The DeKalb Board of Education approved building the new Cross Keys High School at the former Briarcliff High School site on North Druid Hills Road despite opposition from the three board members closest to the area. Other potential sites included several unnamed apartment complexes, which would have been too expensive to purchase and would displace hundreds of students, the school district said.
Board members Marshall Orson, Stan Jester and James McMahan spoke at the April 16 board meeting in opposition to the location, saying it would be inaccessible for many on Buford Highway due to the traffic. The vote was 4-3, with those three members voting no.
“Thousands live on the north and west side of I-85. We’d be pushing them through what has historically been ranked one of the ten worst transportation corridors in metro Atlanta,” Orson said.
The school district has allocated nearly $85 million in ESPLOST funding for the new 2,500-seat school. It is needed to alleviate overcrowding at the current Cross Keys High, which is located at 1626 North Druid Hills Road.
The Briarcliff site, a 26-acre property the district still owns, is located less than two miles south of Cross Keys High at 2415 North Druid Hills Road.
photo credit: classmates.com
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