What’s Happening
Gentrification is happening right now in the city of Sandy Springs.
The ever-rising cost of housing is impacting our city in many ways, including forcing families to move out, all the while existing apartments are replaced with newer, higher market-rate properties.
In addition, owners of existing apartments are choosing to increase rent for their tenants, in response to reduced supply and increased market demand.
What Does This Mean
As a result, our public schools and city are changing, but NOT for the better.
School enrollment is DOWN in a very big way, with a loss of over 1,100 kids in areas where apartments have been demolished and rents are increasing.
Spalding Elementary, for example, is down 41% in enrollment, while Dunwoody Springs is down 34%, respectively.
Enrollment Is Down
Sandy Springs has 7 public elementary schools. Just 2 of them are breaking even or are showing a gain in enrollment.
The other 5 schools, which represent over 60% of the total amount of students in our local public elementary schools, are showing a 27% loss.
What does that mean for the vitality of our city?
What Happened
Sandy Springs was a GROWING city — when our housing was affordable. And it was housing affordability that FUELED our growth.
But, it no longer is.
This is what a city in trouble looks like: a 20% decline from the highs we experienced in the mid 2010s.
Will our future continue down this current trend? How many of our schools will close as a result? What will happen to home values as the number of schools go down?
It’s up to YOU to decide. Share this with others and lets amplify each other’s voices in the decision making process.
