Economic conditions may lead DeKalb County (Ga.) to alter construction plans

With student enrollment beginning to shift in south DeKalb County, Ga. — as students transfer from struggling schools and home foreclosuresdisplace families — county school officials expect to recommend changes soon that could shift millions of construction dollars away from the area. It’s a move that could reignite old north/south rivalries. No formal announcement has been made. But by all indications, the changes would include a decision not to build a planned 31-classroom addition at Lithonia High School. The $11 million project was originally included on the system’s construction priority list in 2007. School officials now say that a newly built high school nearby will do enough to ease crowding at Lithonia High. But doing away with the Lithonia project could set off fireworks in a struggle for resources.