DeKalb County Families Need to Know…

Our Schools Are Not Just Buildings: What DeKalb County Families Need to Know About the District's "Strategic Action Plan"

By Ruth D. Goldstein, CFP® Professional | Candidate, DeKalb County School Board | April 2026

The DeKalb County School District is at a crossroads. Behind the bureaucratic language of "right-sizing" and "Strategic Action Plans," there is a very human reality: up to 27 school buildings could be closed or repurposed, thousands of students could be displaced from their communities, and a district already shaken by scandal is asking families to simply trust the process.

I am not willing to do that — and neither should you.

Ruth Denise Goldstein is a Southerner from birth. Born in Louisiana and attended public school in Alabama. She raised her five children and has fifteen grandchildren and eleven of them live in Dekalb County School District 2! I am raising my voice for the sake of my grandchildren and yours. Dekalb County school system is here to serve us a taxpayers and concerned citizens.

As a candidate for the DeKalb County School Board, and as a financial professional who deals in data, accountability, and fiduciary responsibility every day, I want to lay out exactly what is happening, why it matters, and what I believe a responsible path forward looks like.

What the District Is Proposing

The district's "Strategic Action Plan" (SAP) calls for closing or converting somewhere between 22 and 27 school buildings. District officials point to declining enrollment as the driving justification — elementary schools are operating at approximately 83% capacity and middle schools at roughly 79%.

On the surface, those numbers may sound like a case for consolidation. But numbers on a slide deck are not the same as a sound financial and community strategy — and that is precisely the problem.

The board is expected to vote on this plan in the fall of 2026. That means the window to demand answers, transparency, and accountability is right now.

Why Parents Are Right to Be Skeptical

The Data Problem

Parents across DeKalb have raised serious concerns about the accuracy of the data being used to justify these closures. Consultants — including the firm HPM — have been brought in to analyze facilities and enrollment, but community members have questioned the methodology, the assumptions baked into the projections, and whether the analysis truly reflects the lived reality of individual school communities.

Here is what I know from my professional experience: data can be accurate and still be misleading. Enrollment numbers alone do not tell you about the cultural anchor a school represents in a neighborhood, the commute burden a closure places on a working family, or the downstream economic effects on surrounding communities. If the board is basing a decision of this magnitude solely on occupancy percentages, they are asking the wrong questions.

No Clear Financial Strategy

Closing schools is supposed to save money. But where is the financial plan? What are the projected savings? What are the one-time costs — moving expenses, facility repurposing, transportation expansion, staff transitions? What happens to the buildings themselves? Are they sold, leased, or left to deteriorate?

These are not optional details. They are the minimum standard of fiscal responsibility that DeKalb County taxpayers deserve. A plan that identifies schools to close without a credible, independently verified financial model is not a plan — it's a starting point being presented as a conclusion.

Equity Concerns Are Real and Cannot Be Dismissed

Community members have raised concerns that school closures will disproportionately affect schools serving low-income families and communities of color. This is not a fringe concern. Across the country, school consolidation efforts have a documented history of falling hardest on the most vulnerable. DeKalb's leadership owes it to every family in this district to conduct a rigorous equity impact analysis — and to make that analysis public before any vote is taken.

The Trust Deficit: Why Leadership Matters

It is impossible to discuss this situation without acknowledging what happened last fall. Dr. Devon Q. Horton, the district's superintendent, resigned in late 2025 following federal indictments for fraud and embezzlement. The district is now operating under interim leadership.

That scandal did not just remove one person from power — it depleted an already fragile reservoir of community trust. When parents come to school board meetings skeptical of the data they are being shown, that skepticism did not come from nowhere. It is the direct and rational result of a district that has, in recent years, given families reasons to doubt.

Rebuilding that trust requires more than new faces. It requires a new standard of transparency, honest communication, and decision-making that genuinely centers the needs of students and families over administrative convenience.

The GAE Lawsuit: A Warning Sign About District Operations

The Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) filed a lawsuit against DCSD for failing to issue written contracts to employees for the 2025-2026 school year. Let that sink in. Teachers and staff — the people who show up every day for our children — went into a school year without basic employment documentation.

This is not a bureaucratic footnote. It is a symptom of operational dysfunction that erodes teacher morale, destabilizes classrooms, and signals to experienced educators that DeKalb may not be the district where they build their careers. At a time when we should be competing for the best teachers, this kind of failure is simply unacceptable.

The Enrollment Decline: Real, But Not Inevitable

Let me be clear: the enrollment decline in DCSD is real. Multi-year population loss is a genuine challenge that affects funding and long-term planning. Ignoring it would be irresponsible.

But declining enrollment is not a one-variable equation. It reflects housing affordability, migration patterns, the growth of charter and private school options, and — critically — whether families choose to keep their children in the district. When families feel heard, when schools are well-resourced and led, and when communities trust the institutions serving them, enrollment tends to stabilize. The SAP addresses a symptom. We also need to address the causes.

What I Believe a Responsible Path Looks Like

If elected to the DeKalb County School Board, I will push for:

Independent financial verification. Any consolidation plan must be accompanied by a full, independently audited financial projection — real costs, real savings, real timelines. Not a consultant's presentation. An auditable model.

A moratorium on votes until families have genuine input. Rubber-stamping a plan developed behind closed doors is not community engagement. Meaningful public participation means families have access to the full data, adequate time to review it, and real mechanisms to influence the outcome.

An equity impact analysis made public. Before any school is closed, the district must publish a clear analysis of which communities bear the burden — and what will be done to mitigate disproportionate harm.

Accountability for the GAE contract dispute. Every employee in this district deserves a written contract. Full stop. Resolving this lawsuit and restoring professional standards for staff must be a priority.

A long-term strategy to grow enrollment, not just manage decline. DeKalb County has extraordinary assets — diverse communities, proximity to Atlanta, a large and engaged parent base. A school board should be working to make DCSD the first choice for families in this region, not simply administering a shrinking system.

A Final Word to DeKalb Families

You are not wrong to be angry. You are not wrong to ask hard questions. And you are absolutely not wrong to demand that the people making decisions about your children's schools be held to the same standard of accountability you would expect from any other institution managing public resources.

I am running for this board because I believe DeKalb County's students deserve leadership that combines financial expertise with a genuine commitment to equity, transparency, and community. Our schools are not line items. They are the foundation of our neighborhoods, our economy, and our children's futures.

The vote on the Strategic Action Plan is coming. The time to be engaged is now.

Ruth D. Goldstein, CFP® Professional, is a Registered Investment Advisor Managing Member and Certified Financial Planning® professional, and a candidate for the DeKalb County School Board. To learn more or get involved in the campaign, visit www.Goldstein2SchoolBoard.com or contact ruth@goldstein2schoolboard.com.