CITY COUNCIL
POLICE
Residents focus City to form on road safety SWAT team ► PAGE 3
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D e c e m b e r 5 , 2 0 2 4 | A p p e n M e d i a . c o m | A n A p p e n M e d i a G r o u p P u b l i c a t i o n | 5 0 ¢ | Vo l u m e 3 , N o . 4 9
Atlanta begins repairs to road closed to traffic since Sept. 27 HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com
JACOB TOMBERLIN/APPEN MEDIA
A new open enrollment policy from Fulton County School allows transfers without a hardship. While the measure has drawn parent support, a potential redistricting of Sandy Springs elementary schools could lead to a partially frozen region, reinforcing preexisting issues of declining enrollment.
School open enrollment policy turns heads Affected parents cite irony The Change of School Assignment process, governed by School Board in transfer rule restrictions “Policy JBCD,” took effect in August. It By AMBER PERRY amber@appenmedia.com
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The Fulton County School District’s new transfer policy is turning heads, seen as a solution to declining enrollment but also an end unto itself for some.
allows student transfers for any reason. Previously, students had to file with a hardship or through options made available by state law. The catch? Schools in the region undergoing redistricting are barred from the benefit of wide-open tranfers, a frustrating stipulation for parents in
Sandy Springs who face the threatened closure of Spalding Drive Elementary School. The facility’s aging building is experiencing a dwindling student population. Current plans are to consolidate Sandy Springs elementary students. Parents also say the timeline is a crunch.
See SCHOOL, Page 12
ATLANTA — After nearly two months of barricades, Atlanta Watershed Management crews began pipe and roadway repair Nov. 18 on a sinkhole at 4504 Lake Forrest Drive. The sinkhole formed during Hurricane Helene Sept. 26 and affected traffic in north Atlanta and southern Sandy Springs. Work is anticipated to last about seven weeks and conclude by the second week of January. When the sinkhole formed, Lake Forrest Drive neighbors grumbled about a days-long road closure. It’s been two months, and the roadway is still closed to vehicles. Since Sept. 27, Lake Forrest Drive has been closed from Chastain Park Drive to Barbara Lane. Georgia Department of Transportation data shows some 8,000 motorists travel the major collector road daily. Metro Atlanta was almost entirely spared the brunt of the storm’s high winds, but many areas recorded heavy downpours. Metro Atlanta rainfall reached nearly 12 inches from Tuesday, Sept. 24 to Friday, Sept. 27. The storm exacerbated flooding around Nancy and Peachtree creeks and left residents around Chastain Park with a traffic nightmare.
See SINKHOLE, Page 10