Dive Brief:
- Atlanta Public Schools could repurpose up to 17 schools — mostly impacting elementary grades — in three scenarios being presented to the community by the district.
- The additional details on the district's long-term facilities plan come as just 50,000 students are enrolled in 87 schools with a total capacity of 70,000 seats.
- The Facilities Master Plan Community Task Force plans to deliver its final recommendation to the school board on Oct. 9. In the meantime, the district is holding in-person and virtual public meetings, and conducting a community survey, about the potential school consolidation.
Dive Insight:
Atlanta's draft plans demonstrate how it and other large districts are beginning to move forward with school closings and consolidations amid declining enrollment.
The Georgia district first announced it was considering closures and redistricting in early August, describing the move as a “bold and necessary effort.”
Other districts are beginning to reveal similar details as the new school year begins.
Austin Independent School District will have to consider closing 12 schools that have received three consecutive unacceptable ratings from the state, Superintendent Matias Segura said in a Friday letter to families. Should any of the schools be consolidated, Segura said, the district would have to evaluate staffing.
Segura’s letter follows the district’s announcement in August that it would eye school consolidations as soon as the 2026-27 academic year given an enrollment decline of over 10,000 students within the past decade.
