Fulton County Schools held a groundbreaking ceremony Oct. 28 for the elementary school being constructed on Ison Road. The 126,612-square-foot school will use the same design as the new Lake Forest Elementary School and is part of a redistricting plan to alleviate overcrowding in Sandy Springs schools.
Dist. 3 Board of Education member Gail Dean said the planned opening of the school next August will fulfill a mandate set forth by voters to remove portable classrooms from schools in the district.
The school is being built with special-option local sales tax (SPLOST) money.
“I’m thrilled. All of ours schools are going to be small neighborhood schools in Sandy Springs,” Dean said.
Fulton Schools Superintendent Cindy Loe thanked Dean and school board President Julia Bernath — who like Dean represents Sandy Springs — for their efforts to address overcrowding in the city.
Sandy Springs is in the area of the county with the highest percentage of overcrowding in elementary schools, Loe said.
Heleya Motahari, the president of the Spalding Drive Charter Elementary School PTA, said the new school will provide much-needed relief to her school.
“It’s good to send your kid to a public school that can provide,” she said.
Bernath called the creation of the school a “community effort.”
“I think it’s going to continue to enhance the quality of life here,” she said. “We’re fortunate to live in a community where people value education.”
Sandy Springs Mayor Eva Galambos said: “I think this is wonderful. I hope it draws more people to the public schools. I think public schools are just fundamental to the community.”
— Gerhard Schneibel