Chef Driven

Remember those days? When local politicos were touting village "revitalization" involving local, chef driven, white linen restaurants? Yes. Those days are gone. Now, with the change of ownership of the Shops, the loud chirpers are coming out damp-dreaming about some kind of mega "mixed use" re-development. 'Cuz, why not? 

Glad you asked.

Juxtapose this with the recent pull-back on drones--the latest toys for the boys. The big showstopper seems to be funding, but calling that out resulted in a closer analysis of, justification for, these drones, where it was revealed these have limited range and are basically useless outside the Perimeter area. Something about a radar unit on a Ravinia tower. To be fair, Perimeter is the source of a large portion of city revenue, and as has been pointed out by our elected officials, is also a crime hotspot. The reasons, or ponderings, range from lots of retail attracting thievery, to "this is what happens when you pack folks in real tight." 

So the chirpers have a fix (double entendre intended): let's bring high density, retail and housing, to daVille. They're dreaming of shops and restaurants, and of course the housing required to obtain footfalls to make any of this viable. Only it kinda isn't.

Sunday's AJC had a relevant article regarding the devolution of West Midtown from a funky, innovative center with top notch, locally owned, award winning restaurants, to, well, not. Seems all these cool, local and relatively small enterprises cannot survive the "revitalization" of these mega, mixed use (nee live-work-play) developments. This happens because developers create enormous spaces, because it is less effort to lease out a large footprint restaurant space than, say, three smaller ones. That level of rent, and high upfront costs to equip a space to be a usable restaurant prices the award-winning, local, but small entrepreneurs out of the market. You end up with deep-pocket, national chains selling overpriced commodity food and experiences. Think: mid-level airport eateries, like you'd find at JFK. That's exactly what the chirpers are clamoring for in daVille. 

The damage is already done at Perimeter. Sharing it with other parts of Dunwoody will not fix anything. 

There Will Be...

...apartments!

If you rat-hole on social media you may have noticed folks complaining on local fora either about their current apartment or the difficulty of finding one that doesn't suck. Rents are going up, far beyond any other component of the cost of living, and quality of life is going down. Things remain unrepaired for months, even years. Management is unresponsive if not downright rude, and that assumes they can even be found. 

And the answer to this dilemma is? Well if you ask any developer, and the city bureaucrats only too happy to lend them an ear, that would be build more apartments. Not build better apartments, build more. Building better apartments might cut the cycle of planned dilapidation turning off the revenue stream of building more, new apartments while the older ones fester and decay. Where's the profit in that? 

There is one thing worthy of note in the online descriptions of the downward spiral and that is the use of the word ghetto, as in ghetto people. This was in very negative reference to a complex to avoid. It wasn't surprising that the word was used, it probably is very accurate, but that there where no ad hominem  attacks. In this world were so many are just waiting to express outrage and condemnation this passed without notice. Maybe everyone knows these were ghettos-in-the-making from the day they broke ground.

Thank God It's Not Dunwoody

Thankfully this property is located in Sandy Springs which has a history of protecting the single family residential character of the area. Remember the gator goat farm? Really nice house there instead of a bunch of clutter homes because Sandy Springs held to their guns. 

If this were in Dunwoody there would be some city bureaucrat getting the developer hotlines hummin' with the prospect of a 5 over 2 stick on pedestal live-work-play lifestyle development. Or ghetto. Your call.

Grubb-ing For Bidness

An apartment developer (yep, that's his speciality) who had his bit to convert an office building to apartments is on the rampage. He now contends that unless he is allowed to build apartments in Dunwoody, Dunwoody is doomed. Outside of dubious cancer meds, do terroristic fear tactics really work to sell your product or service? Or is this just a last ditch effort to cash in on Dunwoody?

The argument is odd. Not that long ago an office building was so unused that he wanted to turn it into apartments but now, with all the office space around perimeter he contends there must be massive rental properties built for all the up and coming young professionals. And he is just the man to do it. But this doesn't seem to align with our new, post-pandemic reality. We learned that we can work very effectively when away from the office with some corporations (e.g., a major insurance company) finding that productivity (and hence profits) went up. Mentally ossified Boomers are already out the door and the millennials filling their places are managerial style that is less place-and-face centric. Getting work done away from the office is not going away. And this means two things: no commute; and no need for right-by-the-office living. Of course the latter never made sense for two-income households, something your average developer never addresses and it is why you haven't heard so much about live-work-play lately. 

What is also missing from this is a sense of history. Dunwoody (as in the City of) was sold to voters on a platform whose major plank was stopping the rampant development of apartments. Now one might look at High Street and conclude "promise made, made to be broken" but at least one of the current pols holding office was active in the sales pitch. Voters gave the thumbs-up because they had been convinced that as a city there would be significantly greater restriction on the imminent destruction of Dunwoody's character as a suburban edge-city. 

Let's see if our pols intend to keep the commitment. 

Blink And You've Missed It

But...they're back at it again. It seems a never-ending pas de deux between Grubb[ers] and the city with Grubb always in the lead. First it was a 1200 unit MDU then after DHA pushback all the apartments went poof. Suddenly nothing but condos. But all those parking spaces, lots and decks stayed, because, well, the brief era of Transit Oriented Development is dead. Must not have been enough Federal subsidies pouring down that rat hole.

Now Grubb[er] is back and so are those apartments. Somehow this is not seen by the city as a clear indication of untrustworthiness-perhaps the eye does not see itself. Perhaps it does. In any event, about all the city has issue with is sidewalk and buffer reductions. And what gives the developer hope? Well if past behavior is any indicator the city will rubber stamp the request just as they did for the condo development on Dunwoody Village Parkway. 

Looks like we're going to be getting some new, but soon to be trashy, apartments. Dunwoody Yes!

Floor Wax? Dessert Topping? Just Another Scam?

 

They're calling it a nursing "facility," because Pill Hill is just toooo far away. Well, that's ONE thing they're calling it. But they're downplaying the fact that it really is just a sleight of hand to inject even more high density housing into a city founded on the promise that such development projects would never see the light of day. 

Doesn't really matter what they call it. It will be built on a foundation of broken promises.

[Un]Real Estate Moguls

Shortly after getting bitch-slapped over trying to steal four acres of land from a local mega-church Dunwoody's bureaucrats are back in the game. Just a small walk away from the church's property is a lot Dunwoody picked up back in the day in order to pull Wieland's financial ass out of the fire during the real estate meltdown. One of their first Friends and Family successes. 

Then seeming contradictions set in. 

The map shown in the official notice says 4400 N. Shallowford whilst the text claims it is 4400 Dunwoody Park. Google maps doesn't result in the highlighted lot for either address and DeKalb has no map or GIS data for that parcel ID. It does show "Urban Redevelopment Agency" as the owner of record which is more than odd as there has never, not once, not ever been any structures or other development on this property. Only in the twisted minds of city bureaucrats can you have "urban redevelopment" in the suburbs on property that has yet to be developed. Semantic gymnastics of idiotic proportions. 

It gets better. 

They want offers in excess of $1M for a property is significantly smaller than the church property they low-balled under threat of confiscation by way of imminent domain. To be fair, the county lists a value of more than $1.2M. To be honest, they could have done due diligence on the church property and come away with a rejected, arms-length offer of close to $5M. Maybe they are not the real estate moguls they think they are. Maybe there are other things going on.

Choices, Choices

So we have two dogs in the show for District 1: a former councilman and a wannabe. The former is a known quantity and was never defeated for re-election but abandoned the office to take a run at mayor. The latter is perhaps best known for openly, on the record, declaring a greater affinity for Sandy Springs than Dunwoody almost as if it is a personal loss to be in this city. Would that we could keep it an individual shortcoming. This candidate comes with the ringing endorsement of the dwarf most prior whose inability to read and understand ordinances spoke to limited academic achievement and whose grasp of representative governance flip-flopped when "personal impact" was involved. What a vote of confidence. Wannabe intends to "bring Dunwoody Village into the 21st century" a rather shameless acknowledgement of "I will work hard for the developers" and a clear intention to ignore the residents' wishes and help over-build thousands of apartments to overcrowd our schools. And no one will be surprised when wannabe endorses enormous tax handouts to these developers further undermining those same schools. But wannabe also has plans for the old Austin site looking for something "other than a grassy area." Perhaps some 8-10 story apartments? Your developers would really like that. 

The choice is yours, District 1.

They Hate Us. They Really, REALLY Hate Us.

If Sally Fields lived in the Branches, either of the Winters, Creek or Hall, Redfield or a few other unnamed residential areas adjacent to or very near the Village, you could imagine that is exactly what she would say.  And she would be right.

This comes about because there has been a bump in the road on the developers' path to total destruction of our suburban shopping centers, Dunwoody Hall and Dunwoody Village. The planning commission has deferred a vote. Not voted the matter down, just waiting for a more opportune time. One might excuse this as incompetence that the planning commission did not already know of and have in hand the documents in question, or maybe they do and have and there is something else afoot. Maybe they really, really hate us.

And there is good reason to think that. After all, developers and profiteering businesses are openly shameless in their greed. They don't give us any consideration, let alone hate us. They are in love with money and that is merely the root of the evil afflicting us. We need to consider the trunk and the branches. And that lies with the bureaucracy at city hall. 

While developers and profiteers have molded Dunwoody to their liking since the very first day and the city is structured to allow this, the real hatred emanates from and festers within the city itself. It is at city hall where we find the intense hatred of suburbia and yes, the irony of this coming from what was created as a suburban city is lost on no one. And our shining example of successful suburbia is the thriving, vital shopping and business district known as Dunwoody Village. For several decades this center has well served the community and in return has been equally well supported by that community. Yes, developers are eyeing the lucrative opportunity to replace the Village with a mega-development high density retail and multi-story apartments to generate the footfalls. But make no mistake, in city hall's genocidal lust to destroy the Village the surrounding communities will not be just collateral damage-they have become secondary targets.

The situation appears hopeless and helpless. Loyal opposition has either passed or swum off to warmer waters. The DHA was a staunch proponent of city formation and one has to wonder if anyone in that organization was aware of the deliberate structural flaws in the city they helped create. Initially DHA did positioned themselves as the conduit to power, a stepping stone to city office, or more lucratively, membership on one of the many bureaus, administrations or boards. More recently they seem to have come to a fork in their road: continue as a remora  clinging to the power-hungry sharks at city hall; or advocate, as they once did so long ago, for the residents of Dunwoody. 

Now? Or Forever?

The pandemic has touched nearly every aspect of every one's lives. None have been more greatly impacted and none are more important that our community of developers, particularly the developer of the property at 84 Perimeter Center East. From the developer's statements in justifying this entirely unnecessary and unwanted development of even-more-apartments we learn that the pandemic has drastically and permanently altered the hospitality industry making the previously planned hotel unprofitable. And if developers are about anything it is profits with the city more than happy to help out with a $7M boost to their bottom line. But not to worry, a vast majority of that money is robbed from your children's education. No harm, no foul, right?

What's really interesting is how very quickly they pivoted from hotel to apartment. It's as if that was what they had planned all along.

Like Shingles...

You had a disease, thought you got over it but the virus was dormant, just waiting to come back. Stronger and more painful. 

Last go-round of Viral Developer Syndrome that popped up on Roberts ended with application withdrawal in 2019. That was for ten units. And it was just a brief remission. Now they (greedy developers) are back, with a demand for fifteen clutter homes and claiming a detention pond is a green space feature rather than the mosquito habitat we all know them to be. Normally this would just be another WTF moment with rumors of insider deals. But this is different.

This time the Developer's Authority is in on it. Openly. A partner on the project, Robert Miller, is a board member for the Developer's Authority. If any apologist holdout needed any evidence that city hall is of, by and for developer's, this is it.

And what of the Seven Dwarfs? Smart money says they'll rubber-stamp anything put before them and given the fix is in the only remaining question is "when does construction start?"

Carcinogens And Cancer

The hallmarks of cancer include out of control growth and disease spread, metastasis, to other critical organs. Carcinogens are environmental elements causing or accelerating the development of deadly growths.

Here in Dunwoody, the cancer is out of control greed and development. The carcinogen is the Developer's Authority and it is the City, staff bureaucrats and elected officials, who support cancer-causing behaviors as if they actually prefer a death by this cancer to a life free from it.

As with biologics there may be no cure, the disease may be too advanced. Ironically it is a true, viral pandemic that may offer some relief. Developer spinmeisters are already ramping up PR around how their high density, highly profitable residential developments will not actually be SARS-CoV-2 reservoirs as they will have a few open areas, some mini-parks. That is their pandemic-slayer. Does anyone really believe it?

Even those blessed with only minimal intelligence can see right through this. Developers have been given carte blanche when it comes to growth in Your Dunwoody, fueled by bad behavior of the city and its captive corps. But now it is no longer a matter of quality of life, it is a matter of actual life and death.

How much is your life worth? Ask a developer how much they stand to make. Better yet, ask council. They should know exactly who profits and by how much as they sell out Your Dunwoody.

Dunwoody's Drug Problem

They're getting high in daVille. 

The soon-to-be-wealthier developer has pushed aside his Developers' Authority and the shills at City Hall to brag directly about the money maker he's branded High Street. We are treated to his ambitious goal of launching this grand development with 600 apartments. After all, there is a lot of money to be made in apartment rentals and being built the way they are there is guaranteed re-development in about a decade. Of course there will not be traditional retail-that is soooo last millennium. Instead the trend du jour is food courts and movie theaters. You're forgiven if you mistake this for being redundant to what already exists AT THE MALL but what you don't understand is this new, with a trendy look much like all the new trendy apartment developments just over the line in Sandy Springs. Go look. There also will not be a traditional anchor-store model since traditional isn't exactly trendy. Instead it will be a clutter of shops and restaurants below, around and between the main event--apartments. Again, forgiveness if you think this is redundant to what you'll find just a short walk up the street at the Manhattan. But if you think about it, that housing complex has a Target-a traditional anchor-very much a trend a decade ago, but totally out of vogue these days.

If you just insist on being a Debbie Downer please keep your negativity to yourself. No one needs to hear your thoughts on how all these same things already exist in the very same area. Nobody wants to hear whining about traffic or your silly insistence on No Parking Spaces simply because you cannot accept that "Transit Oriented Development" is effective branding, not a ban on cars. Don't you dare say "lipstick on a pig."

And everyone, particularly the folks at City Hall, are fed up with your constant, obsessive fixation with schools and overcrowding. Seriously did you really expect the developer to find space for a school? Look at the plan, would you please? Do you see anywhere a school could be built? Every square inch is already dedicated to apartments, parking, some retail and a few sidewalks. If you want a school then build one in your backyard. Oh and you can pay for it too, since High Street is not going to pay any taxes.

So if you cannot find something nice to say about High Street, why don't you just move?

Deja Do-Over

If it feels like we've been here before it's because we have. Dial the Way-Back-Machine to 2011 and look up the Dunwoody Village Master Plan. Now you do have to wonder how much this cost and why it didn't even endure for a decade because now the City is shoveling more money into what is being called a Master Plan Update. This is like building a McMansion by tearing down all but the side wall of the basement and then calling it a "renovation" yet this "update" leaves almost nothing untouched or intact.

Some of this is explained by the context of the original master plan which was created when the City was relatively young, politically naive and not yet unduly influenced by outside economic forces. But now, when a developer wants the overlay in the dustbin and demands a building with floor-to-ceiling windows, stacked stone and other trendy veneers the parrots down at City Hall begin squawking "vibrant" incessantly. But this "update" is a great bit of theatre, a theatre City Hall will not vote to tear down. It is the embodiment of "practical impossibility" as it demands conversions of private property to public roads and paths (keep in mind that this City's idea of a "trail" is a super-highway lane of concrete) that is both prohibitively expensive, politically "unattractive" and more disruptive than desirable. At least if you live around here. But it may be attractive to those who will cash in on the re-development and keep in mind the very first impediment to this plan is "long-term property owners" who will have to be sated (or just pushed aside) in favor of new developers. Not likely to happen.

So what is going on? Well there will likely be limited re-development and things will need to be pushed aside to satisfy the developers' demands. The impediment in that case is the existing Village Overlay. Basically they are demanding trends that are getting close to their use-by date: new urbanism (being displaced by Avalon-type developments) and a faux-post-industrial look that peaked a couple years back. One has to wonder how long before a wave of developers descends pushing a "Williamsburg Style" as "vibrant" and "retro-trendy." Then there is the high pressure sales job--the kind that would make a Florida condo-pitch seem tame. When they are trying that hard they are either selling you something you don't need or they are distracting you from what they are really doing. Or both.

But it is the "Who's Responsible" slide that is the most odious, the most insulting, the most offensive. This characterizes "The Public" (us) as doddering old fools unable to comprehend what is going on and so stupid we are easily bamboozled by a myriad of special interests, all the while the aficionados of neo-urbanism (traffic enginerrs) are positioning themselves at the same level of honor and integrity as Girl Scouts. With an air of arrogant condescension they demean us as readily manipulated (by everyone but them) idiots and by commissioning this team and using OUR money to pay them, our elected officials are saying exactly the same thing.

Shame on them! For what they have done and for what they intend to do. 

Lovin' Dunwoody

Step Lightly

Step lightly,
You're movin' too fast.
Take your time, boy,
Soon the pain will pass.
In the meantime,
You gotta find yourself a love
That's gonna last.

Step lightly,
Things will work out fine,
Nice and easy,
All it takes is time.
Please, believe me,
I wish this song was yours instead of mine.

Now don't be angry at what i'm telling you,
I'd be happy if you would see it too.
But in the meantime,
Find yourself a love that's true to you.

Somehow this just does not resonate with Greedy Developer, who, as reported by the AJC, now expects a retroactive taxpayer handout. And this isn't just an incentive (they say accelerator) for additional future development but covers the existing building nearing completion. Like a post-coital pre-nupt with assets in a trust.

As you might expect some boo-birds have surfaced. What surprises is that they come from outside DaVille, including the county and even from an expert outside the state:

"They're asking for an incentive for something they're already doing," said Brent Lane, director of the University of North Carolina Center for Competitive Economies. "We're doing away with the charade of doing something to incentivize behavior. It's just giving away money."

And our Smart City Development Authority is preparing to do just that: give away money.

Michael Starling, the city's economic development director: "The certainty that the project moves forward sooner and is definitely going to happen -- I think there's a benefit to that."

And it isn't just the city's top dog. We have another member of the Development Authority waxing poetic about his desire to respond promptly and generously whenever Greedy Developer yells "Hey mister, throw me some beads." Robert Miller reportedly said:

"If this inducement helps them to make the decision to do it right now rather than wait four or five years, then I personally feel like that's good for Dunwoody because it gets the project done. You could have something worse. You could have [the property] declining and stagnant, and people not wanting to move here."

J. M. & J!

Really? REALLY? Declining AND stagnant? Roll up the pants boys, it's too late to save the shoes. Dunwoody has way too many folks hell bent on proving this is really a quite stupid city, these are just the few two who recently took the stage.

And the Perimeter area is NOT a blighted area. If this were a residential area in the City, half as desirable  as Perimeter, there would be a bidding war to develop any property. Consider if you will the prospect of a neighboring city developing property inside their own sovereign boundaries that just happens to abut a Dunwoody residential area. What would happen then? Well Dunwoody would have
shakers and movers descending on THAT city's council advising THEM to make haste slowly lest they impact Dunwoody! Maybe we should reserve some of that deliberation and prudence for what goes on INSIDE Dunwoody.

But because of a system with Greedy Developers on the one hand and sycophantic city authorities on the other what Dunwoody has is more like Carnival: leering bureaucrats get their thrill on and taxpayers get fleeced. And just who takes the biggest hit? Schools. Do you suppose the mayor or any member of council could run on a platform of undermining public schools? Well when they let this kind of corporate welfare go on right under their noses that is exactly what they are doing.

Frankly, property in the Perimeter area will be developed and were the City to be as opposed to any development as they are fervent in catering to Greedy Developer, Greedy Developer would get his buildings built anyway. He might even pay the City for permission! What Dunwoody needs in regards to development are people with a long range vision who can guide us towards developments in the area that support a thriving community ten, twenty and thirty years from now. Instead, it looks like we have development crack-whores spreading wide for the next fix from Greedy Developer. They have sold their souls and they're selling our future.

Mizz Dunwoody Embraces TOD

Mizz Dunwoody should embrace TOD. In fact she should fall madly, passionately in love with TOD.

No. No. Not this TOD. The other TOD: Transit Oriented Development.

Transit Oriented Development is the Love Child of the hipster "Live-Work-Play!" and Greedy Developer. Live-Work-Play! is as sexy as Scarlett Johansen and as bright as Gracie Allen making her a perfect mate for Greedy Developer. While Li'l TOD is blessed with his daddy's looks and his mama's brains he's part of a supportive team comprising his cousin, Millennials, and his rich uncle, Olde Farts.

The religious doctrine of this tribe is founded on the belief that no-one wants to drive as the faithful prefer instead to Walk, Work, Play.  For this to succeed the WWP-ers have to live within walking distance of Work-Play or public transit that will get them there. The latter, public transit, has come to the forefront because Live-Work-Play! couldn't bring home the bacon and whilst TOD may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, he's new and shiny.

This won't be easy for Mizz Dunwoody. After all, at first glance TOD is less than attractive, but true love is deeper than mere appearances. And remember, Mizz Dunwoody is in love with TOD, not Greedy Developer so when embracing TOD her focus is exclusively on TOD. And what does that mean? Well for one thing it means embracing a pedestrian life, a Gilligan's Island fantasy land where there are no motorcars (you get to keep your lights and phones). None. Nada. In accepting this, in promoting this lifestyle Mizz Dunwoody will have to put her foot down. No cars means no parking spaces. Hard. Stop.

Now Greedy Developer will not like this because deep down inside he doesn't like TOD and he doesn't believe in TOD. He just thinks that others do and that they will help him score his next Greedy Development. So when Greedy Developer comes to Mizz Dunwoody with his plans she should OK any building height he wants and any purpose that suits his fancy but where she must draw the line is parking--there can be zero tolerance for any parking spaces whatsoever lest it irreparably damage the good name of TOD.

TAD: Not Worth The Trouble

The wanna-be Doraville Developer is refusing to answer DCSD's questions regarding the Developer's insistence that our school system participate in a TAD thereby blocking the DCSD Staff's efforts at due diligence. Wonder what the Developer has to hide? You should.

Developer is insisting on a public presentation replete with Power Points, promises and political grandstanding. Yet thru a mouthpiece Developer is already hedging claiming Developer "(has) requested, on multiple occasions, the opportunity to make a formal, public presentation to the district, in which virtually all the questions you asked in your letter would be answered." As it turns out virtually separates itself cleanly from real and over time becomes totally distinct from actuality. And in business, when a company makes similar requests a refusal to answer questions is called non-responsive. When you're non-responsive you do not get to the next step.

So if this effort, this TAD, is not worth Developer's time to answer DCSD questions then it really is not that important, is it?

Bitch Slappin' Mizz Dunwoody

In a recent encounter with Greedy Developer Mizz Dunwoody got one right across the face. Out of the blue. Bitch slapped.

Greedy Developer arrived on the scene with DeKalb-granted zoning in hand to build his building between the Mall and MARTA. But he wants more. He always wants more. And he is accustomed to getting it. He wants a tax abatement, paying almost no property taxes to the city, the county or schools for what is probably a ten year period. Greedy Developer wants the milk but he ain't gonna pay for the cow.

Perhaps his experience with Mizz DeKalb left him confused and angry when he encountered someone playing hard to get. But Mizz Dunwoody should play hard to get. Not because favouring one Greedy Developer is "unfair" to the other Greedy Developers nor because Mizz Dunwoody should be looking to what is "fair" to our local residents. Well not exactly. As long as there is a real prospect of Dunwoody getting their own school system Mizz Dunwoody should not commit to underfunding them. That is only recommended for Mizz Doraville.

Greedy Developer has his DeKalb-conferred zoning, a zoning that found no support in pre-City Dunwoody. Let him build his building under those rules--Mizz Dunwoody cannot really stop him. Mizz Dunwoody needn't demand impact fees. That would be dancing with the devil. But Mizz Dunwoody has been told by someone who knows that Tax Abatements are a bad idea and are a non-starter.

Many think it a knee-jerk reaction but Mizz Dunwoody should kick Greedy Developer in the balls. Nothing says "No Means No" like staggering around with a couple of cracked stones. 

Certain Expectations

A recent AJC business blog dropped this nugget:

The developers pulled the Crown Towers proposal under uncertainty over what the council would decide.

Ponder that a bit. Read it again. Let it roll over and over in your head.

Mind. Blown. Right?

The zoning is known. The limits and restrictions are no secret. What the developers want is their rules to prevail and before they detail their rules in full view of the public they want concrete assurances that they will get their way.

What kind of contact and between what individuals could possibly dispel all uncertainty?

E-SPLOST, Let's Hope Not

DeKalb Schools' track record with education SPLOSTs offers little hope for the upcoming SPLOST but if history tells us anything it is that it will pass anyway.  Some claim that Superintendent Green has not been specific enough regarding what the SPLOST will buy. But can he really say "Just like last time we'll use this SPLOST to finish up our commitments on the last SPLOST." Because then it is turtles all the way down.

There there is the pretty well documented fact that DeKalb Schools, on the whole, consistently underperform against the other systems in Georgia. And it isn't like Georgia is topping the charts in the nation. Add to this research suggesting more money is not the answer and that expenditures per student negatively correlate with positive outcomes and it gets very difficult to entertain the notion of voting them another pile of money. And we're not alone. Strong voices in the community are poised to have the schools forgo future tax rise opportunities to divert money to development suggesting a clear set of priorities. Funding schools isn't at the top.

But how could it be? DeKalb has the highest millage rate of any school in the state. Some claim it is illegally high and that it is a funding hangover from the days Perimeter College was run by DCSD. [Note to self: once you give a government or its agency a funding stream you can never, ever shut it off.] They've not been good stewards of the cash they've gotten, and it is more than just horrible education outcomes. We've been sending school officials to jail. Hell, we're sending more than just a few graduates, and yes, dropouts to jail.

So maybe it would be best if Superintendent Green had only one item on his SPLOST list: DCSD will reduce the millage rate until it is below the legal limit. If we can't make it good can we at least make it cheaper?