Over the protests of some parents, Atlanta's Board of Education votes to close Adamsville Primary School and Whitefoord Elementary School this summer.
Superintendent Meria Carstarphen's plan also repurposes Miles Intermediate School as an elementary school.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports dozens of parents urged the board Monday night to vote down the restructuring, arguing the upheaval is not in students' best interest.
Carstarphen maintains the system must streamline to cut costs and maximize efficiency.
"We're not rolling in the dough," she tells the AJC.
Board members expressed concern about class size and potential blight from empty buildings. Steven Lee and Byron Amos cast both no votes.
"I do not think merging two struggling schools into one larger school is what's best for children," Lee stated at the meeting.
While there had been some early discussion of combining Benteen and D.H. Stanton Elementary Schools, that was not included in the final plan the board voted to approve.
Carstarphen says she is evaluating future uses of the buildings that will be vacated.
"I don't ever want to close schools or consolidate but we're in a special situation," she tells parents and the board. "I'm hopeful these changes are going to make a difference for our district."