Fulton County presents draft closure and redistricting plan: recommends Park Lane and Spalding Drive elementary closures with Conley Hills replacement opening

Fulton County staff on Jan. 14 presented draft recommendations for two zone-level elementary closure, consolidation and redistricting plans: Zone 2 in South Fulton (Park Lane Elementary) and Zone 4 in Sandy Springs (Spalding Drive Elementary). Both proposals were offered for first read with a schedule for public hearings in February and final action later in the board calendar.

Tarika Peaks, executive director of operational planning, said the recommendations aim to balance enrollment and capacity, improve building conditions and reduce operating costs by consolidating smaller, under-enrolled or aging facilities into larger or newly rebuilt schools. Peaks said Conley Hills Elementary is scheduled to be rebuilt and will open as a replacement school with 53 classrooms and a state capacity of about 850 students; that replacement presents an opportunity to consolidate underutilized neighboring facilities.

Zone 2 recommendation (Park Lane): staff recommended closing Park Lane Elementary at the end of the 2024–25 school year because its enrollment (about 374 students) has been below the board’s closure threshold (450) since 2019 and its facility-condition assessment (conducted in 2020) rated the building’s condition as poor. Peaks said Park Lane students south of Central Avenue would be assigned to a nearby elementary, while students north of Central Avenue would be assigned to Hamilton E. Holmes Elementary; in addition, some nearby Hamilton Holmes students would be moved into the new Conley Hills replacement zone to balance enrollment. Staff said the proposed Zone 2 net impact would affect roughly 251 K–4 students by closure and an additional 184 students by redistricting; 34 rising fifth-graders would be eligible to remain at their current school if parents provide transportation, per board policy AD.

Zone 4 recommendation (Spalding Drive): staff proposed closing Spalding Drive Elementary because its enrollment (about 347 students) has been below the 450 threshold (and trending down) and the facility-condition assessment rated educational suitability and infrastructure as fair. Peaks described three community forums (October–December) and said Zone 4 outreach produced higher participation: 512 participants in small-group sessions and more than 2,400 online and in-person comments. The draft plan would move students west of Brandon Mill Road and related streets to Hurst Ferry Elementary and other neighborhoods to Woodland Elementary and Ison Springs (by redrawing boundaries); staff estimated roughly 264 K–4 students impacted by closure and 276 impacted by redistricting in Zone 4; 53 rising fifth-graders could stay at their current school with parent-provided transportation.

Peaks described the engagement process: no maps were shown at the first forum; staff collected small-group feedback, developed three draft maps, presented those at a second forum, and presented a draft plan for review at a third forum. She said staff received 156 comments and 32 emails in Zone 2 and 2,400 comments and 227 emails in Zone 4; staff used primary criteria (geographic proximity, capacity and projected enrollment) and secondary criteria (traffic patterns, prior rezonings, feeder alignment and special-program balance) to craft maps.

Superintendent Mike Looney and board members acknowledged the community emotion around closures and noted the district’s declining enrollment and rising costs. Looney said the district has lost 7% of enrollment over five years and that operating smaller schools can cost on average about $7,000 more per pupil at some under-enrolled campuses. Peaks said two public hearings will be held in February; if the board approves the final plan, notifications would follow in March and changes would take effect in August 2025.

Ending: Staff emphasized that impacted families will have options (including fifth-grade grandfathering with parent transport) and that more detailed facility condition assessment data and financial impacts would be available in upcoming board materials and hearings.