Emory / Druid Hills: DeKalb Schools Postpones SAP, Plus a $53M Sewer Upgrade

Hello, Emory and Druid Hills neighbors — it's a week worth paying attention to. The Druid Hills High girls soccer team just made the deepest playoff run in program history, and there's a lot happening behind the scenes at the county level that will affect your neighborhood for years to come. From a major sewer overhaul to a tire shop getting turned away on East Ponce, here's what you need to know.

- News — The Lady Red Devils make school history on the soccer field, DeKalb hits pause on school closures, and a new blight tax puts negligent property owners on notice.
- Business — Fernbank just opened a new interactive exhibit with live animals — including a Mexican red-kneed tarantula — so fair warning before you walk in.
- Events — VaHi Porchfest takes over Virginia-Highland on Saturday, and Stacey Abrams is in conversation Monday night at the Decatur library.
- Government — DeKalb commissioners advanced $53M in emergency sewer upgrades and $8M to extend the South Peachtree Creek Trail, while the Planning Commission unanimously blocked a tire shop on East Ponce de Leon.
- Construction — Major medical renovations are underway across two floors at 1525 Clifton Rd, Super Chix signage is filed for North Druid Hills, and signal repairs have been logged at four intersections near you.

Referral Contest update: Congrats to our winner, Kay S. with an impressive 8 referrals! $50 gift card to Fifth Group Restaurants is on its way. Even though the contest is over, you can still win other rewards if you refer us new readers:

Let’s dive in.

NEWS

Molly McGehee named dean of Oxford College of Emory University
After serving as interim dean since 2025, Molly McGehee has been appointed the permanent dean of Oxford College, with her tenure officially beginning July 1. For the Emory community, it's a moment of settled leadership at a campus that's been watching this transition closely — and McGehee arrives with the advantage of already knowing the job.

Druid Hills High girls soccer team makes school history
The Lady Red Devils just completed the deepest playoff run in program history, turning heads across the GHSA state championships. If you haven't been paying attention to Druid Hills girls soccer, now's the time to start — this team has given the neighborhood something real to celebrate.

DeKalb Schools Postpone Discussions on Potential Campus Closures
DeKalb County School District has officially pumped the brakes on its controversial school consolidation discussions, giving anxious families a temporary reprieve. Parents in the Brookhaven and Chamblee clusters have been watching this closely, and for now, the difficult conversations have been pushed down the road.

DeKalb County Rolls Out New Blight Tax to Target Neglected Properties
DeKalb County is taking aim at the abandoned and neglected properties that drag down neighborhoods, rolling out a new blight tax designed to make sitting on a crumbling eyesore financially painful. The message to negligent property owners is straightforward: fix it, sell it, or start writing bigger checks.

State of the County Address Highlights Public Safety and Infrastructure Gains
CEO Michael Thurmond used his annual State of the County address to tout measurable progress on public safety and infrastructure — two issues that consistently top the list of resident concerns. For neighbors in Druid Hills and Emory, the details on emergency response times and local service improvements are worth a closer look.

DeKalb County raises minimum wage for government employees
DeKalb County has bumped the minimum wage for all full-time government employees to $20 an hour, a move aimed squarely at keeping workers — and attracting new ones — in an increasingly competitive labor market. The change affects the thousands of county employees who keep essential services running for residents across Decatur, Avondale Estates, and Scottdale.

BUSINESS

Fernbank Museum - expansion - The Druid Hills institution has opened the Orkin Discovery Zone, a new interactive educational exhibit complete with live animals — including, for the brave among us, a Mexican red-kneed tarantula.

Every day, 4.5 million readers turn to 1440 for their factual news fix. We sift through 100+ sources to bring you a complete summary of politics, global events, business, and culture — all in a brief 5-minute email. No spin. No slant. Just clarity.

Join for free today!

EVENTS

VaHi Porchfest is back on Saturday, and it's one of those rare neighborhood events that genuinely earns its reputation — a free, walking-distance celebration of live music spilling off front porches across Virginia-Highland. If you haven't been, this is the week to fix that.

Monday, May 11
- Morgan Radford in conversation with Stacey Abrams | Now Then | Georgia Center for the Book at DCPL
- Weekday Winning: Mega Mondays | Wild Heaven Toco Hills
- StoryWalk® at Mason Mill Park | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Summer Reading Challenge Scavenger Hunt | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- English as a Second Language (ESL) | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County

Tuesday, May 12
- Man Martin Talks the Most Stirring Lines Ever Written | Eagle Eye Book Shop
- Alston Lecture: Beyond Beauty by Sam Hoadley | Atlanta Botanical Garden
- Decatur Architecture Walking Tour 2026 | 101 E Court Square
- Demystifying Menopause Series | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Tuesday Trivia @ Toco Hills | Wild Heaven Toco Hills
- Garden Playtime | Atlanta Botanical Garden
- Ridibund Chamber Music Society World Tour of Atlanta and Decatur 2026 | 515 N McDonough St, Decatur, GA
- Bingo | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Weekday Winning: Toco Tuesdays | Wild Heaven Toco Hills

Wednesday, May 13
- Weekday Winning: Wicked Good Wednesday | Wild Heaven Toco Hills
- 🫶Find Your Porchfest Date | Virginia Highland District Association
- Drop-In Technology Support | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County

Thursday, May 14
- Jewelry with Gin Live! | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County
- Storytime with Christian Robinson - Dad! | DeKalb County Public Library Decatur Branch
- Weekday Winning: Thirsty Thursday | Wild Heaven Toco Hills

Friday, May 15
- Thirsty Neighbors | Wild Heaven Toco Hills
- Pete Correale: As I Was Saying - MOVED TO EDDIE'S ATTIC | Eddie's Attic
- Friday Movies | Avis Williams Library - DeKalb County

Saturday, May 16
- Olmsted Linear Park Volunteer Workday at Shadyside Park | Druid Hills Civic Association Events
- Culturally Relevant Science | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- VaHi Porchfest | Virginia-Highland
- Culturally Relevant Science | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Educator Appreciation Day | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Used Book Sale | Decatur Library
- Live Animal Encounter | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Man Down Unplugged | Wild Heaven Toco Hills
- Green Market | Piedmont Park

Sunday, May 17
- Kennesaw State University Anthropology Club | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Family Nature Walk | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
- Live Animal Encounter | Fernbank Museum of Natural History

GOVERNMENT

Note: our information comes from posted meetings documents (agendas and minutes when available) — latest source document hyperlinked to each meeting.

Past Week Roundup

DeKalb County Planning Commission

The Planning Commission had a busy May 5 session, with residents notching a couple of wins against commercial encroachment in residential areas. A proposal to convert a residential lot on East Ponce de Leon Avenue into a tire shop and emissions station was denied unanimously (8-0), and a drive-through car wash at a Memorial Drive QuikTrip was also turned away — though that same site did receive approval for fuel pumps and accessory alcohol sales, subject to 22 conditions. On the housing front, commissioners approved rezonings to allow new small-lot single-family development on Columbia Drive and Kelly Lake Road, continuing the county's push for residential infill. A county-wide update to Short-Term Rental excise taxes and zoning rules passed 7-0-1, with one abstention, tightening oversight of STRs across DeKalb. A major proposed subdivision of 214 homes — far larger than anything else on the agenda — was deferred until July 2026 for additional review. The commission also elected new leadership: Jon West as Chair, LaSonya Osler as First Vice-Chair, and Edward Patton as Second Vice-Chair.

DeKalb County Committee of the Whole

DeKalb commissioners moved a hefty slate of big-ticket items forward on May 5, with the most significant being roughly $53 million in emergency upgrades to the Snapfinger Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility — work that includes membrane capacity upgrades and wet weather pumping improvements designed to prevent sewage overflows during heavy rain events. The committee also advanced a $26.5 million contract with Cooper & Company General Constructors to build three new fire stations serving the Tucker, Decatur, and Lithonia areas, a direct investment in emergency response capacity. On the trail front, $8 million in SPLOST II funds were advanced to extend the South Peachtree Creek Trail from Medlock Park to the Lulah Hills development — welcome news for active-transportation advocates in the area. A proposed stormwater utility fee increase was not killed outright but was sent to the Public Works & Infrastructure Committee for further vetting before any final vote, meaning residents could see a rate change coming later this year. Commissioners also advanced a resolution to create independent civilian oversight of the county's "Digital Shield" surveillance program, a move aimed at ensuring privacy protections for residents. Several other policy items — including new regulations around data centers and ordinances addressing unauthorized camping — cleared committee and are heading to the full Board for final votes.

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners — Special Called Meeting

Note: Minutes were not posted for this meeting at time of publication; the following reflects the agenda as scheduled. Items may have been tabled, deferred, or otherwise not taken up.

The Board is scheduled to convene a brief Special Called Meeting on May 5 to address property tax refunds for six commercial properties under Georgia's state refund law (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-380), which allows taxpayers to reclaim taxes that were erroneously or illegally assessed. The meeting also includes a closed-door executive session — standard procedure for discussing pending litigation, real estate matters, or personnel issues — before commissioners return to the public meeting to cast final votes. While no dollar amounts or business names were disclosed in the agenda documents, approval of the refunds would mark a resolution to specific tax disputes. Beyond the tax refunds and executive session, only routine procedural motions to convene and adjourn are on the agenda.

DeKalb County School District Board of Education

The DeKalb County School District and Board of Commissioners held a rare joint session on May 4, focused on aligning the two bodies on infrastructure, demographics, and student services rather than taking binding votes. The most consequential item for families was a status update on the Student Assignment Project — the county-wide process for evaluating enrollment and school capacity that will eventually lead to redrawn attendance boundaries; no boundaries changed at this meeting, but the discussion signals formal redistricting proposals are on the horizon. The boards also held small-group sessions on coordinating facility use between the county and the district, with joint use of parks, libraries, and school buildings on the table as a way to stretch public dollars. Discussions on student safety indicated movement toward closer coordination between DeKalb County Police and school security, and a conversation about workforce pathways highlighted efforts to align high school vocational programs with local economic development needs.

Meetings This Week
- DeKalb County School District — Board of Education — May 11, 2026. The Board is scheduled to take up the FY2027 Tentative Budget and Tax Levy, which will set the preliminary millage rate affecting DeKalb property owners, alongside more than $20 million in service contracts covering district-wide plumbing, tree maintenance, and custodial needs. A policy update to Student Assignments (JBCC) is also on the agenda, along with security and technology upgrades at Cross Keys High School and a $600,000 electric vehicle charging installation at the former North Decatur A & B site.
- DeKalb County Board of Commissioners — Board of Commissioners — May 12, 2026 at 9:00 AM.

CONSTRUCTION | Presented by

If you’re thinking about a residential renovation to create a space that’s comfortable, memorable, and personalized for you, look no further than Rally Built Homes. Learn more here.

Permits

- 1525 Clifton Rd NE — Two floors of a six-story building are being gutted and rebuilt as a new medical clinic — floors 5 and 6, each permitted separately. This is a major interior overhaul in the Emory healthcare corridor, and the back-to-back filings suggest an aggressive renovation timeline.
- 1364 Clifton Rd NE — Multiple permits filed here in recent weeks: an MRI suite replacement and anesthesia room renovation, 23 new access control doors, and a low-voltage cable and speaker installation. Whatever's being upgraded at this facility, it's getting a significant systems overhaul all at once.
- 1518 Clifton Rd NE — Antenna upgrades filed for an existing rooftop telecom facility. Routine on its face, but worth noting if you've had spotty signal in the area.
- 2204 LaVista Rd — A $230K electrical service upgrade: a new 2,000-amp, 277/480-volt feed into an existing commercial building. That's a serious power infrastructure investment — the kind that often precedes a major tenant buildout or operational expansion.
- 3011 N Druid Hills Rd — Signage permitted for Super Chix, a chicken-and-custard fast casual chain. Halo-lit channel letters and all. A new dining option is coming to the North Druid Hills commercial strip.
- Christmas Ln — A $90K residential renovation involving roof removal from the front portion of the home and replacement of an existing concrete deck. Expect some noise in that pocket while work wraps up.

On the quieter side, the area logged 23 routine residential permits this week — HVAC swaps, electrical updates, and a handful of arborist filings — totaling around $84K.

Road Work

Under Construction
- SR-236 Signal Upgrade at Shepherd's Lane (DeKalb County) — Signal work is underway at this LaVista Road intersection, about a mile from the neighborhood core. Expect delays and signal timing disruptions while crews are on site.
- SR-236 Eastbound Left Turn Lane Extension at SR-155 (DeKalb County) — Crews are extending the left turn lane where LaVista Road meets Chamblee Tucker Road. If you're heading eastbound through that interchange, give yourself extra time — lane shifts and merge points are likely while work is active.

Pre-Construction

- North Druid Hills Road Shared-Use Path (SR 155 & SR 236 at N. Druid Hills Rd.) — GDOT plans to build a shared-use path along the south side of North Druid Hills Road and a 6-foot sidewalk along the north side. Two separate project entries cover the SR 155 and SR 236 intersections, so this improvement stretches along a meaningful stretch of the corridor. Good news for pedestrians and cyclists once it moves forward.
- SR 155/US 23 @ SR 236 Restriping — A restriping project at the Clairmont/North Druid Hills intersection is funded and waiting on its turn. Low disruption when it happens, but expect some lane shifts during work.
- Ponce de Leon Ave Bridge Maintenance (SR 8/SR 10/US 23 over Lullwater Creek) — Structural maintenance is planned for the Ponce De Leon Avenue bridge over Lullwater Creek. Not an imminent closure, but worth knowing if that's part of your daily route.
- Ponce de Leon Roundabouts (SR 8 from CSX crossing to N. Ponce de Leon Ave.) — Two roundabouts are proposed along the Ponce De Leon corridor: one at Eastlake and one at the North Ponce/West Parkwood/East Parkwood intersection. Still pre-construction, but this would be a significant change to how that stretch flows.
- Ponce de Leon Drainage Improvements (SR 8/US 23) — Drainage work is planned along Ponce De Leon Ave between South Ponce de Leon Ave and Ridgecrest Road. Typically involves lane restrictions and utility coordination — worth monitoring as it gets closer to a bid date.
- North Druid Hills Road Bridge Corridor (CR 5160 @ CSX crossing) — Improvements planned along a 2,600-foot stretch of North Druid Hills Road between Spring Creek Drive and Willivee Drive, centered on the CSX railroad crossing. Details are still developing, but any work near that crossing tends to back up traffic quickly.
- Scott Boulevard Complete Streets — A complete streets redesign is funded for Scott Blvd., just outside the core neighborhood. Scope details aren't fully public yet, but "complete streets" typically means lane reconfiguration, bike infrastructure, and pedestrian upgrades — changes that will ripple into surrounding neighborhoods.

Service Requests

Traffic signals are getting attention across the neighborhood this week. Non-emergency signal repairs are underway at four intersections: Oakdale Rd & Fairview Rd, Ponce de Leon Ave & Freedom Pkwy, Ponce de Leon Ave & Fairview Rd/Lullwater Rd, and Clifton Rd NE & Haygood Dr NE. Emergency signal repairs were also logged on Clifton Rd and at Haygood Dr NE & Ridgewood Rd NE, with both now resolved.