Atlanta BOE adopts plan to close several elementary schools
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The Atlanta Board of Education will move ahead with a controversial plan to close several elementary schools and repurpose those buildings.
Why it matters: Schools aren't just buildings — they're community hubs where families, neighbors, teachers and alumni build relationships over generations. The upcoming closures could dismantle those relationships — and the communities they serve, critics argue.
The latest: School board members unanimously adopted the Comprehensive Long Range Facilities Plan at a meeting Wednesday.
- Atlanta Public Schools has 70,000 seats, but around 50,000 students.
- Fewer students mean less state funding and higher costs, so APS officials say the system must run lean to prevent property tax hikes.
- APS's report says the closures will reduce the district's seating capacity by 5,200, improve school utilization rates, and save $20 million to $25 million in annual operating costs.
Zoom in: The plan calls for Cleveland Avenue, Continental Colony, Dunbar, Finch, Perkerson, Peyton Forest, Scott, Stanton, and Usher Collier elementary schools to close in spring 2027. Students will move to nearby schools.
- Under the plan, APS will also close Sylvan Middle School in spring 2027 and convert it into an elementary school.
- Finch and Perkerson students will move into the converted Sylvan building, set to open in fall 2028 (they will join the Washington High School cluster).
- Douglass High School's ninth-grade campus will close, and those students will return to its main campus.
- The Jackson Primary School campus will also close, and the district will convert Jackson Elementary into a full K-5 school.
What they're saying: Several people spoke in opposition to the plan during Wednesday's meeting.
- Arthur Carson, senior pastor at Springfield Missionary Baptist Church in northwest Atlanta's Scott's Crossing community, said closing Scott Elementary School would erase its history.
- "The vote tonight is between history and money," he said. "I was told that it was money that matters, but it's history that matters."
- APS parent Joe York said the district's plan to close the Jackson Primary School campus was an example of APS ignoring the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" adage.
- "Don't be shortsighted," he said. "Don't jerk our students, family and staff around with a logistical nightmare to chase a quick buck."
The big picture: School board member Aretta Baldon said closing facilities is a tough decision, but it's one that "asks us to balance history, emotion and equity with responsibility to plan wisely for the future."
- Member Tolton Pace, who represents areas where several closures are planned, said the schools in his District 6 are not just buildings, but community anchors that have educated generations of people.
- "This moment is not an ending," he said. "It's an inflection point, a chance to reshape APS so that it is more equitable, more sustainable and more aligned with the aspirations that our students and our families hold."
What's next: APS will soon start the redistricting process that will relocate affected students into new schools.