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This is where South Fulton comes to talk on the web. Please add your name to your blog so that we may keep track of all the comments. Register to create a user name. You do not have to create a site. Visit http://www.southfultonliving.com for more information on what's going on in South Fulton County. If you want to continue an older topic select the November 2006 tab below.
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This is where South Fulton comes to talk on the web. Please add your name to your blog so that we may keep track of all the comments. Register to create a user name. You do not have to create a site. Visit http://www.southfultonliving.com for more information on what's going on in South Fulton County. If you want to continue an older topic select the November 2006 tab below.
24 comments:
Here is a quote from a resident (B. Crane) in the AJC today: "The voters of south Fulton spoke today. They made it clear they want to have a city controlled by six commissioners who don't live in south Fulton County."
Has one person been interviewed who stated "I voted NO because I want to have a city controlled by six commissioners who don't live in south Fulton County." Of course not.
Could it be that residents were concerned with:
- Challenges of starting a a new city
- Service delivery
- The tax millage rate being higher in most existing South Fulton cities such as East Point
- Problems experienced by the newly formed North Fulton cities.
- Virtually turning over management to a firm that is already stretched with supporting other cities.
- Tactics and behavior of those who would likely run for office in the new city
What a terrible and lacking article that insults the intelligence of 85% of our South Fulton voters. Please write D.L. Bennett and express your displeasure. The article does not accurately reflect the mindset of our community.
Should we push legislators for a township option now?
Is our next big fight a split of the county?
A township option is what we should have pushed for from the beginning. It provides more local control, which is what proponents of the city of South Fulton advocated.
I voted against incorporation because I did not want to adopt the burden of providing services to FIB, and increase my tax base just to support someone's business adventures. I moved down here 13 years ago, and have seen this area be come more densely populated over the last 5 years than O am willing to put up with. I used to hear silence after sundown but now I am bombarded with radios, loud exhaust, and high beams in my windows
The reality is people just didn't trust the planning of the SFCC organization.
Now Atlanta is trying to take our schools for a system that doesn't have enough students to support the schools it has.
Atlanta is trying to take the schools? That's interesting. They said earlier 1) they didn't have the money for the schools; 2) APS is actually losing students every year, so it wouldn't make sense to purchase the schools; and 3) they weren't annexing enough students (approx 700) to purchase 3 schools even if they had the money. There's video of the South Fulton town hall meeting online: www.southfultonliving.com and www.westcascade.org. I think it's in the third segment.
And Fulton County Schools has said from day one they're not selling the schools.
State law doesn't allow a county to operate schools within cities that have independent school districts. Atlanta, Decatur, Marietta, and Gainsville operate independent school districts. So it doesn't matter if they want them or not. Under state law they can not be operated by the county. At one time the old Southwest High (now Young Middle) was a county school until Atlanta annexed the area.
That doesn't mean Atlanta has to purchase the schools. That just means Fulton County can't operate them (in other words, they would be shut down). That was a point I brought up in earlier posts.
Atlanta has already said they would just move the annexed students into their existing schools (which makes sense - why purchase three schools for 700 students?). But no one seems to care about the 4,000+ students still in Fulton County that would have to be moved out to... where? There's no where for them to go...
So in other words, we're supposed to annex to: 1) pay higher property taxes; 2) pay higher sales tax; 3) pay a higher garbage rate; and in return we get: 1) a city with a police shortage; 2) Fickett, Bunche and Therrell; 3) to displace 4,000+ students from FCSS; and 4)to put a few more black voters in the city of Atlanta with the hopes that the marginal gains by annexation won't be wiped out by the massive amounts of white people moving into the city limits before the next mayoral election.
And we're rushing to annex because.... ???
Fulton County also said they weren't going to let the students go either. But when Kasim Reed brokered a deal with Atlanta Schools to pay for annexed students who want to stay in Fulton, FCS said no.
The real problem in focusing on APS is we lose sight of how FCS is letting our students down. As folks fan the flames of fears of APS, they fail to invest the time in holding Fulton Schools the system they seem to want unconditionally, unaccountable.
And another thing...I just don't get it folks. You want to stay in Fulton Schools but you don't bother to hold them accountable or even attend School Board Meetings.
It is shameful how you allow Fulton Schools to play you and don't bother to make them do anything about the huge achievement gap between north and south Fulton schools.
They throw you a bone of a new school or two and all you want to do is fight to stay on the plantation.
This is like the battered wife syndrome. You don't know when to leave so you just stay and take the beatings. Sadly its our children who will bear the consuquences of our folly.
SFG
Why would Fulton County Schools let them stay? The schools are overcrowded, teachers have to park next door to Sandtown Middle School and walk over to the school because there isn't enough parking due to all of the trailers in the parking lot, and yet FCS is supposed to let Atlanta students stay in their overcrowded schools rather than the students going to APS? All of this while Atlanta is trying to annex the schools, thereby forcing FCS to find somewhere else to house 4,000 students?
As far as "our children bearing the consequences," what are the consequences of 3 Fulton County Schools being annexed into Atlanta and 4,000+ students having no where to go?
Its amazing how SFG defends Atlanta and its problems. Sounds exactly like someone I know.
The Sandtown annexation map was drawn to PUNISH the rest of the community for NOT following the SCA lead. Otherwise why would it include the schools?
By the way word on the street--- Guilford Forest wants to deannex from Atlanta.
HELLO!!! There are no trailers anymore in the parking lot at Sandtown MS. All of the trailers were removed from the parking lot last summer as the overcrowding was alleviated by the opening of the new Middle School in South Fulton.
This is precisely the issue I have with folks that adore Fulton Schools unconditionally and have no inkling what is going on in them. You have folks making statements and reaching conclusions based on inaccurate information either through ignorance or by design.
The Sandtown annexation map was not drawn to punish anyone. Sandtown simply wanted manageable sized community schools.
Sandtown fought for the Middle School to be built when Fulton Schools said there was no need for it and the truth is Roger Bruce did not want it there either.
Sandtown was overcrowded because special interest groups drew the largest attendance zone in the entire county for any middle school for Sandtown. Parents were driving past Bear Creek MS and Camp Creek MS to send their kids to Sandtown MS.
Instead of raising the bar for all South Fulton Schools so their kids could attend the existing two middle schools in their area, they'd rather go to the new brick and mortar as though the building determines the caliber of education.
Unfortunately the outcome of academic performance in new building they want to send their kids to soo badly to once again was not making AYP. But that doesn’t matter at least the floors are shiny.
Furthermore Sandtown fought for all of South Fulton Schools and now that the group has been ostracized for their position, there is virtually no one advocating for South Fulton Schools.
Sadly people would rather spend their energy shooting at Sandtown rather than actually doing something about the achievement gap and performance in South Fulton Schools.
If you want to continue to drink the Roger Bruce Kool-aide, do so at your own peril.
Lastly folks that are pursuing deannexation are once again falling victim to politicians playing to them in an effort that simply will not prevail.
Sadly the politicians are pandering to folks who don't know any better how difficult it is to deannex and still believe everything they are told without confirming the facts for themselves.
At the end of the day when deannexation efforts fail after folks throw away their money like South Fulton Concerned Citizens did on legal fees, Roger Bruce and Bill Edwards will tell you they did all they could, but those city lawyers were just too strong for them.
You'll give them a pass because that's what black folks do with their black elected officials.
For those interested in the facts, here is the list of huge requirements necessary to deannex.
1) 100% of all residents not 60% must agree to deannex.
2) Fulton County must assess their capacity to service the area and the majority of commissioners must vote to accept the area back.
3) The Atlanta City Council must vote to allow those residents to go back into unincorporated Fulton.
You can blame folks all you want for advocating for what they believe is right for the community, but what are you advocating for and more importantly want are you actually doing to bring it about.
Before you spread the hype, fear and hysteria of your elected officials, check out the facts for yourself:
O.C.G.A. § 36-36-22
GEORGIA CODE
Copyright 2007 by The State of Georgia
All rights reserved.
*** Current through the 2007 Regular Session ***
TITLE 36. LOCAL GOVERNMENT
PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS ONLY
CHAPTER 36. ANNEXATION OF TERRITORY
ARTICLE 2. ANNEXATION PURSUANT TO APPLICATION BY 100 PERCENT OF LANDOWNERS
O.C.G.A. § 36-36-22 (2007)
§ 36-36-22. Deannexation; authority; procedures; identification; status of lands
Authority is granted to the governing bodies of the several municipal corporations of this state to deannex an area or areas of the existing corporate limits thereof, in accordance with the procedures provided in this article and in Article 1 of this chapter, upon the written and signed applications of all of the owners of all of the land, except the owners of any public street, road, highway, or right of way, proposed to be deannexed, containing a complete description of the lands to be deannexed and the adoption of a resolution by the governing authority of the county in which such property is located consenting to such deannexation. Lands to be deannexed at any one time shall be treated as one body, regardless of the number of owners, and all parts shall be considered as adjoining the limits of the municipal corporation when any one part of the entire body abuts such limits. When such application is acted upon by the municipal authorities and the land is, by ordinance, deannexed from the municipal corporation, an identification of the property so deannexed shall be filed with the Department of Community Affairs and with the governing authority of the county in which the property is located in accordance with Code Section 36-36-3. When so deannexed, such lands shall cease to constitute a part of the lands within the corporate limits of the municipal corporation as completely and fully as if the limits had been marked and defined by local Act of the General Assembly.
HISTORY: Code 1981, § 36-36-22, enacted by Ga. L. 1994, p. 652, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 164, § 7.
Title Note
Chapter Note
Article Note
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/research/xlink?app=00075&view=full&searchtype=get&search=O.C.G.A.+%A7+36-36-22
Actually, the annexations (all but a couple of subdivisions) took place approximately 9 months before the new school opened. Parents were asking from day one for their children to stay in Fulton County Schools, and Fulton County Schools said no from the very beginning. What you're referring to is a school that JUST opened, and is just now alleviating the overcrowding in FCS. What I referred to was parents who signed petitions to annex, knowing their children would be in APS, thinking they were taking the schools with them, and then wanting their kids to stay in Fulton County schools once they realized this was not going to happen, and being upset when the answer was NO.
As far as the building vs. the education is concerned, if Fulton County Schools is so inferior, WHY are parents asking to keep their kids there rather than sending them to APS schools?
S White,
People want to keep their kids in Fulton Schools becasue of ignorance about how bad things are in South Fulton Schools and they are too lazy to check the facts.
Just like you thought there were still 14 trailers in the parking lot at Sandtown MS, many folks when they look at the facts are surprised to hear Fickett Elementary scores are better than A. Philip Randolph and Bunche scores are far better than Sandtown Middle school that has yet to make AYP.
Therrell H.S. has a history of having lower scores, but was part of Atlanta's school transformation program this year. It will be interesting to see how the scores improve this and upcoming years at Therrell.
By the way how do you know what people who signed the annexation petitions were thinking? Did you sign the petition?
Who annointed you to speak for these folks or are you just pimping people's fears like Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton, Roger Bruce or Bill Edwards?
Why can't these parents speak for themselves or are you actually a parent of a student instead of a political wannabe at the AWCC?
Why are you in such denial of the problems of Fulton Schools?
Why do you think that Fulton Schools was under court desegrattion oversight for thirty years?
What is your solution for the achievement gap since you want to stay in Fulton Schools so badly?
Do you bus your children three hours a day to and from north Fulton? Is that your solution?
Actually, I didn't "think there were still 14 trailers." As I said before, annexations into Atlanta: Fall 2006. New school opens and trailers removed: Fall 2007. The parents were asking to stay in the schools long before the trailers were removed. That was my whole point in the beginning. They're asking to stay in the schools, while teachers have to walk to the campus because of the trailers. The fact that the trailers were removed the FOLLOWING school year is nice, but the bottom line is if you're asking me to stay and I don't have room, the answer is no, regardless of what's going to happen next year. And if Fulton County was doing them a favor by forcing them to go to APS schools, then why did you even bring it up?
As far as being "in denial," it seems that you're in denial about APS. The reality is that BOTH school systems have their problems. Just as Atlanta and Fulton County both have their problems.
And in response to how I know what people were thinking, it's called ATTENDING MEETINGS and LISTENING TO WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING.
Were you at Regency Park when it was stated that Randolph, Sandtown and Westlake would become APS schools? This was said in front of Shirley Franklin, and yet no one seemed to care that the Atlanta Board of Education NEVER at any point stated they wanted those schools (and eventually said they would NOT purchase them from FCS).
As far as the "political wannabe" comment, I would respond in-kind, but I stopped name-calling in elementary school.
So what are you doing to improve Fulton Schools S. White? Were you at the School Board Meeting last night?
Factoid: The number of students that left Sandtown MS due to annexations was negligible. Less that 230 students total left from Randolph ES, Snadtown MS and Westlake HS put together due to annexation into Atlanta. Clearly that IS NOT why more than a fraction of the trailers went away.
You might want to go back and re-read. No one said the trailers left because of the annexations (thus the phrase "new school opens and trailers removed").
As far as what I'm doing to "improve Fulton Schools," I’m a Grants Administrator by trade, so the majority of the work I’ve done in Fulton County AND Atlanta schools has to do with grants - prospect research, grant writing, program development, program management (APS – $1 million, 5-year 21st Century Community Learning Center grant for Brown Middle School), etc. I’ve also met with Fulton County teachers and staff on an individual basis to find out about their current and proposed projects and financial needs, and I started research over the summer to ascertain whether or not a new or existing foundation or organization would be beneficial to obtain grants and donations, fundraise for scholarships, etc. for schools in South Fulton. And I’ve contributed directly to students – giving a computer to one student last year, and school supplies and “mini-scholarships” to students who are on their way to college. The foundation/organization would just be a way to do things on a larger scale.
As far as the meetings go, I do the same with Fulton County School Board meetings that I do with Fulton County Board of Commissioners meetings – I make it when I can, I watch it online when I can’t make it, and I call and send emails.
It’s not just about being in the “spotlight” so you can say you’re doing something. Sometimes trying to bring money to the schools is a little more efficient than just complaining about them not having enough money.
Oh, and by "Fulton County teachers and staff," I don't mean ALL Fulton County teachers and staff - it seems some people like to misconstrue my comments, so I should probably clarify that up front.
Residents in those 7,000 acres originally supposed to be a part of Chattahoochee Hills have their petition ready to annex from unincorporated South Fulton into CHC as soon as it officially becomes a city on December 1st. Does anyone know if there is opposition to that annexation too?
HB2 that Commissioner Edwards touts as giving the county more teeth in opposing annexations has limited scope.
In order to be valid, the county’s objection must be based on one of the following:
The proposed change in zoning or land use will result in a substantial change in the intensity of the allowable use of the property or a change to a significantly different allowable use; or
The proposed change in zoning or land use will result in a use which significantly increases the net cost of infrastructure or significantly diminishes the useful life of a capital project furnished by the county to the area to be annexed.
In addition to the existence of one of the two above scenarios, the proposed zoning or land use also must differ substantially from the existing uses suggested for the property by the county’s comprehensive land use plan or the uses permitted for the property under the county’s zoning and land use ordinances.
The reality is people still don't trust the planning of the "South Fulton Concerned Citizens" organization now resurrected with the new name "South Fulton United".
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