The Fulton County Board of Education votes Thursday, Sept. 17, on whether to launch a five-month study that could redraw elementary and middle school zones across North Fulton.

The vote would authorize the review only. It would not approve a map or close a school. The district has not released a closure recommendation, and the first proposed boundaries are not expected until November.

Lauren Malekebu, executive director of operational planning for Fulton County Schools (FCS), recommended the review to the board at its Thursday, Sept. 10, work session, according to the district's board bulletin. Staff cited underutilized facilities and aging campuses as reasons to examine attendance lines in the area north of the Chattahoochee River, which the district calls Region C.

Several Sandy Springs-area schools appear in the early planning documents. At the elementary level, Esther Jackson and Hembree Springs are identified as potential recipients of additional attendance territory, while Mimosa could lose territory, the North Atlanta Star reported. Vickery Mill could gain or lose territory depending on the eventual map.

For middle schools, Autrey Mill and Elkins Pointe could gain territory. Haynes Bridge and Holcomb Bridge could gain or lose attendance area.

Those designations are not proposed assignments. They show where planners believe students might be shifted to fill existing classrooms. No streets, subdivisions or individual households have been assigned to another school.

High school boundaries are excluded.

Enrollment and budget pressure

Enrollment forecasts project 17,221 elementary students and 8,710 middle school students in the northern planning region by the 2030-31 school year. Declining enrollment reduces state funding through Georgia's Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula, a pressure the district flagged in its FY 2026 budget, adopted in June 2025. That budget totals $2.46 billion across all funds.

Zone 7, which includes Sandy Springs, Alpharetta and Milton, serves 17,039 students across 17 schools, according to the board bulletin.

What comes next

The district has scheduled community forums this fall. The middle school introductory forum is set for Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 6 p.m. at Centennial High School. The elementary forum follows Friday, Oct. 9, at 6:30 p.m. at Roswell High School.

Initial proposed maps are expected at forums Nov. 9 for elementary schools and Nov. 11 for middle schools. Revised maps would follow in December. A final board vote is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 25, 2027.

The district has not announced when new boundaries would take effect, whether some students could remain at their current schools, how siblings would be treated or how bus routes might change.

Also on Thursday's agenda: the board plans to outline the appointment process to replace District 3 Vice President Katie Gregory, who announced her resignation at the Thursday, Sept. 10, work session, effective Friday, Sept. 18. Her departure leaves a vacancy in a district that includes portions of Sandy Springs. "I am leaving because of a professional opportunity that I will announce soon," Gregory said at the Thursday, Sept. 10, session.