September 17th

Dear Save Spalding Friends -

 

Thank you all for your participation today at the City Council meeting and our Zoom meeting. We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow at Dr. Morancie's Community Meeting at Woodland at 6PM. We will be there at 5:30 handing out the "Save Spalding" shirts we have pre-ordered on a first come, first served basis.

 

Here is an update on the City Council meeting:

 

There were well over 30 people representing and supporting Spalding Drive Elementary as people continually filed in.  Roughly 7 of 9 speaking spots were in support of SDE ranging from former students to past and current parents each with a unique story to tell.  Steven Guy was the last to speak, asking the City how they would support Spalding Drive.  Mayor Paul replied that the city is doing all it can and that Sandy Springs feels as though it is being "picked on" again by the Fulton County School System.  Mayor Paul also noted the city was informed at the same time we were, but ultimately this will come down to hard numbers so a strong data-driven plan must be presented.  We will post a link to the meeting once available on the city website, link to news article from the meeting:  Sandy Springs parents fight to keep Spalding Drive Elementary open - Rough Draft Atlanta

 

Here are the notes from this evening's call regarding Wednesday and Thursday meetings:

 

• All questions can be directed to contact@savesde.com

• We want to make sure we have a clear, consistent message for the school board. We need to show a united front to give ourselves the best chance of success. We have sent a list of questions to the School Board, which will be updated on the website soon.

• We will be at Wednesday’s meeting early (around 5:30) to hand out “Save Spalding” t-shirts. The PTO is going to sponsor the shirts, so this first group will be free of charge. We will then have the shirts available on the Spalding Spirit Wear page for order for $10. Please wear a Spalding shirt or blue and orange in case we run out.

• Wednesday is a regularly scheduled community meeting with Dr. Michelle Morancie, who is one of our school board reps. This is generally an open forum. A typical meeting is 1 hour, but if there are a lot of people there who want to speak it can go longer. We want Dr. Morancie to be on our side, so she votes to keep Spalding open; therefore, we want to keep this meeting polite and show off our involved parent community. The more people we have, the better! Carpooling is a great idea to make sure there is enough parking.

• Thursday is the more formal school board meeting in Union City. The meeting starts with an executive session at 4:30 which is closed to the public, then the general session including public comment at 6:00. You may sign in starting at 5:30. Plan on there being a lot of traffic to get there. 

  • Typically there are seven 3-minute spots for public comment, of which 5 are available for sign up in advance. If you have been approved for speaking, please let us know, as we have drafted talking points for four speakers. Focusing on the talking points will be the best way to get answers and make sure we’re using our time wisely.

  • If you are unsure if you have been confirmed, you can contact Jennifer Dukes at FCS. DukesJ@fultonschools.org or 470-254-6895 and ask to speak to her. Please let us know if you’re confirmed so we can share the talking points.

• We have also engaged a PR firm to help us with managing our message through media, so we ask that you please don’t reach out to the media at this time.

• Here is what we need from you:

  • Show up to any and all meetings

  • Wear Spalding colors or a Spalding t-shirt

  • Act respectfully - there will be media present, and we want the board on our side

  • Speak positively about our school. Do not disparage other schools in our community in public forums, including Facebook.

 

Thank you all for your support! Save Spalding!