Mary Lin Elementary to Hold Meeting on Expansion

Parents at Mary Lin Elementary School in Candler Park are asked to attend a meeting tonight at 6:30 aimed at updating them on the plans regarding its expansion, answer questions and receive input.

The plans follow the long-awaited physical addition at the school to relieve overcrowding at the school, which, is overcrowded.

Mary Lin, like its middle and high school counterparts, Inman Middle and Grady, respectively, is overcrowded.

The grammar school, which serves children from Candler Park, Lake Claire and Inman Park, has just under 600 pupils.

As it stands now, the addition woud give the school 26 core classrooms, those rooms that would be used by the kindergarten to fifth grade classes.

The overall number of non-core classrooms, which would include band, special education and science and technology laboratories, is slated to be 42.

The plans as they stand now:

• Upper floorplan
• Lower floorplan 
• Main level floorplan
• Proposed site plan
• Proposed site plan overlay
• Proposed Main level overlay

At a briefing Monday night to members of the Candler Park Neighborhood Organization, Kate Sandhaus, who serves as its education committee chairwoman, said parents have expressed two key concerns about the plans as they stand now.

While the addition would take kids out of trailers and address current capacity needs, some parents question if it takes into account projected future growth of the neighborhoods zoned for Mary Lin, Sandhaus explained.

The second concerned voiced by parents involves a spur off the Freedom Path that leads to the school. Parents wanted to know how that would be affected.

The bulk of the construction would be done during the summer break at the end of the current school year, she said.

With the most disruptive work expected to be done by then, some of the smaller projects could be done without making the kids temporarily relocate to another school building such as the now-closed Cook Elementary, Sandhaus said.