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February 2, 2023

GREAT NEWS TO SHARE, Red Devil Nation! 

 

On Feb. 1, the DeKalb County School District Board officially voted and unanimously approved the ESPLOST VI facility projects and INCLUDED $50M FOR DRUID HILLS HIGH SCHOOL MODERNIZATION AND RENOVATION!! This was the final step in order to proceed with finally modernizing our beloved 95-year-old school!

 

Thank you to everyone for your continued support throughout the past year! It finally paid off, as we have officially received the funding to transform our aging facility into the contemporary learning environment our students, teachers and staff deserve. 

 

Next steps will be for the County to issue a request for proposals from architectural firms to bid on a design plan for the work ahead. This process can take several months, followed by a review and approval from the Board. Then contractors are hired and the process of modernization and remodeling begins. We will keep you informed every step of the way!

 

Thank you all for your terrific support of Druid Hills High School!  

January 10, 2023

DHHS #MODERNIZATION UPDATE: YOUR HELP IS STILL NEEDED!

It has been 7 months since we received the good news that Dekalb County School Board approved $50 million for modernization and renovation of Druid Hills High School. Unfortunately, there has been no new news to report since then. Even with new ESPLOST VI funding actively being collected from the penny tax approved by voters to fund school projects, the Board still has NOT published the final list of approved projects to spend that money on - including the $50 million for DHHS modernization and renovation.

 

No work can begin on DHHS until this project list is voted on and approved by the Board at their monthly meeting. As of the January 9, 2023 Board Meeting, this Board did NOT have ESPLOST VI projects on the agenda to vote on so NO CAPITAL PROJECTS can begin. This means the County cannot hire an architect to draw up ideas on what a modernized DHHS could look like - let alone start to build or renovate anything at DHHS or other schools.

 

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

 

Please write a letter or email to each Board member and Interim Superintendent Dr Tinsley to urge them to place the ESPLOST VI project list with the $50M DHHS Modernization plan on the agenda for their next Board meeting. The County is collecting tax money every day that could be applied to improving our Schools, yet the continued delay in approving the project list causes all of our aging buildings, especially 100-year-old Druid Hills, to fall into further decay and disrepair.  

 

Here are the emails to each board member & Dr Tinsley:

 

You can also volunteer to speak at the Community Input session at the end of each Board meeting. This is your chance to be in front of the Board for 3 minutes speaking about a cause you care about - DHHS modernization and renovation!! 

  • Please email the County by Noon on the Wednesday before the Board meeting with your name, contact information, affiliation to DeKalb County Schools, and the topic you'd like to speak on. They approve up to 20 speakers for each Board meeting and we want DHHS to stay front and center.

 

  • Here are the upcoming Board meeting dates: Feb 13, March 13, April 17, May 8, June 12. 

 

Thanks for your continued support of Druid Hills High School!

 

From the Red Devil Task Force

DEKALB SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES $50 MILLION DHHS MODERNIZATION 

 

We received some terrific news at the May 31 Board Meeting! At long last, the DeKalb County School Board voted 7 to 0 to include DHHS in the 5-year local facility plan for modernization submitted to the State Board of Education to qualify for reimbursement. The estimated cost is $50MM with work starting in September when E-SPLOST VI funding and state reimbursements become available. Interim Superintendent Dr. Tinsley said a thorough assessment of the DHHS facilities will be conducted and include recommendations for modernization. The term "modernization" refers to making older buildings "like new" and could include renovation, tear downs, and rebuilds.  

 

Today is a huge step in the right direction for the future of DHHS.  It is up to all of us to make sure promises made are promises kept, as our teachers and students deserve so much better than the facility that they left just last week. The Board's May 31 vote is the first step in making a safer, better DHHS possible. The Red Devil Task Force will continue our work and advocacy to make sure the Board and the County follow through with a solid plan of action and execute that plan until we have a modernized DHHS.  

 

We are postponing our scheduled volunteer work days in June and moving them to July & August closer to school opening. This will allow for more of the immediate work outlined by the County to be completed including roof repair, water mitigation, sewer system analysis and room painting before our Red Devil volunteers arrive. Progress has already been made with repairs at DHHS. On May 31, the County completed a sewer line replacement by the outdoor senior picnic area made infamous in our student's video. Next year's DHHS seniors will have a much more enjoyable lunch period!!

 

Stay tuned to DHHSPTO.org for more information on how you can volunteer on the Red Devil Task Force to advocate for the best DHHS possible for our current and future students. Thank you for your support of the Red Devil Task Force!

 

Tamara Shipley,

Chair, Druid Hills High School Principal Advisory Council

 

Ken Schroeder

Chair, Druid Hills Cluster Alliance

The Red Devil Task Force was formed in late February as a result of the DCSD Board of Education removing DHHS from its Facility Priority List: 

 

  • DHHS is a 90+-year-old campus composed of 7 buildings from various eras, from the 1920s to the 2000s

  • Our campus has the oldest educational facilities still in use in the DeKalb County School District (DCSD) system

 

  • This Frankensteined-together approach has created a campus with multiple space, security, health, and safety issues that have been ignored over the years

 

  • The DHHS campus requires a Remodel and Modernization to bring us at minimum to a standard of what DCSD has provided all other Dekalb high schools.

 

 

  • Perkins & Will estimated a DHHS Remodel & Modernization at $60MM among the priority list of County facility projects.

 

  • On Feb. 25, 2022 the DCSD Board of Education voted 4 to 2 to remove DHHS from the facility priority list submitted to the State of Georgia (WATCH THE MEETING HERE, facility discussion starts at 12:00)

    • Voted to Remove DHHS from the Priority List: DaCosta, Hill, Pierce, Turner (Chair)​

    • Voted to Keep DHHS on the Priority List: Gevertz, Orson

    • Absent from Meeting: Morley

    • Non-voting Member: Superintendent Watson-Harris

 

  • DHHS was THE ONLY project removed from the priority list by the DCSD Board of Education 

  • You can watch the Board's discussion on this critical topic HERE

    • Facilities discussion starts around 0:47

    • Initial topic of DHHS Modernization begins around 0:56

    • Important option for potential additional funding to help DHHS modernization and other Cluster school priorities begins around 1:01

    • Region 2 Rep. Marshall Orson's advocacy for DHHS modernization begins at 1:05:59 and the resulting alternative plan read by Region 1 Rep. Anna Hill follows.  

While the adults were talking, brave DHHS students SPRANG into action and created this video: 

Their video was viewed more than 35,000 times in its first week online and continues to garner views and media attention!

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