South Cobb residents gather to discuss forming new city (Atlanta: house, neighborhood)

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by JOinGA

Compare (if you can because the district has taken pains to split up the cost so it is difficult to total it up) the Walton HS rebuild to the Osborne HS rebuild and see why people in the south part of the county are justifiably disgruntled.

For the record, Osborne High School and its surrounding attendance zone are not part of the area that is being discussed for incorporation into a new city in South Cobb County.

Here is a link to a map of the area where incorporation into a new city is being discussed in South Cobb County:
https://www.southcobballiance.org/proposed-city-map

I also do not think that schools are part of the motivation for the push for a new city in South Cobb.

That's because, as was discussed and pointed out by other posters earlier in this thread, the backers of any new city likely would have to petition the Georgia Board of Education and possibly even the Georgia General Assembly for a very major change in state law by way of the Georgia state Constitution in hopes of creating a new municipal school system out of an existing countywide school system.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/54110921-post28.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/54114508-post30.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/54115345-post33.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/54119585-post36.html

In the state of Georgia, it very much would not be an easy or simple process to form a new smaller municipal school system out of an existing larger countywide school system.

Originally Posted by demonta4

Why won’t they go for Marietta annexation?

Originally Posted by citidata18

What would Marietta gain from such an annexation?

The area in question is generally poorer and doesn't have any major shopping/employment centers that would bring in more income. It would just further strain Marietta's government with trying to provide police/fire/ems/sewer to these areas.

It's funny how people keep forgetting what's happening in Stockbridge in these discussions. That's the exact reason Eagles Landing has pushed for de-annexation (the wealthier areas don't want to take on the burden of serving the poorer areas).

I think that demonta might have been asking why affluent East Cobb will not go for annexation into the existing City of Marietta proper when he made that statement.

The area in question in South Cobb where some are pushing for incorporation into a new city (which is basically much of the unincorporated parts of South Cobb County in the Mableton 30126 and Austell 30168 zip codes, with maybe just a tiny slither of the very south end of the Marietta 30008 and 30060 zip codes included at the north end of the proposed land area of the new city) does not touch/is not contiguous with the City of Marietta proper (the 23+ square-mile incorporated area that is under the jurisdiction of the municipal government of the City of Marietta) and likely may not be eligible to be annexed into the City of Marietta proper alone under Georgia state law.

[demonta4]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Oh no... I was not saying that North Fulton County would want to have its own school system if East Cobb would not... (In following up to Icon's comment that East Cobb would not want to open the door of prompting other areas to form their own local school system by separating from the Cobb County School District and forming its own locally controlled school system) I was saying that if East Cobb were to want to form its own school system, North Fulton probably would want to follow East Cobb and form its own school system as well along with DeKalb cities like Brookhaven and Dunwoody.

I was referencing how many people in North Fulton County want that part of the Fulton County School system to be its own system that is separate from the South Fulton County part of the system.

Many people in North Fulton County want that part of Fulton County to have its own school system because they don't like sharing financial resources and tax revenues with a less-affluent part of the county in South Fulton.

Okay I understand now. Also, the reason I brought up Marietta annexation (which isn’t likely) is because if local control of schools is what they wanted, they would likely get a lot of sway in a local Marietta school system vs. the county one.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by back2atl

The prevailing theory on nextdoor is that the East Cobb cityhood idea is being pushed by real estate developers. Presumably to set themselves up for new and more favorable development opportunities.

The identities of the people behind the cityhood push have been a bit unclear, and they haven’t clearly articulated a problem they’re trying to solve via incorporation, so the theory of self-serving real estate developers seems very possible.

Don’t the proposed boundaries also follow a particular Representative’s district?

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by demonta4

Okay I understand now. Also, the reason I brought up Marietta annexation (which isn’t likely) is because if local control of schools is what they wanted, they would likely get a lot of sway in a local Marietta school system vs. the county one.

That is a really good point that an area like East Cobb likely could get even more sway/influence in a smaller local Marietta school system than it already does in the larger countywide school system (CCSD/Cobb County School District).

But the reality is that a highly-affluent area like East Cobb already has lots of sway/influence (arguably the most sway/influence) in the existing CCSD (Cobb County School District) system.

Heck, many in Cobb County will argue that highly-affluent East Cobb seems to have more sway/influence over the CCSD system than any other part of the county that is served by the CCSD.

The schools in the clusters anchored by Walton, Pope and Lassiter high schools are already regarded as being some of the absolute best schools both in the state of Georgia and in the entire Southeastern U.S., while Wheeler High School is regarded as being one of the best STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) magnet programs in the entire nation.

One can probably safely assume that affluent East Cobb (especially within the Walton, Pope, Lassiter and Wheeler clusters) is not hurting from lack of attention or influence within the Cobb County School District.

Also, Georgia state government creates some incredibly high (pretty much impossibly high) barriers to the creation of new school systems... Which is something that makes it difficult for areas where there has been much actual desire to want to breakaway from a larger county school system to form a smaller local school system.

(Incredibly high barriers in Georgia state law has made it difficult (if not pretty much impossible) for areas like North Fulton County, Dunwoody and Brookhaven to form their own smaller local school systems out of existing larger county systems in Fulton and DeKalb counties, respectively.)

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

The schools in the clusters anchored by Walton, Pope and Lassiter high schools are already regarded as being some of the absolute best schools both in the state of Georgia and in the entire Southeastern U.S., while Wheeler High School is regarded as being one of the best STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) magnet programs in the entire nation.

How in the heck did East Cobb schools get so durn good?

[David1502]

Originally Posted by arjay57

How in the heck did East Cobb schools get so durn good?

The East Cobb schools, with the exception of Wheeler, have the advantage of drawing their student population almost exclusively from single family home neighborhoods where both parents have college degrees and high incomes. Most other schools in the Metro area have at least some apartments in their district which bring in transient students who often do not spend the entire 9 months in one school, thus taxing the teachers.

Try buying a house in the Johnson Ferry corridor of East Cobb and see what your options are for under $400 - you can find them, but they are few in number and usually at least 25 years old.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by David1502

The East Cobb schools, with the exception of Wheeler, have the advantage of drawing their student population almost exclusively from single family home neighborhoods where both parents have college degrees and high incomes. Most other schools in the Metro area have at least some apartments in their district which bring in transient students who often do not spend the entire 9 months in one school, thus taxing the teachers.

Try buying a house in the Johnson Ferry corridor of East Cobb and see what your options are for under $400 - you can find them, but they are few in number and usually at least 25 years old.

Makes sense. They are drawing from an elite demographic.

Are the kids smarter or just better supported and more oriented toward educational success? Or some combination thereof?

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Makes sense. They are drawing from an elite demographic.

Are the kids smarter or just better supported and more oriented toward educational success? Or some combination thereof?

Better supported.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Better supported.

Whatever it is, they sound tres formidable.

[ddm2k]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

There was never any justification given for leaving out the Pope, Lassiter, Sprayberry high school campuses and large chunks of their clusters... This is especially when many people consider East Cobb to be almost everything east of I-75 and the GNRR/Georgia Northeastern Railroad (east of Canton Road) that is not part of the City of Marietta proper and the Cumberland Community Improvement District.


While the areas in question here during this discussion (the unincorporated southern and eastern parts of Cobb County) are part of the five-county core of the Atlanta metropolitan area and not part of the City of Atlanta proper (the 134 square-mile area inside of the Atlanta city limits that is under the governing jurisdiction of the Mayor and Council of the City of Atlanta), that is a really good question about whether rents will increase "due to demand from 'zip code snobs' and/or 'city limits snobs.'"

Housing prices in some recently-incorporated areas (like Brookhaven and Sandy Springs) seemed to have increased more than they have some other areas because of economic development projects that the municipal governments in those recently-incorporated areas have undertaken and executed, and because of the proximity of those recently-incorporated areas to major employment and business hubs, and large clusters/hub of retail amenities.

Housing prices in a recently-incorporated area like Dunwoody seem to have increased because of that area's desirability (a desirability that existed prior to the incorporation of Dunwoody as a municipality) as an affluent neighborhood very close to a major employment/business/retail hub of regional importance in the Perimeter Center area.

Though, overall, a major determinant of housing prices outside of hot areas ITP (Inside the I-285 Perimeter) and ATP (At/very near the I-285 Perimeter) is and will continue to be the quality of the public schools in any given area.

An area like South Cobb County likely would not see any real significant jump in housing prices after a potential incorporation into a municipality because of the more modest quality and more modest ratings of the public schools in that area.

An area like East Cobb County likely would continue to see increases in housing prices in a healthy and/or a robust economy regardless whether or not the area is incorporated into a municipality because of the extremely (if not exceptionally) high quality and ratings of the public schools in that area.

I'm curious if there is a tipping point in certain areas (of affluence) where prospective buyers stop looking at public schools (or it ceases being an influence on price) because public schools are not where they intend to send their children, anyway.

At first glance, it seems like a way for a family to get a great deal on a great house in a great neighborhood, that just happens to be the victim of a poorly drawn district.