A proposal to close Spalding Drive Elementary School as early as next year has driven community members to organize a petition drive and plans to attend various Fulton County Schools-related meetings in protest.
FCS staff presented its study of enrollment and the age and condition of itss schools during the board of education’s work session on Sept. 10. In the Sandy Springs area, the report singled out Spalding Drive Elementary for closure due to low enrollment and deterioration of the circa-1966 building.
Enrollment is currently 349 students but is designed to hold 550, according to the FCS report.
Opponents of the closure point out that data from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA), shows Spalding Drive consistently outperforms neighboring schools in key academic metrics.
The school also is more racially diverse than other Sandy Springs elementary schools, according to the group’s talking points.
Mayor Rusty Paul said during his State of the City address on Tuesday that the closure proposal has been a hot topic in Sandy Springs.
“It took a lot of hard work to finally get North Springs High School redeveloped and redone. And just as we get that done, we find out that Spalding Drive Elementary is on the chopping block,” Paul commented.
Paul said that one of the criteria is the school population, and the other is the condition of the school. He said if the school condition is not good, it tells him that the school board hasn’t been investing in its facilities as it should have been.
“When you lose those kinds of assets in your community. It’s devastating. It’s devastating to the kids. It’s devastating to the parents,” Paul said.
Parents have started a Change.org petition that had more than 1,550 signatures by Tuesday night. A Save Spalding Drive Elementary website was created with access to the petition, resources, upcoming events, and talking points for parents and other community members.
Parents planned to attend FCS board member Michelle Morancie’s community meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Woodland Elementary School, 1130 Spalding Drive.
The next FCS board meeting will be Sept. 19 at the South Learning Center, 4025 Flat Shoals Road, in Union City. Public comments, which are not live-streamed or recorded, begin at 6 p.m.
The topic spurred public comments at the Sandy Springs City Council meeting Tuesday night.
Nicole Motahari said Spalding is more than a community, it is a cornerstone of the community. She took her inspiration from her gifted teacher at Spalding to become a teacher, and now she teaches English at North Springs High.
Susan Story said she moved to Sandy Springs from Gwinnett County three years ago. Her two children were numbers in the system in Gwinnett and their principal didn’t know them. Her son was a “COVID kindergartner,” but he didn’t learn how to read or write when required to use Zoom and a laptop to learn. At Spalding her son got the remedial help and tutoring he needed so he could learn to read and write. As a fourth grader, he’s now getting straight As.
“I can say 100 percent that only happened because of Spalding Drive Elementary and the teachers there,” Story said.
The mayor advised parents to use data and facts to make their points with the school board to keep Spalding Drive open.
