Fight Looms Over Proposed School Closures in Atlanta's Dekalb County, Some Cite Racial Element

Some parents in Atlanta's Dekalb County citing race as an issue in the closure of some schools. Say the areas to be affected are predominantly black.

The battle lines in Atlanta's Dekalb County over school closing is drawn along racial lines and it's going to be a fight, indeed. Parents in the affected school districts have said the schools being considered for closure under the county's budget crunch are in primarily poor, African-American neighborhoods. It is unfathomable that President Obama is pushing one agenda to improve the educational levels in this country and states are pushing another agenda to cut education budgets to the bare bones, not caring one iota how this will impact the lives of the affected children.

A standing-room only crowd that filled a school cafeteria listened to the 20-member Citizens Planning Task Force, which is charged with recommending four elementary schools to be closed at the end of the school year. The closures are to be based on low enrollments and are needed to help with an $88-million deficit, school officials said.

Late Monday, school administrators gave the task force two scenarios that included a total of seven target schools, all of which are in the south end of the county. Those schools include: Sky Haven, Gresham Park, Kelley Lake, Toney, Meadowview, Midway and Peachcrest.

In Tuesday's meeting at the William Bradley Bryant Technology Center in Decatur, task force members said they were disappointed that they were not charged with choosing the schools on the list.

Task force member Darrell Jennings Sr. said he plans to look at the enrollment of all 83 elementary schools before making any decision. The choice should be made based on how the closures will impact the community in terms of social justice, economic development and property values, he said. Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution

In the state of Georgia, the idea of a four-day school week is becoming more attractive to some, even though it sends the wrong message -- education is secondary. According to the AJC, school officials have said closing the four schools will save DeKalb about $2.35 million, but they have not provided financial figures for each individual school. Why not force all the legislators and members on the various school boards to take a voluntary pay cut and freeze pay raises for the next two years? That would be a start in the right direction.

It seems that the schools in the predominantly black areas are always the first on the chopping block and traditionally have lower test scores and graduation rates. Shouldn't there be a push to improve the infrastructure of these schools?