Ranking of Priorities 

Priority One

•          Propose boundaries that will be functional for 10 years based on forecasted enrollment. 

•          Attempt to assign students to schools located closest to their homes. Allow K-8 students to walk where possible.  The proximity of ES’s to MS’s should be maximized.

•          Attempt to maximize/keep the school feeder concept intact. No more split feeders.  Clusters only.

•          When evaluating consolidation/closure scenarios and determining which facilities should be retained vs. closed, consideration should be given to minimizing disruption to established educational programming (retain existing IB programs, magnet schools, etc.) 

•          Ensure student safety and transportation efficiency by using major highway corridors and geographic features as zone boundaries. Give weight to traffic patterns, energy efficiency, etc. Consider time spent on buses. 

•          Assume NAHS capacity of 2400. 

•          Minimize impacts on areas that have been redistricted within the last three years.

•          Recommend school consolidation/closures in areas where forecasted enrollment does not support multiple schools.

•          Attempt to avoid splitting neighborhoods. (Neighborhood boundaries are determined by generally accepted definitions used by the City of Atlanta).

Priority Two 

•          Favor the retention of newer/larger facilities which have benefitted from recent capital investment in expansion or renovation. 

•          Retain more accessible, less congested school sites which have better transportation access and can accommodate future long-term expansion beyond the forecast period of this study.

•          When consolidating, to the extent possible, avoid closing a high performing school to send children to a lower performing school.

•          Don’t eliminate an IB school within an IB cluster.

•          Retain ES splitting (K-3, 4-5) as a planning tool.

•          Consider SPLOST funded school expansions as a planning tool. 

•          Be careful in moving students from high performing ES’s to low performing MS’s.

•          Balance current utilization of retained buildings to 80% to 90% of capacity.  

•          In at least one model, minimize the number of transfers across the board.

Priority Three

•          Before closing a school, consider the robustness of its partner support.

•          No K-8 schools planning until Board reviews/resolves policy issues.

•          Eliminate the 9th Grade Academy as a stand alone facility.