized doesn’t make instructional sense,” he said, adding that some classrooms have no walls, and there are narrow corridors with turns and blindspots that impact safety.
During the meeting, board members approved the first reading of motions to close the schools in split votes. Katie Gregory and Franchesca Warren were the only two votes in opposition to closing Parklane. Gregory, Warren and Michelle Morancie voted against the closure of Spalding Drive Elementary.
A similar meeting was held last week in Sandy Springs. The school board will make a final vote on the matter on Feb. 20.
The closures will be part of a redistricting that will send students from Parklane to Hapeville Elementary and Hamilton E. Holmes Elementary; and possibly a new Conley Hills Elementary building that is scheduled to open in August 2025. A portion of students from Asa G. Hilliard Elementary, Hapeville Elementary, the current Conley Hills Elementary School and Hamilton E. Holmes Elementary will be transferred to the new school facility.
Looney described East Point as a small city logistically, making travel to the new Conley Hills Elementary School easy. But parents say the school is at least twice as far away as Parklane where many families are low-income and do not own a car.
Students either walk to or take public transportation, parents told SaportaReport.
Gabriella Mooney, whose son is a first grader at Parklane, said parents have calculated that it will take more than an hour of travel to the new school on MARTA, or by walking. She figured that would mean her son would have to be on the bus before 6:45 a.m., the time required if they take the bus to Parklane.
During the board meeting, Gregory said students will be getting on buses earlier in the morning and later in the afternoon than they currently are now. That usually translates to lower attendance and lower grades, she said.
Gregory added that while the school system held community meetings for public feedback on the school closures, the process has not been carried out in a holistic way with parents truly involved in the process.
Parklane parent Christy Taylor shared similar concerns in a Friday email to board members that she shared with SaportaReport.
“By focusing on Parklane, we have ended up with a plan that does not make sense when viewed by those with feet on the ground [and] who know the school and our families,” wrote Taylor, who also works at the school as a parent liaison.
Parklane parents say they are encouraged in some ways to have the support of Gregory and Warren.
In Sandy Springs, parents on the Save Spalding Drive Elementary Committee issued a statement saying they are heartened by the support of three board members.
“This process has been rushed, our concerns have been met with silence, and the board school closure policy is broken and needs fixing,” the statement said. “We’re grateful for the community’s continued support, and we will fight to the end to keep our school open.”
Parklane parent here- We are not being redisticted to the new Conley. Not a single student will go there from Parklane.
Still looney needs to wait another year and spend some money on Parklane Elementary as well as the other Spalding School. It’s evident that he did not spend money that was alegated to fix those schools. Fact: It was ask on many occasions.These school were neglected by looney. Fix those schools,make them smaller and put more services in them to occupy the space that would educated the kids.
The East Point City government and the Fulton County School board does not care about poor black families in East Point. East Point still has a stigma to it because of the predominantly black population. The East Point City Government is very rude and abhorrent to their black residents ( even with a majority black government). If I could find a suitable home in neighboring Hapeville or downtown College Park, I would leave East Point in a heart beat. Downtown East Point is on a decline in my opinion with some restaurants closing and the existing ones, their quality of food and service has declined. I have had it with East Point.
EP has become a dump. While the rest of Atlanta moves forward EP is stuck in reverse. It all starts with leadership at the top and unfortunately in EP there is none. The Mayor has been on a publicity tour for 4 years after sleeping thru the first 4. This school closing is just another example. Everything is a reaction. Never anything proactive. As a long time resident its a shame nothing good ever happens in EP unless its bad. Time for a change.