City of Atlanta/Dekalb County - SCHOOLS?? (Roswell, Alpharetta: real estate, how much)

[PharmOne]

Hello -

We're looking to purchase a home....no kids yet, but definitley planning to make that happen within the next few years. So, we're thinking about school systems as we make the home search. Ideally we'd love to be in the City of Decatur, but we're not sure that we'll be able to find the size house we want for the budget we're on. So, we've entertained Kirkwood a bit on the fringe of Oakhurst....mostly city of Atlanta, Dekalb County (zip: 30317).

We're not ecstatic about Atlanta Public Schools & we're not sure that paying tuition to send our kids to Decatur or another private school is feasible either.

Does anyone know if our kids would be eligible to go to DeKalb County schools since we'd technically be residing in Dekalb county?? Does anyone know the rules on this? We've heard that schools in Dekalb County (at least in the North Decatur area) are better than APS. We don't want to actually live in the N. Decatur area due to desire to be close to Dekalb Ave to be midway between both of our work.

The thought just came to mind last night & we thought this might be a good resource.

Thanks!

[lastminutemom]

No, you would not be allowed to do that. You have to live in DeKalb to attend their schools and DCSS doesn't allow tuition paying like Decatur and some schools in Fulton.

What schools is the house you are looking zoned to? I think, hands down, right now, Atlanta is a much stronger system than DeKalb and any very involved parent in a DeKalb school can tell you how much even the good schools are starting to suffer because of the overall poor conditions in DeKalb.

What Atlanta school would you be zoned to attend? There are also some charter school options in that area.

[PharmOne]

Technically the address IS in Dekalb County, which is why I was wondering if it would be permitted to have kids attend school there. It's an Atlanta address, in Dekalb county.

A friend actually teaches for APS, she does not teach at the schools the homes we'd be zoned to. But knowing the system from the inside - we've been warned about sending our kids go there.

Most of the homes are either Toomer/Coan/Grady or Toomer/Coan/Crimson that we're looking into. Not sure what charter schools or options would be available there.

[cmtiger]

No, if you are in an incorporated area of DeKalb with it's own school system like Decatur or Atlanta, you have to attend the city school system b/c you pay that city's school taxes and are thereby excused from paying the county school taxes.

The APS schools that are good are very good... Conversely, the APS schools that are bad are very bad. Mary Lin and Morningside are excellent. So is Inman and Grady. Your friend might be teaching in a tough school which may affect his/her opinion.

Frankly, if you don't even have kids yet, I think it would be a pretty good bet to go for Kirkwood (provided that you get a good street - make sure your realtor knows the area well). There is a lot of interest in Toomer (and Eastlake) among some pretty well-to-do, involved parents with time and resources on their hands. They are working very hard to make those school more diverse and go get a more child friendly pedagogy implemented. I wouldn't be surprised if both of them weren't pretty darn good schools by the time you have a kindergartner. Even if it doesn't pan out, my bet is that you'd get some very nice appreciation in Kirkwood once this real estate mess clears up. So, if you decided to sell in 6 years you will be OK.

Coan Middle is a different story - not sure if that school will ever turn around. However, you have lots of options at that point. You could get a transfer to Inman Middle or you might have some charter schools available to you by then. Since middle school is at least 12 years off for you I
wouldn't sweat it yet b/c the scene could change dramatically regardless of where you live.

Also, you might want to look into Ormewood/Grant Park. They are served by Neighborhood Charter School and Atlanta Middle School. Both of those schools are still developing, but I have heard great things about them.

What's your price range? If you can afford Kirkwood, you might be able to afford Oakhurst/College Heights or portions of Lake Claire, which would get you into a little more predictable school situation.

[SURFERGIRL1]

My child currently attends a school in the Gwinnett County School System. I would stay away from any schools in the city of Atlanta, Dekalb County and Clayton County. If I were you I would look in Cobb County, Gwinnett County, North Fulton(Alpharetta/Roswell).

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by PharmOne

Technically the address IS in Dekalb County, which is why I was wondering if it would be permitted to have kids attend school there. It's an Atlanta address, in Dekalb county.

A friend actually teaches for APS, she does not teach at the schools the homes we'd be zoned to. But knowing the system from the inside - we've been warned about sending our kids go there.

Most of the homes are either Toomer/Coan/Grady or Toomer/Coan/Crimson that we're looking into. Not sure what charter schools or options would be available there.

Crim High School (written as "Crimson" here) is no longer a regular public high school.

For Kirkwood, its Toomer/Coan/Grady or Toomer/Coan/Southside.

[PharmOne]

the real estate websites indicated crim high was the high school for a few of the properties we were interested in checking out - i guess they haven't updated the system. we definitely want to remain ITP, so we won't be looking into areas outside of the general atlanta metro area. we'd really like decatur. we'd also consider candler park, inman park or lake claire. really, we want to be walkable to some parks & activities (restaurants, etc) in neat areas of town.

thanks for all of the responses!! we may eventually find something in our price range (currently maxed out at around $360K...and we'd ideally like a 3/2)...and we may also need to expand our price range a bit to make it happen.

[lastminutemom]

As someone else wrote, since you don't have children yet, you really have lots of options. Even if you were to get pregnant tomorrow, six years is a lifetime in the history of a school. Worse case scenario -- you move --given the size of the house you are looking for, it should be an easy resale if you decide in 5 years to move on.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

As someone else wrote, since you don't have children yet, you really have lots of options. Even if you were to get pregnant tomorrow, six years is a lifetime in the history of a school. Worse case scenario -- you move --given the size of the house you are looking for, it should be an easy resale if you decide in 5 years to move on.

Yes...and keep your eye on Toomer (and East Lake)...like someone already said, those school are definitely on the rise!

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by PharmOne

the real estate websites indicated crim high was the high school for a few of the properties we were interested in checking out - i guess they haven't updated the system. we definitely want to remain ITP, so we won't be looking into areas outside of the general atlanta metro area. we'd really like decatur. we'd also consider candler park, inman park or lake claire. really, we want to be walkable to some parks & activities (restaurants, etc) in neat areas of town.

thanks for all of the responses!! we may eventually find something in our price range (currently maxed out at around $360K...and we'd ideally like a 3/2)...and we may also need to expand our price range a bit to make it happen.

Yep, no surprise there. Be wary of the real estate websites and real estate agents...!

Just wanted to help you out and make sure you had all of the correct information.

Good Luck!