APS needs to focus on:

1) Ensuring that all schools are functioning to their best potential for the academic success for our children, which they are not.
2) Ensuring that communication with the system improves so that teachers, staff, and personnel are on a time effective schedule/calendar of things that need to be done. Everything is so last minute.
3) Ensuring that parents are involved with the schools system wide. At more and more of the meetings being held, SW and SE Atlanta parents are stating that the information of what's going on isn't being communicated to them.

It is horrible with these options that the north Atlanta side seems have been granted all their wants and the SW and SE Atlanta schools are being forced to either merge or close.

Why did APS invest so much money in renovating some of the schools proposed to be merged or closed when there are other schools that haven't been renovated at all and need them? Why are we building North Atlanta a new school, when the one they have is fine? Why are the north schoolside schools the only IB Clusters (schools have international study programs) but the SW and SE Atlanta schools don't.

There is still an issue of intergrity within APS because we are clearly seeing the difference in the demographics of the systems now. If we aren't going to do the right thing by all children, then we don't need to do this at all!

@Jason, all of that is well and good but some facts speak volumes.
Parental/Community Engagement: After the last demographic community meetings surveys were made available to absolutely all...ALL...schools, principals, community members, etc. Parents had WEEKS to complete the surveys. Many communtities went door to door Some set up web pages and blogs. Others used social and traditional media. Many neighborhoods held countless meetings about the issue....others didn't. In the end, according to the documents posted on the APS website, this is the breakdown of surveys returned by SRT: SRT1 356, SRT 2 443, SRT 3 4,204, SRT 4 2,719. SRT not identified 666. Every community received the same information at the same time in the same formats from the district. All principals were aware of the surveys and their importance. I would love for someone to explain away the disparity in the responses in the SRT's.
Demographics: Numbers are numbers. Take a look at the utilization chart posted on the APS website. Why is it that some schools are bursting at the seams while others barely have enough bodies to warrent keeping them open? At the end of the day this was a capacity study.
Buildings: As a parent I agree - why did the former APS admins condone the renovation of certain buildings under capacity? Great question, unfortunately those leaders are no longer with the district. Better question is why didn't parents sound the alarm when the buildings were built.

I think it is imperative for the leadership of APS to look at the school that are proposed to close. I think that we must take into consideration:

1) The performance of the schools.
2) Other schools close that are overcrowded, can students be bused from there for leveling.
3) Making CSK & Best Academy district wide schools to increase Douglass's enrollment.
4) The leadership of the schools.

The last community meetings I have attended with ABE members present have all had parents from the SW and SE side comment on how the leadership of the schools are not welcoming to alumni, community supporters or parents. Many of the parents state that the schools send the information out at the last minute and when you call the schools they all famously say, "I'm unaware of the meeting you're referring too!" If's a fact, I have personally called myself to the schools and they don't know. Furthermore, the schools PTSA's are not strong or active because of conflict with school leadership. I know this for a fact from teacher and parent testimonies from the schools. LSC's are not active, which is a federal guideline and regulation we are not meeting. I know this for a fact from calling the schools, attending meetings, asking about PTSA, LSC, teacher climate, etc. The leadership of APS promised to spend more times in these schools when school began. They need to full that promise. If they pop up and visit, then will they truly see what's going on.