Politics & Government

Op-Ed: Should Decatur Take Down The 'We Will Annex' Sign?

Reader Judd Owen writes: "CSD has made it plain that it wants to be consulted on annexations. So we need to evaluate this policy as a policy, separate from individual petitions, which make the question personal."

Judd Owen lives in Decatur with his wife and two children.  He has served on the Enrollment Committee and Annexation Committee for the City Schools of Decatur.  He teaches political science at Emory.

The second of a two-part series. The first part appeared Tuesday.

By Judd Owen

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[Yesterday] appeared my obituary of large-scale annexation for Decatur.  It was an idea that was pushed hard by some of the City’s political leadership without having been adequately evaluated. The most massive blind spot was the impact on the school system (CSD) and on school taxes in Decatur.  The idea was originally presented as being about tax relief, but with scant attention paid to the impact on the larger school side of residents’ tax bills.  Once CSD got involved and its own evaluation of the proposal replaced the deeply flawed one of the City’s paid consultant, it became clear that the residential annexation would not be offset by the commercial annexation, resulting in a massive financial loss to the schools and the Decatur tax-payer.  CSD opposed residential annexation (while favoring commercial annexation), but the final revised plan for commercial-only annexation died in the state legislature owing to lack of sponsorship.

A fitting end.  But the whole experience did bring with it some genuinely beneficial results.  First it made many people (myself included) aware of how important is for City and CSD officials to collaborate and communicate.  Improved collaboration between City and CSD has been a topic of conversation in subsequent elections for City Commission and School Board, and the process for evaluating the impact of annexation on CSD was vastly improved the second time around.  CSD formed an annexation committee, with representatives from CSD, the City Manager’s office, and the Decatur community.  That committee recommended “continued collaboration in development of an annexation plan that benefits the schools and students.”

Find out what's happening in Decatur-Avondale Estateswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A complete obituary of annexation, however, would have to admit that it’s not entirely dead.  The City Commission just last week approved the annexation of five single family residences.  So far as I have been able to confirm, it was approved with no consultation of CSD.  It was approved with no discussion of CSD by the Commission at the time they voted—with no discussion at all, or even the hearing of the City Manager’s report, which in any case did not mention CSD. 

Now, I do not mean to make a mountain out of a mole hill.  Five residences are neither here nor there in themselves, and I heartily welcome our new Decaturites. I suspect the fact that they had to work through the City process to get in means that they will be attentive and involved residents, which is great.  But these five annexations do not stand in isolation. There have been over 30 such annexations in the last few years, and there is no reason to believe that they will be the last.  Decatur at some point hung a sign “We Will Annex.”  No consultation of CSD, no discussion; just ask and it’s done.  Each in isolation is no big deal. But it is now a clear City policy.  Is it a good policy? 

First, some facts.  The fact is that these annexations are initiated almost exclusively by families who, very understandably, want to enter their children in CSD. The fact is that CSD has a very serious enrollment crisis that it is still trying to figure out how to deal with. The fact is that the property taxes on very few single-family residences support the average cost to taxpayers of even one student. The fact is that CSD has made it plain that it wants to be consulted on annexations.  So we need to evaluate this policy as a policy, separate from individual petitions, which make the question personal.  I suspect that a frank and open discussion among residents will recommend taking down the “We Will Annex” sign.  It’s a discussion worth having among residents and between their representatives on the City Commission and School Board.

A related but quite different question concerns the impact on CSD of large developments, such as 315 West Ponce.  Such developments have greatly enhanced the City and in general I favor them.  According to a CSD study from a few years ago, single-family detached houses have the largest percentage of students (over 40%), followed by townhouses (25%), then apartments (10%), then condos (5%).  These developments will have fewer students by percentage (though perhaps more in total) than single parcel annexations and probably be a net financial gain the schools.  But they clearly do have an impact, particularly during the present enrollment challenges, and yet there remains a baffling resistance in some quarters to admit as much.  According to a recent Patch article, a City official said that the impact of 315 W. Ponce on “CSOD” would be “minimal to none.”  Why?  Because, we are told, the 25-40 year old demographic expected to rent there is “unlikely to have children.”   At a time when housing prices in Decatur are high, largely because so many people are flocking here because of CSD, some people might at least wonder if apartments would be an attractive and relatively inexpensive way for parents to enroll their children in CSD.  National demographic trends don’t necessarily apply to Decatur.

None of this is to oppose such developments, including 315.  But let’s admit the obvious potential impact and make it part of our evaluations.  CSD benefits parents with school-age children first and foremost, but it benefits everyone in the Decatur.  It not only adds vibrancy and builds community bonds and involvement, but it also maintains property values for everyone. Higher property values, in turn, keep tax revenue up for both CSD and the City.  We are in this together.


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