OPINION
Area leaders should learn from new housing law ► PAGE 9
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Sandy Springs staff budgets for a runoff election By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Sandy Springs is budgeting a few hundred thousand dollars for election services in case of a runoff this fall. The May 6 announcement came from City Manager Eden Freeman during the first of three workshops for the fiscal year 2026 budget. “We are projecting a $300,000 cost in case there is a runoff election,” Freeman
said. “You all will recall that the Public Service Commission has an election this fall, so we are not having to pay for a full citywide election for mayor and City Council races this year,” Sandy Springs, approaching its 20th anniversary as the state’s seventh most populous city, holds non-partisan municipal elections every four years. All seats on the City Council and the mayor’s position are up for election at the same time. The mayoral race already has five
candidates who have declared their intentions or filed financial paperwork. Residents vote for the representative in their district, while the mayor’s race is citywide. Mayor Rusty Paul is the incumbent, running for his fourth term against council members Jody Reichel and Andy Bauman. Alex Somer and local business owner Dontaye Carter, who received a third of the vote in 2021, are also running for the mayoral seat. If the candidates for mayor or a
council seat fail to receive a majority of the votes cast, a runoff is held between the two candidates receiving the most votes. State law requires the runoff to be held 28 days after the general election, or Dec. 2. Sandy Springs Communications Director Carter Long said the $300,000 would be paid to the county to administer the runoff.
See RUNOFF, Page 12
Fulton County Schools to use Spalding site for offices, museum
By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — After shuttering Spalding Drive Elementary this February, Fulton County Schools announced plans to convert the building into administrative offices and a consolidated teaching museum. The district said a group of parents reached out shortly after the closure with a proposal, which was shared with district leadership and board members, for a charter school at the Spalding Drive site. State law requires the school district to consider facility use options, including potential charter school partnerships, when a building is no longer in operation. Eventually, Fulton County Schools (FCS) opted against the charter option, saying it came to a decision that best supports its “instructional and operational priorities across the district.”
See SPALDING, Page 12
FULTON COUNTY SCHOOLS/PROVIDED
Spalding Drive Elementary School, which the Fulton County School Board voted to shutter earlier this year, is set to become a new teaching museum and administrative offices for Fulton County Schools. A group of Spalding Drive parents said the school district has misplaced priorities after shuttering the high-performing school and declining a charter school proposal.
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