Build a school at Burningtree and watch the white flight from Decatur proper begin in ernest. All of Decatur inside the Beltline will become inner-city if this is allowed.

Option 3a is an easy one. Expand ceder and build a new middle school in the southeast. I also like 2d, you already have built a new building at Austin, how much more would you have to build to house all 9th graders .

I still think segregating 6th graders is a better option than segregating 9th graders. We bring 6th graders from multiple elementary schools into three middle schools at a very challenging time in their lives. Assuming that they do not move, they will move to the same high school with their middle school peers. More changes take place for 6th graders without a doubt.

Visit Auburn and Enterprise City Schools and look at what they have done.

Visit Auburn and Enterprise City Schools and look at what they have done. A better busing system will have to be in place.

Or Dothan, or Alabaster, even Huntsville - there are innovative things going on all around us.

Consolidated schools might save money, but remember . . . . whether a high school has 800 students or 2,000 students you still have the same number of kids on the baseball team, the same number of kids as class officers . . . . Keep student population smaller, enhance learning opportunities with distance learning and give more kids an opportunity to lead and learn.

Athens separates fifth and sixth grades into one building. Seventh and eighth are in a separate school. This works great. This should be looked at as an option. Athens education score is one of the highest.

Balancing the zone lines would be the easiest first step

A balanced zone line, according to the article, puts the line going to Decatur High "WEST" of Austin High. It makes no sense to do that. As far as "lost extracurricular" activities, that point is conceded. We must ask ourselves, "Is that why we send children to school?" If it is, then that is probably the problem. We need to send them for an education. The most important part of that data is that we will lose many more school kids in the next ten years as we did the last ten. That doesn't bode well for the feasibility of any new buildings......other than "scapping" the old and providing "NEW" facilities which a few people will like. The money has to come from somewhere though because Decatur does not have the money.

The lines are arbitrary now Tuna. They would still be arbitrary. What makes no sense is having one school busting at the seams and the others no where near capacity.

consolidation is a good idea. We are a split city with cross-town rivals????? We should be one 1 with our rivals outside our city limits

Study the report again witless William... you won't have schools busting at the seams. With declining and aging population in Decatur, we are 20-30 years from explosive growth of school aged kids. One scenario has Austin struggling to stay in 6A competition, while Decatur High may struggle to stay 4A. If Decatur moved to 4A or smaller, it may be more fair to them based on student population. Lines are arbitrary....SO WHAT! It would still make no sense for students around Austin to go to classes at Decatur High.

WE'VE GOT ONE BUSTING AT THE SEAMS NOW YOU IMBECILE! You're talking about scenarios and hypotheticals and I'm talking about reality. Why should anyone trust anything you say when you just lie to fit your needs. What was it you said the other day? People in Pennsylvania have an average salary of $120 thousand a year. But you are right about one thing. If your kind continues to be in control no one will want to live in Decatur. I thought you were supposed to have a plan to grow Decatur. You are basically admitting that with your kind in charge our two biggest schools will struggle not to drop 4 classifications between them. Tuna, you're a fraud.