Dunwoody and Brookhaven families have three ways to weigh in on DeKalb County School District boundary changes before the first public input window closes Wednesday, Sept. 9. Brookhaven falls largely within the Cross Keys cluster, one of three clusters covered in the session that matters most locally: Thursday, Sept. 3, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Chamblee High School, alongside the Chamblee and Dunwoody clusters.

Engagement Session 1 of the district's Student Assignment Project (SAP) is underway and runs through that Wednesday, Sept. 9 deadline. It covers six clusters dealing with overcrowding: Chamblee, Cross Keys, Druid Hills, Dunwoody, Lakeside and Tucker. The district is collecting feedback through an online survey, online focus groups and two in-person public comment sessions.

A separate session for the Druid Hills, Lakeside and Tucker clusters takes place Tuesday, Sept. 1, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Lakeside High School.

Online focus groups are available at four time slots — 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. — on select dates through Sept. 9. The public comment sessions follow the same format as the public comment portion of Board of Education meetings, according to the district's SAP page.

The boundary review covers schools across the six clusters, all affected by new and expanded campuses opening between 2027 and 2029. Those projects include Dresden Elementary, Cross Keys High School, Sequoyah Middle School, Sequoyah High School, Idlewood Elementary School and a new high school cluster.

The stakes are significant. The district has cited declining enrollment and roughly 20,000 open seats districtwide as reasons for the redistricting effort. Interim Superintendent Dr. Norman C. Sauce III told the Board of Education on Monday, Aug. 10, that the district wanted to hear from communities before making decisions.

"We want to ensure that students have equitable experiences, equitable opportunities for experiences, across the county," Sauce said at the Aug. 10 meeting, as reported by Atlanta News First. "It's a little premature to talk about what decisions will or won't be made, but we're looking forward to getting close to our communities before any decisions get made …"

Each participating school has up to 10 seats on a Community Advisory Team (CAT). The application deadline passed Aug. 25. Returning members of the previous SAP Advisory Committee who submitted interest forms received priority.

Two more engagement rounds follow this fall. Engagement Session 2 runs Sept. 21 through Oct. 6. Engagement Session 3 runs Oct. 13 through Oct. 29. After the overcrowding phase wraps up, the district plans to shift to under-enrolled schools in the Towers, McNair, Cedar Grove, Miller Grove, Columbia and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. clusters in January 2027.

The Board of Education is expected to consider final SAP recommendations in December.