Fernbank Elementary To Get Brand New School if SPLOST Passes

Decatur Metro | May 31, 2011 | 3:17 pm

Dave forwards this note sent out to Fernbank Elementary School parents.  According to a blurb in the AJC, Fernbank would be one of eight new schools if DeKalb, Decatur, Atlanta and Fulton voters decide to approve and extend SPLOST.

As part of its 10-year Facility Master Plan and its development of a list of projects to be funded by SPLOST IV (the next renewal of the one-penny sales tax used to fund capital improvements throughout the school district), the DeKalb County School System recommended this past Friday that Fernbank Elementary’s building be torn down and a new facility built in its place.  If SPLOST IV is approved by voters this coming November, then construction on Fernbank’s new school building likely would take place some time between 2013 and 2017.  You can review the Facility Master Plan and the proposed SPLOST IV project list athttp://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/www/documents/vision-2020/master-plan-presentation-(2011-05-27).pdf.

While we believe this is exciting and positive news for Fernbank Elementary and the communities it serves, we also are attempting to gather additional information from DCSS in order to provide you a clearer and more concrete picture of what DCSS has recommended.  Specifically, we are awaiting confirmation from DCSS that Fernbank’s new facility will be sited at the school’s current location on Heaton Park Drive.

The Board of Education will hold two additional meetings on the 10-year Facility Master Plan and the proposed SPLOST IV project list before formally adopting its SPLOST IV Project Resolution on June 6, 2011.  These two additional meetings will be held on Wednesday, June 1, at 9:30 a.m., and Friday, June 3, at 9:30 a.m.  Both meetings will be held at the school system’s administrative offices, 1701 Mountain Industrial Boulevard.  DCSS also is collecting public input via an online survey, which can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/splost4.  The survey will close on June 1, 2011, at 11:59 p.m.

Please do not hesitate to contact your PTA or School Council representatives if you have any questions.  As we receive additional information, we will be sure to pass it along to you.

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5 Responses to “Fernbank Elementary To Get Brand New School if SPLOST Passes”

  1. Jim says:
    May 31, 2011 at 4:21 pm

    Based on a quick review of the 2020 DCSS master plan, is it my understanding that Fernbank Elementary would be a megaschool with the eventual closure of Laurel Ridge Elementary and those children attending Fernbank Elementary?

  2. TOK says:
    May 31, 2011 at 4:49 pm

    What’s DCSS’s record of stewardship like with its past SPLOST funding? I’m generally not too sympathetic with the general calls (see some of the recent TSPLOST threads for examples) that government is awful and parasitic, and that we should starve the beast. Education, infrastructure, and health care (among other things) are vital public goods that we should be willing to spend money on.

    That said, based upon some casual reading around and listening to the news, DeKalb County government and the DeKalb County School system seem to be bloated black holes of corruption and incompetence. Am I wrong on that? Will renewing SPLOST funding for DCSS really help out the school system, or just support more corruption?

    • DEM says:
      May 31, 2011 at 9:11 pm

      Gosh that’s a tough one, but I’m going to take a wild guess and say more corruption. Why should they stop now? Also, more incompetence is a good bet.

  3. D says:
    May 31, 2011 at 10:49 pm

    For years DeKalb County Schools ignored Fernbank and particularly Druid Hills High School. Now they want to rebuild Fernbank. Wow. Call me cynical, but I think the B of Ed proposal is about finding a political margin.

  4. alice taper says:
    June 1, 2011 at 8:12 pm

    I would be surprised if the system can assure anything. Is the current location appropriate for a large model elementary school? If an area school is closed, some Fernbank families may have to move schools….

    I am not sure at all that this is really in the best interest of the current Fernbank community.