The effort to split Fulton County in two is back again (Atlanta: transplants, to live)
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How exactly do South Fulton schools affect North Fulton ones? They have absolutely no interaction beyond a few students lucky enough to attend the better North Fulton schools through charter programs.
As with most things to do with topics like this: Money.
It's not about the performance, it's about the money. How much more funded would all the programs at all the schools in North Fulton be without the South Fulton schools having to be funded at an equal level? Also, it would automatically be the wealthiest, highest ranked and most regarded district in the state. Don't think that the powers that be that want Milton siphoned off aren't eyeing this as a goal.
It is not being said as such. Neither am I a proponent of this, so I am not defending this line of reasoning. Just my call. What else is to be gained with a Milton County now that all of the area is incorporated?
How exactly do South Fulton schools affect North Fulton ones? They have absolutely no interaction beyond a few students lucky enough to attend the better North Fulton schools through charter programs.
They are the same school system...there is one central office that does the hiring and performs all administrative duties for the entire system, so there is plenty of interaction. What interaction is there between North Gwinnett and South Gwinnett schools? Or any schools on the opposite side of a city or county? I know you were talking about funding, but many people seem to think there are two separate school systems in Fulton County.
As with most things to do with topics like this: Money.
It's not about the performance, it's about the money. How much more funded would all the programs at all the schools in North Fulton be without the South Fulton schools having to be funded at an equal level? Also, it would automatically be the wealthiest, highest ranked and most regarded district in the state. Don't think that the powers that be that want Milton siphoned off aren't eyeing this as a goal.
It is not being said as such. Neither am I a proponent of this, so I am not defending this line of reasoning. Just my call. What else is to be gained with a Milton County now that all of the area is incorporated?
This is not that different than any other county...you have wealthier school districts and poorer school districts within the same system. I don't see that the North Fulton area schools hurting any because of those in the south end of the county. Yes, more money comes from property taxes in North Fulton, but it's that way in every school system everywhere. The wealthier neighborhoods contribute more for everything tax-wise than the poorer areas - that's just the way it is and Fulton County is not unique in that way. You could say the same thing about Buckhead schools as opposed to Southwest Atlanta schools, but that's called being part of a system. If Fulton wasn't completely divided by the city we wouldn't even be having this discussion. You never hear about the wealthier areas of Gwinnet County wanting to break away or those of DeKalb or any other county - it's just the way Fulton County is shaped and divided that causes such an uproar.
And many of the South Fulton schools are not poor and are not propped up by North Fulton. There are middle-class areas of southern Fulton County.
Last edited by JoeTarheel; 12-27-2015 at 10:33 PM..
They are the same school system...there is one central office that does the hiring and performs all administrative duties for the entire system, so there is plenty of interaction. What interaction is there between North Gwinnett and South Gwinnett schools? Or any schools on the opposite side of a city or county? I know you were talking about funding, but many people seem to think there are two separate school systems in Fulton County.
These schools are different. Other than hiring and the actual school board the schools or students have no interaction. The districtis split in four different sub zones (North, Northwest, Central, and South). You can tell the difference in atmosphere from a North and South Fulton school pretty easily. The quality of staff and expectations are different. Also since their divided, the students of North and South Fulton don't even interact.
As with most things to do with topics like this: Money.
It's not about the performance, it's about the money. How much more funded would all the programs at all the schools in North Fulton be without the South Fulton schools having to be funded at an equal level? Also, it would automatically be the wealthiest, highest ranked and most regarded district in the state. Don't think that the powers that be that want Milton siphoned off aren't eyeing this as a goal.
It is not being said as such. Neither am I a proponent of this, so I am not defending this line of reasoning. Just my call. What else is to be gained with a Milton County now that all of the area is incorporated?
I can believe that. If this passes Milton would be the only school system with no low income areas except maybe Fayette.
This is not that different than any other county...you have wealthier school districts and poorer school districts within the same system. I don't see that the North Fulton area schools hurting any because of those in the south end of the county. Yes, more money comes from property taxes in North Fulton, but it's that way in every school system everywhere. The wealthier neighborhoods contribute more for everything tax-wise than the poorer areas - that's just the way it is and Fulton County is not unique in that way. You could say the same thing about Buckhead schools as opposed to Southwest Atlanta schools, but that's called being part of a system. If Fulton wasn't completely divided by the city we wouldn't even be having this discussion. You never hear about the wealthier areas of Gwinnet County wanting to break away or those of DeKalb or any other county - it's just the way Fulton County is shaped and divided that causes such an uproar.
And many of the South Fulton schools are not poor and are not propped up by North Fulton. There are middle-class areas of southern Fulton County.
I don't disagree with any of this. But I would counter that if some uber wealthy areas in other parts of the state had some sort of "out" they would pursue it. That the north Fulton area was an actual county at one time is being used by some to separate their part of the county from the remainder. That a huge city system divides their county, well there isn't anything close to resembling this in the rest of the state as all other counties are contiguous with their districts. There is no other city school system that is border to border like Atlanta which cuts the county system into two far flung entities on the map.
I can't help but think that the incorporation efforts in DeKalb are also eyeing the future of their schools in their desire to become less dependent on the county. While this effort in North Fulton is banking on resurrecting a former county and trying to find a way to fit in that 159 county cap, another way to deal with this is to strike down the law that does not allow cities to operate separate systems from their respective county. Trust me, if this were to happen, Dunwoody would establish a separate system from DeKalb in a heartbeat. You might even find areas that have no reason to incorporate seek to incorporate so they could establish a separate school system. East Cobb? Don't think it is too far fetched.
Is there a racial component here? Probably. But more of a class/socio economic divide than a racial divide.
Just sitting on the sidelines making arm chair quarterback observations here. Not a proponent of the status quo or any changes, so don't anybody debate me as if I were. If I had my way, I'd make a wholesale change to the map that would affect city limits, county services and school boundaries on a much broader scale.
These schools are different. Other than hiring and the actual school board the schools or students have no interaction. The districtis split in four different sub zones (North, Northwest, Central, and South). You can tell the difference in atmosphere from a North and South Fulton school pretty easily. The quality of staff and expectations are different. Also since their divided, the students of North and South Fulton don't even interact.
When my kids were at Milton, every day four busloads of students made the trip from South Fulton. Friends tell me there still are buses making that run(my kids graduated 5 years ago), but I can't confirm it. There was no controversy over it, most people I spoke with felt as I did, that it was a shame the kids needed to make such a long trip to have access to a better school, but it was commendable that they were willing to do so.
So little was made out of it, that I may never have known it happened, but there were times when kids who wanted to take part in after school activities needed transportation to MARTA so they could get home, and parents stepped up to get them to the station.
My two cents: Since this is a constitutional amendment, it will have to go to voters statewide. I'd like to be put on record as someone who is voting "no" if it makes it to the ballot. I'm not for the further balkanization of metro Atlanta, especially through creating new counties. 159 is more than enough, it's already the second largest number of counties in the country (behind Texas). If anything, that number should be smaller.
All this amendment does is write a loophole into the "no more than 159 counties" rule. If North Fulton residents have a problem with the way county government works, maybe it's time for cities need to be given more powers instead of trying to resurrect a long-dead county. North Fulton is 99.8% incorporated anyway.
If Milton County wants to reform, the General Assembly must either look at stripping powers from counties or take a look at consolidating low-population counties. For instance, Taliaferro County has ~1,800 residents; more people live in the (small) city of Lithonia! Echols County is home to 3,000 people. Quitman County is home to just over 2,000 people. And on and on and on...
- skbl17
We have such small and numerous counties because when GA was setup, one of the original 13 colonies, county seats were planned to be no more than a days horse ride from anywhere in the county.
This is not that different than any other county...you have wealthier school districts and poorer school districts within the same system. I don't see that the North Fulton area schools hurting any because of those in the south end of the county. Yes, more money comes from property taxes in North Fulton, but it's that way in every school system everywhere. The wealthier neighborhoods contribute more for everything tax-wise than the poorer areas - that's just the way it is and Fulton County is not unique in that way. You could say the same thing about Buckhead schools as opposed to Southwest Atlanta schools, but that's called being part of a system. If Fulton wasn't completely divided by the city we wouldn't even be having this discussion. You never hear about the wealthier areas of Gwinnet County wanting to break away or those of DeKalb or any other county - it's just the way Fulton County is shaped and divided that causes such an uproar.
And many of the South Fulton schools are not poor and are not propped up by North Fulton. There are middle-class areas of southern Fulton County.
Sir please cease and desist...you're making too much sense and we can't have that.
I don't disagree with any of this. But I would counter that if some uber wealthy areas in other parts of the state had some sort of "out" they would pursue it. That the north Fulton area was an actual county at one time is being used by some to separate their part of the county from the remainder. That a huge city system divides their county, well there isn't anything close to resembling this in the rest of the state as all other counties are contiguous with their districts. There is no other city school system that is border to border like Atlanta which cuts the county system into two far flung entities on the map.
I can't help but think that the incorporation efforts in DeKalb are also eyeing the future of their schools in their desire to become less dependent on the county. While this effort in North Fulton is banking on resurrecting a former county and trying to find a way to fit in that 159 county cap, another way to deal with this is to strike down the law that does not allow cities to operate separate systems from their respective county. Trust me, if this were to happen, Dunwoody would establish a separate system from DeKalb in a heartbeat. You might even find areas that have no reason to incorporate seek to incorporate so they could establish a separate school system. East Cobb? Don't think it is too far fetched.
Is there a racial component here? Probably. But more of a class/socio economic divide than a racial divide.
Just sitting on the sidelines making arm chair quarterback observations here. Not a proponent of the status quo or any changes, so don't anybody debate me as if I were. If I had my way, I'd make a wholesale change to the map that would affect city limits, county services and school boundaries on a much broader scale.
Good stuff. I think this move should be stopped at least based on the precedent it would establish. It wouldn't be a stretch for affluent parts of other counties to do the same with some other sort of justification.
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