A DeKalb County school bus (FOX 5)
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - DeKalb County School District leaders are unveiling a new round of proposed school changes Friday, restarting a closely watched process that could reshape dozens of campuses.
What we know:
District officials released the second round of Student Assignment Project (SAP) scenarios during a 10 a.m. press conference on Friday, following weeks of community backlash over an earlier proposal that included closing 27 schools.
Unlike the first round, the new scenarios are cluster-specific and reflect feedback from more than 3,000 survey responses and eight community meetings. The updated plan also adds long-awaited details on capital improvements and potential alternative uses for any schools that may close.
District leaders say the changes are driven by declining enrollment and underused space across the system.
Officials say the district currently has about 90,000 students but more than 110,000 available seats — including roughly 18,000 empty seats across all grade levels.
Leaders have outlined several challenges, including rising costs to operate under-enrolled schools, overcrowding at others, and the need to balance attendance zones. They say consolidating schools could allow more resources — like arts programs, counselors and student services — to be concentrated in fewer buildings.
The district emphasized that no final decisions have been made. A third and final round of scenarios is expected in April, with a final decision on closures anticipated in fall 2026.
Following Friday’s announcement, DeKalb Schools will hold a series of community meetings to gather additional feedback. Six in-person sessions are scheduled at high schools across the county from March 23 through March 30, along with two virtual meetings on March 23 and March 27.
Click here for more information about the meetings.
Click here to provide feedback through the Round 2 survey.
District leaders acknowledged the process will be difficult for families but say changes are necessary to better align resources and programs with student needs.