What Do We Get Out of SPLOST IV?

If DeKalb County voters in November approve a $475 million package of school construction and renovations across the county, the North Druid Hills-Briarcliff area could see a host of new projects and renovations.

The DeKalb County Board of Education passed a resolution Monday night, calling for a referendum on the sales tax program–known as SPLOST IV–to be presented to voters in Decatur and DeKalb and Fulton counties. The plan is part of a massive, ongoing reorganization of the DeKalb County School System that seeks to phase out smaller, community-oriented schools.

In our community, residents could see the following projects:

• Renovations to Briar Vista Elementary School and . Henderson Middle will also get an addition, a $16 million project including the renovations.
• Limited renovations to and elementary schools
• Replacing Fernbank Elementary School with a new facility
• Adams Stadium on Briarcliff Road would receive upgrades, including turf installation 
• Other schools in the community, including , , , , and the will receive upgrades that would include but not be limited to roofing, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, kitchens and program-driven modifications

Some of those projects have been given qualifiers, however. The phasing and extent of renovations of Briar Vista Elementary are dependent on the redistricting of new schools, according to an earlier school system proposal.

Renovations at Henderson Mill and Laurel Ridge elementary schools will also be limited because both schools are proposed to be replaced in a future SPLOST V program that would last from 2018-2022. Renovations to and Sagamore Hills elementary schools would also be paid for with that tax program. Oak Grove Elementary would be up for major renovations in a SPLOST VI program after 2023.

All documents related to the school system's SPLOST resolution can be found here.

Countywide, eight new schools, including Fernbank Elementary's replacement, would be constructed during SPLOST IV, most of them in southern DeKalb County. The program would run from 2013 to 2017.