DeKalb County School District considers plans to modernize or close Druid Hills High School
DeKalb County officials are mulling the future of Druid Hills High School.
On Tuesday night, parents and community members will have the chance to share their input on the school's future as officials weigh whether to renovate the current campus or move the school entirely.
Druid Hills High has been in existence since the 1920s, and its oldest building is nearly 100 years old. Actor Denzel Washington walked its halls and athletic fields when it was used to film the 2000 movie "Remember the Titans" — about a football team breaking down racial barriers. The school serves around 1,430 students and is among the most diverse in metro Atlanta.
In 2022, students used their phones to show the conditions at the school. In the video, which was posted on Youtube, the students showed plaster falling off walls, water leaking in many areas, and a ceiling hole so big that a student could place his entire hand through it. The students also describe the smell of human waste in a lunch area of the school, which has century-old water pipes.
After assessing the site, DeKalb County officials say that the current campus has multiple Americans with Disabilities Act access issues to entrances and exits, as well as problems with its sanitary sewer infrastructure, roof, waterproofing, and fire alarms. The campus also "lacks a border with secured points of access" and is not up to code when it comes to emergency vehicle access, officials found.
District leaders say there are three options for the school on the table:
- Bring the current site up to code for $80 million,
- Bring the site up to code and add additional classrooms to increase capacity to 1,600 students for $125 million,
- Move the school to an alternative site, and renovate the current site for $200 million.
If the last option is chosen, officials say the property could be sold, but they'd rather convert it for another form of instruction.
Tuesday's meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the DeKalb County School of the Arts on Claredon Avenue. The final meeting on the modernization plan will be held on Oct. 20 at Druid Hills Middle School on Mt. Olive Drive.
Parents, DeKalb County School District employees, and community members can also share their feedback on the proposals in a survey set up by the school system.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.