APS Sets Guidelines for Redistricting Maps, McDaniel Says

Atlanta Public Schools will release a set of guidelines that demographers used to complete the second round of redistricting maps that are set to be released next week.

The guidelines could be posted on the district’s website as early as Thursday, School Board Chairman Reuben McDaniel, a Buckhead resident, told Poncey-Highland residents during a neighborhood meeting on Wednesday night.

The 25 guidelines aim to avoid redistricting neighborhoods that have been rezoned in the past three years, consider specific programs at specific schools, study transportation issues and keep neighborhoods together, among other factors, McDaniel said.

“The next maps will take into account some of these issues,” McDaniel said. “I really believe that the next two to three options will really reflect more on the thinking of the whole community around what we are trying to accomplish.”

Demographers only considered capacity of schools, current enrollment and projected enrollment when proposing the original four options for Atlanta Public Schools redistricting in late November.

APS is holding a new series of public meetings beginning Jan. 30 on the revised demographers' maps. The Buckhead meeting is Feb. 1 at