Dunwoody and Chamblee cluster families who want to speak publicly about DeKalb County's proposed school boundary changes must register by 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18.
The deadline applies to Engagement Session 2 of the district's Student Assignment Project, which is already underway. The district released three elementary school options and two middle-high school concepts in a video on Tuesday, Sept. 15. The redistricting effort aims to relieve overcrowding at Dunwoody High School and Lakeside High School and create a new Sequoyah cluster as new and expanded schools open between 2027 and 2029.
Two public comment meetings are scheduled: Tuesday, Sept. 22, at Tucker High School for the Druid Hills, Lakeside and Tucker clusters, and Thursday, Sept. 24, at Cross Keys High School for the Chamblee, Dunwoody and Cross Keys clusters. Both sessions run from 6 to 8 p.m. Registration is required only for those who want to speak.
Anyone can attend without registering.
An online public survey opens Monday, Sept. 21, and closes Monday, Oct. 5. Community Advisory Team meetings follow on Tuesday, Sept. 29, and Thursday, Oct. 1. The district's Student Assignment Project page has the presentation materials in multiple languages and registration details.
What's on the table
Hans Williams, the district's director of planning, narrated a video walking through the draft concepts, Decaturish reported. Board Chair Allyson Gevertz said at the Monday, Sept. 14, board meeting that the options were only "concepts" meant to guide public discussion and would change before the board votes at the end of 2026.
Elementary and middle school boundary changes would take effect by fall 2027. High school boundary changes would likely follow in 2029.
The district's current enrollment sits below 90,000 students despite having capacity for 110,000, according to Decaturish. Earlier in 2026, the district scrapped a broader redistricting plan after community opposition to a proposal that would have closed 27 schools. The current effort focuses on six overcrowded clusters: Chamblee, Cross Keys, Druid Hills, Dunwoody, Lakeside and Tucker.
What happened in round one
About 60 people attended the Dunwoody cluster's Community Advisory Team meeting on Thursday, Sept. 10, at Dunwoody High School. Board member Andrew Ziffer was present. United Way facilitator Terri Johnson led small-group discussions of four to seven people each.
Vladimir Kelly, a Dunwoody-area parent of four whose oldest attends Chesnut Elementary School, said continuity was a top concern in his group. "I've seen in real time how continuity helped my daughter excel from one year to the next," Kelly said at the Sept. 10 meeting, according to Decaturish. "I want that to continue to flourish."
Interim Superintendent Dr. Norman C. Sauce III said when the project's fall phase launched Aug. 11 that it would focus on overcrowded communities first and turn to under-enrolled schools "early next year." The district's Student Assignment Project page now sets that timeline at January 2027.
Engagement Session 3, labeled "Refine Options," runs Oct. 13 through Oct. 29, with public comment sessions Oct. 20 and Oct. 22 and its own online survey. The Board of Education is scheduled to consider final redistricting recommendations by year's end.
