Overview
- The Student Assignment Project released on Feb. 12 outlines closing 26 elementary schools and shutting Cedar Grove Middle School, converting Cedar Grove, Lithonia, and Towers high schools into middle schools, and converting Champion Theme, McNair, Bethune, Miller Grove, and Lithonia middle schools into elementary schools.
- Officials describe the scenarios as conversation starters, with public input now open and a DeKalb County Board of Education vote expected this fall; if approved, changes would roll out over six to eight years.
- District data show only 83% of elementary seats and 79% of middle school seats were filled in 2024–2025, with about 4,000 high school seats sitting empty.
- Projections anticipate further declines by 2030 equal to roughly four high schools’ worth of seats, guiding a system-wide approach that weighs building adequacy, proximity, capacity, and recent capital investments.
- The district says consolidation would concentrate staff and programs such as arts, music, and athletics, increase access to social workers, and improve bus efficiency, while emphasizing that no decisions are final.