In an item on the School Board’s July 9th agenda titled – “Bond Referendum Date Move from November 2013 to 2014″, Superintendent Phyllis Edwards writes…

In June, the Board approved the request to send the Commissioners the request to approve for a referendum in November of 2013. At each discussion of the Master plan, the schedule was always discussed. The Commission would need to approve this request by August 5th in order to meet the various publishing in a legal manner and also meet other requirements. There is a 90 day requirement in place according to our Bond Attorney and legal counsel.

The plan to have the two entities meet in a worksession was hindered by calendar issues. The Commission according to our City Charter, must approve the request for a referendum. The concern raised is one of having the city understand the plan and the need in more details before asking them to vote. The difficult timeline has always been an issue.

If the bond referendum is placed in 2014, it will give the school system more time to share the information and facts with the citizens and the city leaders. There are certainly pros and cons to this discussion. Pros include the time to hold additional discussions and fully inform others; the ability to document this year’s projections against the actual enrollment ( we are at 96%) at this time; the ability to continue discussions with DOE relative to their formula for building the amount of necessary classrooms. The school system has a number of projects in the works for this school year including the start of planned construction of renovating the old gym into some instructional units and the completion of 8 classrooms at the 4/5 Academy; the reopening of Westchester for the 2014 year and the selection of a Principal for the school by the spring.

Naturally on the con side the loss of a year will mean that we will have to account for classroom spaces in other methods; such as portables for an additional year.

This is the largest request we plan to make of the citizens. The need is clearly apparent to those of us working in the school system but equally important to make sure that we inform as many others as possible.

h/t: Patch

Decatur CD, Decatur GA (pic submitted by FM Fats)

Another alert from the Decatur Police Department…

On Friday July 5, 2013 at approximately 3:30 am, the Decatur Police Department responded to a report of an armed robbery on Sycamore Drive, near Grove Street.  The victim, a 24 year old male stated he had been followed from near the Toco Hills shopping center in DeKalb County by a blue Ford Taurus sedan.  He stated the vehicle’s horn began blowing while traveling southbound on Sycamore Drive.  He stated the vehicle pulled alongside him while he was stopped at the intersection of Sycamore Drive and Grove St.  He stated the front seat passenger of the Taurus rolled her window down and asked for directions.  While the victim was giving directions, he noticed an African American male standing beside his vehicle, holding what appeared to be a shotgun.  The male suspect demanded the victim exit his vehicle and lay on the ground.  The victim complied and the suspects left the area in both vehicles.

Based on a number of differences, it is not currently believed that this is related to other incidents that occurred earlier in the week.

The victim’s vehicle is described as a white 2007 BMW 530I, GA tag GT845J.  Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Decatur Police Department at 404 373-6551.

The suspects were described as follows:

Suspect #1 (Driver of Ford Taurus)

• Female
• 18-24 years of age
• African-American
• Light complexion
• Slender build

Suspect #2 (Front seat passenger)

• Female
• 18-24 years of age
• African-American
• Light complexion
• Slender build
• Hair worn in a short ponytail

Suspect #3

• Male

• 18-24 years of age

• African-American

• Slender build

• Hair styled with short “dredlocks” or “twists”

• Face covered with blue bandana

Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not discussed in the past week.

Comments close on Monday.