Cobb schools to get CARES Act funding in 3-2 commission vote

The Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday voted to approve an $8.1 million request from the Cobb County School District for resources to bolster online learning, but not after another testy discussion for the second day in a row.

By a 3-2 vote, commissioners signed off on funds from the federal CARES Act so the district can purchase content to add to its Cobb Teaching and Learning online portal that could accommodate the full 113,000-student enrollment for remote instruction if necessary.

The county received $132 million from the federal government to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, and commissioners have spent $50 million for small business grants, as well as funding for non-profits for emergency food supplies and to help tenants work with landlords to pay back rent and avoid eviction.

Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale said the majority of the funding the district was seeking would be spent on content from a variety of sources. In March Cobb schools switched entirely to remote learning, but Ragsdale has said the district needs a “more robust” portfolio of digital materials should classes go 100 percent online.

The Cobb school district has pushed back the start of classes to Aug. 17 to prepare for in-person and online options that parents are choosing this week.

Three other metro Atlanta school districts have said they are holding fall semester classes online only.

Ragsdale told commissioners another superintendent asked him if Cobb would be going to online-only, and he said that “it’s a rumor, but no decision has been made.”

After Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce and Commissioner Lisa Cupid clashed at a Monday work session to hear the district’s proposal, Cupid blistered Ragsdale when she asked whether he had run the request by the Cobb school board.

Ragsdale said that the CTLS project has been in development for several years, and that he had discussed the CARES Act request at school board’s June meeting.

At that point, she interrupted him, saying she’s heard from multiple school board members who’ve said they’ve never been presented with the funding request.

Cupid also said teachers have been e-mailing her about the matter.

“I cannot support anything that my peers on the BOE have not authorized,” said Cupid, of South Cobb, who is facing Boyce in the November election for chairman.

She told Ragsdale that due to the way he presented the funding request, “my intelligence is being undermined.”

Cupid didn’t identify the board members, but she continued expressing concerns from Monday about students lacking access to technology, and implored him to “not let these students fall further behind.”

Several citizens spoke during the commissioners’ public comment session Tuesday in opposition to the district requesting CARES Act funds only for technology. Some identified themselves as Cobb school teachers and a former Cobb school counselor, and said that students in need still need laptops, and teacher and staff need personal protective equipment.

They said they were coming to commissioners because the school board has not heard public comments since going to virtual meetings in March.

The speakers included incoming school board member Tre Hutchins, who also wants the district to regularly provide students with masks, which aren’t in the reopening plans. Staff will be provided masks, although neither they nor students are required to wear them.

Cupid and Keli Gambrill voted against the school district’s funding request; commissioners Bob Ott and JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb supported it, as did Boyce.

Boyce said before the vote that Ragsdale’s request federal guidelines for CARES Act distribution.

While he said that “I acknowledge all the issues” commissioners heard, “the real issue” is that the district is facing a $62 million budget deficit.

While CARES Act funding can’t replace all of that, Boyce said the “request reflects the sentiment” of the superintendent and the school board.

Commissioners are delaying a CARES Act request from Marietta City Schools until July 28.

Related content

• Commissioners spar over Cobb schools CARES Act request
• Cobb schools not requiring masks for students, staff
• Boyce makes ‘nice ask for masks,’ won’t issue Cobb mandate
• The East Cobb Open for Business Directory
• East Cobb News COVID-19 Resource Page

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