ATLANTA — A vote on the controversial Atlanta Public Schools closing plan has taken place. Within the last 30 minutes, school board members approved a plan to close certain schools.
Parents packed into two rooms at APS headquarters to address their concerns about the plan.
Superintendent Meria Carstarphen was excited about the decision, saying the district was being bold and thoughtful with their plans for restructuring schools within the district.
Board members voted 7-2 to approve Carstarphen’s recommendations to close or consolidate several schools.
The meeting lasted more than four hours.
Many of the speakers during the public comment section urged the board to vote no on the proposal.
Opponents were concerned about racism, class size, abandoned buildings and the takeover of charter schools.
"We want all of the initiatives that come here to Adamasville to be given an opportunity to work, and they're pulling the rugs not from under our feet, but from under the children's feet," paraprofessional Gwendolyn Tate told Channel 2’s Rikki Klaus.
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"I'm excited for the community. I did make some big changes in the process. I really shifted some of the recommendations after learning more about our communities, and I'm just really proud of the work that we've done, and I'm hopeful that it's going to continue to have the kind of impact and inspire hope," Carstarphen said.
Carstarphen said the changes are necessary because the district is under-enrolled and infrastructure is too large, creating an inefficient and expensive system.
The board approved the closings of Whiteford Elementary, Adamsville Primary, Harper-Archer Middle School, Town Elementary and Margaret A. Fain Elementary.
The district approved restructuring of Miles Intermediate as a Pre K-5 school, relocated Best Academy to the Coretta Scott King Academy for Women’s leadership and also approved creating a new middle school at the Best campus.
Cox Media Group
