October 20, 2008
Linda Schultz 

Fulton County School Board

District 1 News
Greetings! 
                                                                             
Linda's pictureThis e-newsletter highlights current topics and events in Roswell schools. To find out more, please join me at my informal monthly community meetings. Our discussions range from local schools to national issues. Finally, you can always email or phone me to discuss concerns. I welcome your feedback!
Community Meeting Schedule
 
Tuesday, Nov. 18, 9:30am
Hembree Springs Elementary
 
My schedule for the school year is posted on the Fulton County website.
In This Issue
Redistricting Update
Constitutional Amendments on Ballot
Charter Schools Update
Quick Links
 
Join my Mailing List!
 
Redistricting Update
There will be a redistricting beginning this October for the area west of Ga 400. The Birmingham Road elementary school site will open in Fall 2009, plus we may have a few extra classrooms available from the additions to the Roswell schools. .
 
Each time a redistricting effort is under way, the school system holds three rounds of meetings to gather information needed to draft a redistricting proposal that best meets the community's needs. Fulton uses a unique process that encourages public discussion before developing a proposal. This allows the community to have maximum input on how the proposed attendance lines are created. More details about this process are outlined on the Fulton County website.
 
All three redistricting meetings will be held at Milton Center (formerly Milton High School at 86 School Drive, Alpharetta) from 7-9pm (get directions). The dates are:
  • Round One - October 23
  • Round Two - November 13
  • Round Three - December 10 

During the meetings, community members will review the school board's redistricting criteria - primary and secondary - and can comment on residential development, traffic, previous redistricting, special programs and other issues relevant to the criteria used for redrawing attendance lines.

Primary Criteria

  • Geographic Proximity - Distance traveled using available routes of transportation.
  • Instructional Capacity - Number of students who can be accommodated at the school, taking into account the number of classrooms and resource rooms needed for art, music, laboratories, English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), special education and Talented and Gifted (TAG) programs.
  • Projected Enrollment - Number of students assigned to a school taking into account the future projected enrollment.
Secondary Criteria

When primary criteria indicate more than one option, the options should be evaluated on the basis of:
  • Traffic Patterns - Factors impacting accessibility of the school from all portions of the attendance zone, including travel time, traffic flow in the area, safe operation of school buses and other safety considerations.
  • Previous Rezoning - The school system seeks to avoid rezoning neighborhoods more than once during a three-year period if facility sizes and geographic distribution of student populations allow.
  • Special Programs - Special programs are those serving children with special needs that require use of additional space over and above a regular classroom. Where possible, the school system avoids setting attendance zones that would place a disproportionate number of special programs at a school.
  • School Feeder Alignment - Where possible, consideration is given to the alignment of elementary, middle and high school attendance boundaries.
If you are unable to attend a meeting, you will be able to view the presentations and proposed maps, plus provide feedback online at the FCS Redistricting website.
Constitutional Amendments on Ballot
 
Three Constitutional Amendments are on the ballot this year. The following analysis is provided by the Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA).
 
Amendment 1 - Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to provide that the General Assembly by general law shall encourage the preservation, conservation, and protection of the state's forests through the special assessment and taxation of certain forest lands and assistance grants to local governments?
 
If passed, this would provide a tax break to individuals and corporations that preserve land as forests rather than develop it. The property owner must enter into a 15 year conservation use covenant, and the land is then taxed based on current use rather than the potential development value.
 
The state is to reimburse local governments and school boards for most of the lost revenue. If the overall tax digest for a local government is reduced by 3% or less with this change, the state will reimburse them for half the loss. For any loss above 3%, cities, counties and school are to receive full reimbursement from the state.
 
During testimony on the bill, it was stated that the potential cost to the state for reimbursements would be $34 million. Local governments and school boards would have an non-reimbursed cost of $20 million. This amendment obviously affects some areas of the state more than others. Many school boards are concerned about the state's ability to fund these reimbursements over the long term. Therefore, GSBA opposes this amendment.
 
Amendment 2 - Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize community redevelopment and authorize counties, municipalities, and local boards of education to use tax funds for redevelopment purposes and programs?
 
If passed, this would allow local boards of education to participate in tax allocation districts (TADs). TADs are an economic development financing tool that freezes the property values within the district for a fixed number of years, while the taxes on the appreciated values are used to pay for redevelopment of the property. The Georgia Supreme Court ruled in February 2008 that it was unconstitutional for school funds to be used in this way. The Constitution currently restricts use of funds raised for education to be used for educational purposes. If this amendment passes, use of school funds is extended to include redevelopment.
 
GSBA does not have a position on this. Supporters believe the redevelopment could provide an increase in the future tax base. The local board can negotiate the terms of the agreement. Objections usually center around diverting school taxes for redevelopment, and/or diverting public money for private projects.
 
Amendment 3 - Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize the General Assembly to provide by general law for the creation and comprehensive regulation of infrastructure development districts for the provision of infrastructure as authorized by local governments?
 
Special infrastructure development districts (IDDs) could be created to pay for infrastructure within a development area. Fees are assessed to those who live within the IDD for those improvements. There is no loss of revenue to local school boards when an IDD is created. GSBA does not have a position on this.
 
 
 
Charter Schools
The Board of Education approved these charter petitions and amendments this month.
 
Amana Academy - Amana Academy's charter was renewed for five years. The K - 8 elementary and middle school is located in Alpharetta. Their curriculum choices include the Connected Mathematics Project (CMP), integrated science offerings and a distinct Arabic Language Program featuring a dual language (English and Arabic) curriculum in limited single gender classrooms. The Amana instructional approaches are rooted in the Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound (ELOB) techniques.

The petition features two significant changes:
  • Reduction of class sizes to 21 in 1st through 8th grades,
  • Increase the number of elected parents on the Governing Board from four (4) to six (6) resulting in a parent majority on that board.

Hapeville Middle Charter - Hapeville's charter was renewed for 10 years. The school received a $3.2 million grant from the Dept. of Technical and Adult Education to create a Career Academy serving students in grades 9-12. The high school will partner with Atlanta Technical College to offer dual enrollment opportunities.

Spalding Drive Charter - This conversion elementary charter school is located in Sandy Springs and offers a technology enriched curriculum. The renewal was approved for 5 years.
 
Sandy Springs Middle - This new conversion charter school was approved for a five year term. The school plans to offer an arts infused curriculum via a more intensive middle school experience. Mandatory school uniforms, parental involvement, and a modified school day with enhanced enrichment and cafeteria offerings complete the proposal.
 
Connected Academy - Connected Academy is a system start-up charter serving grades 11-12. It is located at Milton Center in Alpharetta. An amendment was approved to expand the grade levels offered in the school. Ninth graders will be allowed beginning in 2009-10, and 10th graders would be allowed beginning in 2010-11.
 
North Springs Charter - An amendment was approved to accept out-of-system students at North Springs (located in Sandy Springs), if space is available. First priority for placement is given to students within the North Springs attendance zone. Second priority is students living in the Fulton County School district. Transportation is provided only for students who are accepted to one of the Magnet programs. Third priority is students living outside the Fulton County School district. These students will have to provide transportation, and pay to reimburse FCS costs. A similar practice has been in place at Riverwood High for several years.