DeKalb County, GA — The Decide DeKalb Development Authority board on July 26 voted to assist The GLOBE Academy to secure a $25 million bond to purchase and upgrade a new lower campus.
The GLOBE Academy is a dual language immersion charter school for kindergarten through eighth-grade students. Admission for DeKalb County students is via lottery or proficiency tests, depending on grade level. Enrollment exceeds 1,000 students, with a lengthy waiting list. The GLOBE Academy offers French, Spanish, and Mandarin and currently operates two campuses, one of which the school owns outright. The other is leased from the DeKalb County School District for zero dollars.
The school’s current lower campus is located on Heritage Dr. and the property they hope to purchase, at the corner of Clairmont Rd. and North Druid Hills Rd., is currently owned by a Presbyterian church.
Decide DeKalb’s attorney Ansly Moyer said that assistance from Decide DeKalb would allow The GLOBE Academy, which is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, to access municipal markets they would otherwise not be able to access. The school will be responsible for payment and any other obligations.
The board also heard a report from Shelbia Jackson, Director of the DeKalb Entertainment Commission. Jackson said that DeKalb has hosted 96 film and television projects this year, but because of the Writer’s Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild strike, all productions have stopped for now.
Jackson said that she hoped productions would return in November or December. The DeKalb Entertainment Commission will present a five-year strategic plan at the September Decide DeKalb board meeting.
In other business, Decide DeKalb President Dorian DeBarr offered an overall report on fiscal year 2022 for the organization. DeBarr said that among other accomplishments, Decide DeKalb has garnered $185 million in new investments for the county and created 355 new jobs. In addition, the organization launched a GIS tool aimed at brownfield remediation and identifying sites ready for development.
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