Comments on: Parkwood Neighborhood Seeks Annexation Into Decatur

By: DecaturNupe

DecaturNupe — Thu, 06 Feb 2014 17:05:44 +0000

When I was young decatur wasn’t what it is now, far from it. However, with good planning it has become better than its history would suggest. That is why my wife and I have worked to get our family here. Our 14 year old attends the highschool and is getting a wonderful education. We hope that our 2 year old and 1 year old will be likewise situated. However, if the city doesn’t continue to provide a great school system we will be the first to move. That is the nature of things. Consequently, while I do not want overcrowding I refuse to be the voice which keeps out people who, like us, just want better for their children.

The only question I have is, with Fernbank and Druid Hill High being some of the better schools in Dekalb county why Decatur? In answer I think it is more about avoiding annexation by other cities than it is our schools.

By: Daydreamer

Daydreamer — Wed, 05 Feb 2014 02:25:11 +0000

We can do better than that. What about a neighborhood watch group that’s on the lookout for the subtle baby bump, then maybe someone can stalk her for a few days to find out if the chick is just fat & happy, or if the sighting was right after she ate a big burrito. Fertility status is also important. I’d suggest a committee of committed do-gooders pretending to be friends with women then asking if they have lazy ovaries, or a tilted cervix, we need to find out a subtle way to ask if the husband is a “one baller,” We need to find out who has fully gone through menopause (not just the beginnings, we can’t rely on her hot flashes, maybe contact her gynecologist and see what they say.) In the case of all couples (even same sex) I suggest learning about their financial affairs. Specifically we need to know if families in question are in the black by at least 100k so we can determine if they have the financial resources to pursue future adoption or have continuous rounds of IVF. When the homeowners leave the room, don’t miss the opportunity to dig through any papers that look important. If we are going to make generalizations on pure speculations, we need to do this right.

By: CH Family

CH Family — Wed, 05 Feb 2014 01:32:33 +0000

Paggwyd, when you put it that way, this potential annexation of 76 homes is even more concerning. And thank you for saying it – it’s primarily the schools that are the driving factor in this annexation. Along with not wanting to be city-less in DeKalb, I’d guess.

By: CH Family

CH Family — Wed, 05 Feb 2014 01:29:34 +0000

You may have a point, but Dunwoody and Brookhaven are not intown cities and currently do not compare with Decatur at all. But yes, it will be interesting to see how the “schools thing” plays out as new cities are created.

By: CH Family

CH Family — Wed, 05 Feb 2014 01:26:49 +0000

So very well stated.

By: Paggwyd

Paggwyd — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 23:29:37 +0000

People in the City of Decatur surely understand that the motivation for this petition is the high quality City of Decatur schools. The homes in Parkwood are large sized 3 and 4 bedroom houses. If you want to know the true impact of allowing this annexation, a more relevant question to ask is how many children in the Parkwood neighborhood are under the age of 5? To project the impact of future house sales in this neighborhood, you might ask how many of the houses purchased in Parkwood within the last three years were purchased by families with young children?

By: smith

smith — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 21:13:51 +0000

Forty years ago Decatur schools were considered substandard. Many people wanted them discarded and merged into the county. Luckily, our elected representatives took a long range view and maintained the independent system. This annexation argument requires the same long-range view. The City should consider any residential annexation request that has a long-range upside. The Parkwood neighborhood has homes that have sold in the $1M range. The lots are larger than just about anywhere except maybe Glennwood Estates. I’d call that upside.

By: brianc

brianc — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 18:38:00 +0000

I think it’s pretty unlikely that we’ll see new school systems, but it’s not like all of the schools in DeKalb are bad (far from it), or that the system can’t turn it around.