SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — A community is fighting to keep an elementary school from closing after Fulton County school system officials cited low enrollment.
The district’s deputy chief operations officer has proposed shutting down two schools: Spalding Drive Elementary in Sandy Springs and Parklane Elementary in East Point.
Spalding Drive Elementary was built to house 550 students but now has only 349, and the school district projects that number to drop even further.
“What makes Spalding Drive so special is that it is small,” said parent Claudia Stillwagon. “It allows for that one-on-one attention when a kid needs it. It allows the teachers to thrive and feel successful in the classroom.”
Parents and community members have started a petition that has garnered more than 1,500 signatures. They point to the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement which shows the school performs better in several academic metrics than neighboring schools.
Emily Bell has three students enrolled in Spalding Drive Elementary.
“We just have something really special going on here,” she said. “We’re a very tight-knit community, and it would be such a loss for the whole area if we were to close.”
Yngrid Huff, the district’s deputy chief operations officer, presented the proposal to the Fulton County Board of Education. She said enrollment is declining throughout the district, creating excess classroom space. The board policy says elementary schools with fewer than 450 students are ‘administratively expensive to maintain, operationally inefficient, and cannot effectively support the staff and resources needed for an optimal educational program.’
Huff said the district has nine schools with fewer than 450 students, and she recommended closing two of them. She also noted the age of Spalding Drive Elementary, which was built in 1966. Huff said the district has successfully closed schools in recent years.
“Each of these closures has provided financial and operational benefits,” she said. “But most importantly, our students and communities have thrived in newer, more efficient and vibrant school environments.”
The Fulton County Board of Education plans to hold public hearings on the proposal in October, November and December. The board will get a formal recommendation in February and vote on the proposal. Any changes would go into effect during the 2025-26 school year.
Many parents say Spalding Drive Elementary is not only a high-achieving school, it’s racially diverse. Parent Nora Robb calls the school irreplaceable.
“This is absolutely the most important thing in the lives of many people in this community right now, because this is our children, and our children love this school,” she said.