The long-anticipated kissy fest between the Beltline and Atlanta's public school system officially commenced yesterday when the Atlanta City Council approved a new funding arrangement — the final hurdle before the progress-killing hatchet is forever buried. Councilors voted 13-2 in favor of the new deal, the AJC reports, ending warfare that began in 2013 over the Beltline's inability to make payments to APS because recession-plagued revenues had been lower than expected. (Councilmembers Felicia Moore and Mary Norwood were the naysayers, calling for more council input before the deal was accepted; that didn't fly). The agreement goes that the city will pay about $15 million in past debts, plus $10 million more, in the next year and chip in the former Bankhead Courts property, a vacant piece of land that APS could use as a bus yard. Instead of being on the hook for $162 million through 2030, the new deal requires the city to fork over $73.5 million through 2031. Some detractors are saying the deal cheats school kids, but at the very least, it puts an ugly episode behind us, and lets two crucial facets of Atlanta move on.
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