Live Blogging Coverage from the DeKalb School Board Public Hearing

Patch was live and in attendance at the DeKalb County School Board's public hearing on Tuesday evening, where parents, educators and taxpayers commented on the system's proposed redistricting and closure plans.

The began at 6:30 pm, and here is Patch's live blogging coverage:

6:34. Robert Womack, assistant board chairman, calls the hearing into session. First, Dan Drake of the DeKalb County School System, is set to present a 10-15 minute overview of the school superintendent's master plan. After that, each citizen wanting to comment on the plan will have a total of 90 seconds each.

6:48. Robert Moseley, assistant superintendent and the facilitator of the public hearing portion of the meeting, calls on the first speakers.

6:49. Zappora Roberts says the northern end of the county is supportive of the plan "because they got everything they wanted ... I blame the board and the decision makers because you have sent the message that some parents in the county matter more than others."

6:53. Helen Barrow. "I ask you to reconsider the flip of facilities between Flat Rock and Bouie Elementary.  Keep those students where they are."

6:55. Connie Boone, Sky Haven. "I see no reason why Sky Haven needs to be closed. No one has responded to our requests; all we've gotten is the response of, 'just close it.' DeKalb is catering too much to students who are in high achievement programs. Where is the academic justice?"

6:56. An Avondale High parent "is pleading with you to keep Avondale as it is. This proposal will remove our children from our own neighborhood."

6:59. Jeri Williams, a taxpayer. "Our district won't get fixed overnight. It is clear to me that your heart is with the students, parents and taxpayers. The closure of schools isn't a happy decision to make."

7:02. Willie Mosley, from South DeKalb. "We don't have to close any of our schools. We can make some schools all-boys schools and all-girls schools, and military academies. The education part is not being done here in DeKalb; no leadership, no priorities, no accountability."

7:06. Maureen Booker-Brown. "The expectation is that you're going to do what you set out to do ... You have no accountability, no credibility ... you're going to do what you want to do. This is a black-on-black plan ... You'll turn us into a field of vacant buildings ... The people getting what they want are the affluent."

7:08. Tim McGahee, Henderson Mill. "There is a great deal of diversity in cluster two ... There is a great deal of friction ... We have laid out four to five suggestions and the one that has gotten the most traction is redistricting a single apartment complex in our area - the Providence Apartment complex - that will relieve some of this stress."

7:12.Victoria Seamore, Laurel Ridge Elementary. "Our school would be severely affected by this plan and ask for a minor change in the plan, by keeping Laurel Ridge's east attendance line where it is."

7:14. Jeff Jackson, Tucker High School cluster. "This plan in regards to Midvale Elementary does not allow for Midvale's special ed students ... These students will have to be moved under this new plan ... Let's not disrupt the lives of these students and parents when they may have to be moved again in 2020."

7:16. Cynthia Crick, Livsey Elementary. "If you leave Livsey's attendance lines unchanged, Livsey's student population will reach the county's stated goal of 450 students. Keep those 54 students at Livsey instead of moving them to Midvale."

7:19. Lynn Thompson of DeKalb County. "If Avondale Middle and High close, I will have had three schools in my direct neighborhood close ... Why does my neighborhood have a big target on it, in regards to this board? Is it because my neighborhood doesn't have the means to picket and shout as the upper echelons? The children in this attendance area need someone to stand up for them and I am that person."

7:23. Bob Chambers. Lakeside parent. "I am grateful for the education my kids have gotten in DeKalb County ... You have to bring closure to this issue. This is the third time in three years we have faced the issue of closure ... I commend Ms. Tyson and the consultants for listening to us ... The plan you have before you is a huge improvement to some of the earlier proposals."

7:24. Tara Powell, Sagamore Hills. "My son is very upset as to why he is being moved from his school when all of his friends are remaining. This proposal takes us out of our neighborhood where we are active ... His new commute will be 30 minutes ... There will be no more walking to school or riding a bicycle."

7:26. Kelly Fains, Dunwoody cluster. "My son who currently bikes to school will have to cross Mt. Vernon to go to Vanderlyn. And there is no crossing guard. Why are we being pushed out of Austin, when that school will be overcrowded by only five kids, while at Vanderlyn we will be overcrowded by more than 100. If this plan goes through, my three children will have gone to three different schools, and they are ages 10 and 8."

7:30. Carol Rice. Atherton. "Our school has many attributes ... We have been bypassed for improvements and renovations. We don't have to close ... We sit on 10 acres, one of the largest plots for an elementary school in the county. There is plenty of room for modular classrooms ... We serve two apartment complexes in close proximity, and safety is a huge issue."

7:32. Kathy Brockman, Lakeside. "Both of my children went to Sagamore Elementary and we are very happy to be a single feeder school to Lakeside High."

7:34. Denise Reed Puckett, Henderson Mill. "Our concerns have been ignored for too long. During the 2020 vision plan, it became obvious that our concerns would be ignored again. We're the only overcrowded elementary school that has been given no recommendations in the county to address that overcrowding."

7:37. Barbara Hahn, Lakeside PTA. "There is widespread support in our area for the superintendent's proposal, almost unanimous support."

7:41. Christine Bryant. "I speak for the students who are not represented in your plan. There are students in exile who are in limbo ... They are in Chamblee's annex ... Even the answer tonight is we don't know what we're doing to do with these 97 students. Where's the transparency?"

7:42. David Meyer, Chamblee High. "I rise in support of the latest proposal, because it leaves the magnet program intact and together."

7:46. Melissa Walton, Sagamore Hills. "90 students are to be redistricted to Briar Vista. There are several issues with that, mostly with the  curriculum. There are obvious transitional issues here, and emotional pitfalls. These 90 students will also have to board a school bus at 6:30 in the morning. This is not a safe or feasible option for them."

7:50. Stacey Whittaker, Medlock. "We're accepting the closure of Medlock, but the redrawn attendance lines destroys the continuity of community."

7:51. Natasha Walker. "The proposed plan is being imposed on parents and shoved down our throats, especially those who are affected. Ms. Tyson, you said you would listen, and you did ... to those who spoke the loudest. My daughter attends the DeKalb School of the Arts, and we have been impacted severely and negatively by this plan and others before it."

7:54. Brit Halldon, Dunwoody cluster. "My son is one of the 28 who will be moved to Vanderlyn from Austin. This plan will take 28 children out of their community ... Vanderyln will now be overcrowded by more than 100 kids ... If you vote for Ms. Tyson's plan, my children will have attended three different elementary schools without us having moved at all."

7:58. Katherine Wilson. "Thank you for redistricting. This is long overdue. I live half a mile from Vanderlyn Elementary. We walk our kids safely to school, but this plan removes us from our community."

8:01. Eleanor Botha. Springdale Heights neighborhood. "We know that schools need to close and be redistricted. But under both plans presented by the consultant, we were to be redistricted to Laurel Ridge, but under Ms. Tyson's plan, we are no longer under Laurel Ridge, and there is no logical reason for this.  Don't destroy our community. There is no cost savings to doing this. This will hurt our children a lot."

8:04. Kate Parise, Avondale district. "I support the Druid Hills cluster recommendations. We feel like we have found a home in our current elementary school system. This plan keeps neighborhood cohesion, which is one of the board's goals."

8:10. Sarah Portrey, Chestnut charter. "Under the current plan Chestnut will not have a population large enough to continue qualifying for certain programs. We cannot control the fact that 44 years ago, our building was built too small to qualify for today's standards. We simply ask one or two neighborhoods be left at out school. At no time should DeKalb's leaders reduce enrollment to such a degree that it jeopardizes funding for services."

8:12. Sonja Green, Lynmore Woods. "I'm simply here to ask that we remain in the Laurel Ridge district. Leave the eastern border where it is. This is a minor change that will keep our families intact."

8:16. Karen O'Leary. "Last year we were fighting to keep Medlock open, but tonight we're fighing to stay in the Laurel Ridge cluster. This will be a minor adjustment. We in Springdale Heights don't want to pull our kids out of the county school system."

8:21. The public hearing adjourns.