Wendy Parker, Author at East Cobb News

Cobb school board to redo budget hearing, final adoption

June 16, 2021 9:34 AM by Wendy Parker

Cobb school board Critical Race Theory ban

The Cobb Board of Education will conduct a public hearing Thursday morning on the fiscal year 2022 operating budget and hold a special-called meeting to vote on budget adoption.

The budget hearing begins at 10:30 a.m., followed by a special-called meeting at 11 a.m. for budget adoption. Both meetings will be live-streamed on the district’s BoxCast channel and on CobbEdTV, Comcast Channel 24.

Those wishing to speak in person during the hearing can do so at the board meeting room at the Cobb County School District’s main office, 514 Glover St., in Marietta.

The Cobb school board had voted without discussion last Thursday to adopt the budget during its monthly business meeting, but the final budget hearing that’s required by law wasn’t open to the public.

The district routinely live-streams its public meetings, but this one wasn’t, so what’s taking place on Thursday is basically a do-over.

According to state open meetings or “sunshine” laws, when a meeting isn’t live-streamed (which isn’t required) the meeting must be open for the public to attend in person.

However, since the Cobb school board returned to in-person meetings last fall, the public has not been allowed to do that, except for those making public comments, in accordance with district COVID-19 safety protocols.

Persons who have addressed the board have been allowed in the meeting room one at a time, and then have been escorted out.

In addition to the school board, the only other people who’ve been allowed inside the board room during meetings have been the superintendent and members of his cabinet, as well as the board’s legal counsel.

The MDJ reported last Thursday that its reporter was not allowed inside the board room for the budget hearing when the live-stream was not available.

Last September, the Cobb school board twice came under fire for not airing public comments on its live-stream when conducting meetings in a virtual setting.

The district’s explanation was that it wanted to verify public speakers according to its commenting policies as being Cobb County taxpayers or individuals with a stake in the school district (parents, teachers, students, etc.)

The Cobb school district will be allowing more members of the public to attend in-person meetings with relaxed restrictions starting in July.

Under state law school boards must hold three public budget hearings. The Cobb school board held the first two in April and May.

The Cobb school district’s proposed fiscal year 2022 budget of $1.5 billion includes an employee pay raise.

The budget proposal proposes holding the line on the school district’s property tax rate of 18.9 mills and using $51 million in reserve funding to reach a balance (budget summary here).

Unlike FY 2021, there’s no federal CARES Act funding. Also projected for FY 2022, which begins on July 1, is a 5.54 percent growth in the Cobb tax digest.

More Cobb school district budget and financial data can be found by clicking here.

Special review of Cobb school district slated for August

June 15, 2021 1:19 PM by Wendy Parker

The Cobb County School District said Tuesday a special review by its accrediting agency is scheduled for August.

In a release, the district said the review by Alpharetta-based Cognia will take place Aug. 15-18, and will focus on three specific standards set by the accreditor:

Governing authority
Equitable opportunities
Student peformance

The fourth area of examination during the review, the district said, “will also involve interviews between Cognia and individual board members, the Superintendent, District staff, principals, teachers, and community members.”

Cognia announced the special review in April after three Democratic Cobb school board members and several dozen citizens approached it, complaining the board’s Republican majority and Superintendent Chris Ragsdale were ignoring their concerns on several academic and governance issues.

The three Democratic board members said their request to Ragsdale to discuss early literacy, educator and employee support, and board governance training never got a reply.

“The continued silencing of board members who would like to not only talk about positives, but also publicly address challenges, continues. The three of us remain concerned that our governing body is not adhering to the leadership standards set forth by Cognia,” read a Jan. 21 letter to Cognia by the three Democratic members.

Those members include Charisse Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters in East Cobb.

The district’s initial response claimed that a special review “can negatively impact college acceptance rates, college scholarships, enrollment, funding, and educator recruitment and retention,” and cited similar situations in recent years in the DeKalb and Clayton school systems.

In its release Tuesday, the Cobb school district acknowledged that more than 50 citizens have complained to Cognia.

The district said it has spent more than 600 hours preparing for the review and “believes that transparency in this process is important and will update our community again as new information becomes available in August.”

Cobb commissioners approve Sprayberry Crossing rezoning

June 19, 2021 11:00 PMJune 15, 2021 11:41 AM by Wendy Parker

Sprayberry Crossing rezoning approved

By a 4-1 vote Tuesday, the Cobb Board of Commissioners approved the long-awaited redevelopment of the Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center.

The proposal by Atlantic Realty Acquisitions LLC would convert a blighted retail center into a mixed-use residential and retail development that drew as much opposition as support in a community eager for its redevelopment.

That was the conclusion of District 3 commissioner JoAnn Birrell, who said during a lengthy explanation for her motion to approve that while the plan isn’t perfect, “no plan is perfect.”

Most of the concerns expressed at Tuesday’s zoning hearing concerned traffic issues, especially the development’s main access point on Sandy Plains Road at Kinjac Drive.

The developer had been negotiating with the owner of the Sprayberry Bottle Shop to use part of that store’s parking lot for an entrance.

But those discussions came to an impasse, and on Friday Atlantic Realty filed a new site plan (see below) and a traffic route (shown in the map above) for an offset traffic signal that would contain traffic stacking or backup internally within Sprayberry Crossing.

Commissioner Keli Gambrill of North Cobb was the only vote against, citing the number of parking spaces being below county code.

Her comments drew applause from opponents attending the zoning hearing in person, and after the vote, and a 90-minute discussion, they vocally thanked her for her vote.

Sprayberry Crossing rezoning approved — *Atlantic Realty’s site plan filed Friday. For a larger view **click here**.*

The Sprayberry Crossing development calls for 132 senior apartments (ages 55 and older), 102 fee-simple town homes and a 34,000-square-foot grocery store.

In presenting his clients’ case to the commissioners for the first time, Atlantic Realty attorney Kevin Moore said Sprayberry Crossing has been “an anvil around the neck of this community” that has been on the county’s redevelopment list since 2013.

Rejecting Atlantic Realty’s proposal, he said, would “condemn this site and this property” to many more years of blight.

But opponents said the development would add more traffic to an already congested corridor of East Cobb.

Maureen Ritner of the Ashbury Point neighborhood said the redevelopment would add 3,500 trips a day to a portion of Sandy Plains Road—between East Piedmont Road and Post Oak Tritt Road—that averages more than 41,000 trips a day.

“That’s a comparison to Barrett Parkway,” she said.

Cobb DOT says that also level of service is an “F.”

Tony Raffa, who operates a McDonald’s on Sandy Plains at Post Oak Tritt, said he’s against a Cobb DOT recommendation to prevent a left-our traffic turn from a Sprayberry Crossing access point onto Post Oak Tritt.

DOT officials explained that’s a necessary safety measure because of the Sandy Plains-Kinjac offset signal, and Birrell agreed.

In her presentation, Birrell said that anything developed at Sprayberry Crossing is going to increase traffic.

“Sprayberry Crossing has been an eyesore for 25 years,” she said, adding that she’s been working on the matter during her 10-year tenure as a commissioner. “There have been numerous attempts to redevelop this in the past” but none have come to fruition.

She noted that “the obstacles to this are very challenging.”

In 2019, a judged imposed the first “blight tax” ruling in the county on Sprayberry Crossing, which was built in the 1970s but has sat largely vacant for many years.

During its decay, Sprayberry Crossing was the subject of numerous complaints made to police and code enforcement.

Birrell entered into the record details of those incidents, which she said included 127 calls to police from June 2016 to this May. Since 2004, she said, there have been 391 complaints to Cobb code enforcement staff.

Atlantic Realty’s request was made under what’s called a Redevelopment Overlay District, which is considered separate from typical zoning requests.

There are several stipulations, including that a rezoning on such property is not considered to set a precedent for the area.

ROD was enacted in 2006, but Sprayberry Crossing is the first case to be requested under that category.

Birrell prompted it to be removed from the zoning code during recent code amendments, saying Tuesday that “to me it’s flawed.”

She also said she was against multi-family apartments that were part of the initial Sprayberry Crossing request and were dropped from the site plan in March.

Some opponents of Sprayberry Crossing, in addition to being opposed to market-rate apartments, also feared loopholes for senior apartments could be exploited to rent to the general public.

The Cobb County Attorney’s office has concluded that cannot happen.

“They will remain 55 and older age restricted,” Birrell said. “Our attorneys know the law. I’m relying on our expert staff and attorneys for this one.”

In a message to the Sprayberry Crossing Action Facebook group, local resident Joe Glancy, who’s led a citizen effort to redevelop the shopping center, said he’s expecting more traffic and other changes to be made as the site plan goes to final review.

Birrell read off a number of stipulations that include her approval of a traffic plan and townhome design elevations.

“The developer has cleared a major hurdle, but this is not the end of the process,” Glancy said. “I believe there will be further revisions to the access/egress point near Kinjac Rd (Sprayberry Bottle Shop), and possibly Post Oak Tritt as well.”

Cobb to recognize World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

June 14, 2021 3:54 PM by Wendy Parker

Submitted information:

Cobb County Government together with the Cobb District Attorney’s Office and liveSafe Resources are working on a Yarn Storm project in recognition of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15, 2021.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) was launched on June 15, 2006 by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations. The purpose of WEAAD is to provide an opportunity for communities around the world to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older people by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes affecting elder abuse and neglect.

Cobb County has a multi-jurisdiction organization, The Cobb Elder Abuse Task Force, that addresses the financial, physical/emotional and institutional abuse of seniors. In addition, task force members provide education and awareness training for service providers, law enforcement and community organizations. For more info on the task force, please visit https://www.ceatf.org

For more information about elder abuse please visit https://ncea.acl.gov

GBI identifies suspect killed by Cobb Police in Sunday shooting

June 14, 2021 3:31 PMJune 14, 2021 12:13 PM by Wendy Parker

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting death of a man Cobb Police said shot at one of their officers before he was killed by police Sunday afternoon in northwest Cobb.

The GBI said in a release late Monday morning that Luis Rey Ruiz, 20, died at the scene after being shot by Cobb Police during a manhunt on North Shores Road.

That’s close to the residential address of a 911 call reported to authorities around 3:30 p.m. regarding an alleged domestic dispute, according to the GBI.

GBI spokeswoman Natalie Ammons said that when Cobb Police arrived at a home at 5866 North Shores Road in Acworth, a man later identified as Rey shot at one of the officers.

Ruiz then ran from the scene, and Cobb Police deployed a SWAT unit in pursuit, according to the GBI, which said that officers found him at 5870 North Shores Road. Ammons said that several officers shot at Ruiz and he died on the scene, and police later found a firearm next to him.

She said the Cobb County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy on Ruiz.

The GBI said the officer he is alleged to have shot during the initial call is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to recover.

As is the case in officer-involved shootings, the GBI will conduct an investigation and turn over its findings to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Biz Notes: ECBA events return; Hiring Day at The Avenue; more

June 14, 2021 3:05 PMJune 14, 2021 9:04 AM by Wendy Parker

The East Cobb Business Association is resuming regular networking events following more than a year’s absence due to COVID-19 protocols.

The ECBA has been holding its annual luncheon meetings since last summer at a new location in hybrid form at the Rich Hart Studios (2030 Powers Ferry Road) the third Tuesday of each month.

The organization has resumed its Friday breakfast networking meetings in a new location, the recently opened Flying Biscuit Cafe at Parkaire Landing (4880 Lower Roswell Road), starting at 7:30 a.m. There’s no admission cost; you don’t have to sign up and pay for what you eat and drink.

On the first Friday of every month, the ECBA’s Professional Women of East Cobb holds a networking luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Marlow’s Tavern Merchant’s Walk (1311 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 208). Pay for your lunch; no registration is required.

On June 29, the ECBA’s quarterly breakfast events with local newsmakers will return, with Cobb District Attorney Flynn Broady as the featured guest. That event is at J. Christopher’s East Lake (2100 Roswell Road, Suite 2116) from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. The cost is $20 for members and $25 for non-members and $10 online with advancd registration. The same-day cost is $5 more.

For more information about these and other ECBA events and programs, click here.

Disclaimer: East Cobb News is a member of the East Cobb Business Association.

Hiring Day at The Avenue

Several businesses at The Avenue East Cobb have open positions available, and next Monday you can interview for them.

There’s going to be a special hiring suite near High Country Outfitters from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Some of the participating businesses include Amazing Lash, Ann Taylor, Chico’s, Hand & Stone Massage, Lenscrafters, Menchies, Talbot’s, Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma.

More jobs and information can be found here: https://www.avenueeastcobb.com/jobs/

Edward-Johns Jewelers to close

After 42 years in business, Edward-Johns Jewelers of East Cobb will be closing its doors soon.

The jewelry store announced on social media Monday that its last day will be July 31, and that all stock is on sale at cost until then.

Edward Johns was started by Johnny Johnson, who in addition to becoming a prominent member of the local business community was a leading civic activist and served on the Cobb Board of Education.

Among Johnson’s many roles in the community was serving as Santa Claus at East Cobb Park Holiday Lights events. He also posed at Santa in Decembers for free photos with children at his jewelry store.

Johnson died of COVID-19 complications in February, and his family has been keeping the store open.

Edward Johns is located at 1225 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 801. The opening hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Residents divided as Sprayberry Crossing rezoning vote looms

June 12, 2021 4:20 PMJune 12, 2021 3:30 PM by Wendy Parker

Sprayberry Crossing revisions — *Some residents living near Sprayberry Crossing say multi-family housing, even for seniors only, is not appropriate for their community.*

It’s been more than three years since residents pushing for a redevelopment of the Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center organized a town hall meeting to press county officials to address the long-standing blight in their community.

The sentiment was nearly unanimous on that March evening at Sprayberry High School that the eyesore taking up a corner of Sandy Plains Road and East Piedmont Road needed an overhaul.

Two years later, an Atlanta apartment developer filed a rezoning request to do just that, proposing to convert Sprayberry Crossing into a multi-use development with apartments, town homes, a major grocery store, retail space and community trails.

Over the last year, Atlantic Realty Acquisitions LLC has made numerous site plan changes, especially as opposition grew to apartment dwellings.

Before the May Cobb Planning Commission hearing, Atlantic Realty dropped market-rate apartments altogether, but kept senior living (55 and older) in their plans.

That hasn’t been enough to appease opponents who fear the developer could convert senior-living apartments to market-rate apartments, and who also have concerns over traffic.

Those issues were addressed earlier this month by the Planning Commission, which issued a stunning no-recommendation on whether the Sprayberry Crossing rezoning should be approved or not.

That’s where the matter stands as the Cobb Board of Commissioners is scheduled to take up the case on Tuesday.

The latest Sprayberry Crossing site plan, filed in late May, reduces the number of senior apartments to 132 and increases the number of townhomes to 102.

The divisions among some residents who’ve organized for and against the Sprayberry Crossing plan run deep, and after the Planning Commission vote East Cobb News contacted parties on both sides for their perspectives.

*Sprayberry Crossing opponents have crafted t-shirts to fight the rezoning case.*

Tim Carini is among the vocal opponents of the Sprayberry Crossing request, whom Atlantic Realty attorney Kevin Moore has described as being part of a “mob” to derail what he says is a badly needed redevelopment in the area.

Carini and others have proudly worn “Rod Mob” t-shirts (the case number for Sprayberry Crossing is ROD-1, which stands for Redevelopment Overlay District).

He said the Planning Commission vote is “a disservice to the community and residents of Cobb County, especially with the way it was done and the timing.”

There were only three of the five Planning Commission members in attendance at the June 1 meeting, and Carini says he has been told by a County official that Planning Commissioner Deborah Dance and “[Cobb] Commissioner [JoAnn] Birrell are hellbent on getting this passed.”

He says the site plan doesn’t conform to the ROD code, and “now the County is throwing out significant portions of the ROD code to get this to pass. It’s now zoning at will in Cobb County, and it’s clear it’s at will for the developers and not the community, taxpayer, or voters.”

Moore said at the June 1 meeting that his client wants a vote, saying that contracts with the property owner and Lidl, the prospective grocery retailer, are nearing an end.

“If this was so time sensitive, why did the applicant continue this case for seven months?” Carini said. “Now, with known and publicly criticized traffic and safety concerns from the Planning Commission, this is urgent and had to be pushed through on a Tuesday after a holiday without a full Planning Commission Board.”

Carini and other opponents have created a Facebook page and are pressing for a big turnout at Tuesday’s commission meeting.

*Residents demanded county action at the blighted Sprayberry Corners Shopping Center during a 2018 town hall.*

One of the leaders of a group of citizens who’ve wanted to clean up Sprayberry Crossing for years is optimistic about Tuesday’s vote.

Shane Spink is a facilitator of the Sprayberry Crossing Action group and has said those in opposition may be vocal, but he thinks they’re a vocal minority.

He said the Sprayberry Crossing case “has basically come down to a traffic/in and out of the property issue that I think should be able to be resolved because frankly, these issues would exist with any development that goes into this particular property.”

Spink noted that Atlantic Realty has worked extensively with the community “to try to meet all of their concerns and demands, including dropping an apartment building and adding more for sale townhomes. So to think it comes down to just an ingress/egress issue is pretty amazing.”

He said his impressions speaking with others in the community—the Sprayberry Crossing Action group has more than 6,000 members—as well as other citizens and business owners in the area is that “the majority of the folks want to see this development go through and are ready for 25 years of blight to finally be over with.

“They want to have a quality development go in and continue the improvement of the Sprayberry area right along with the rebuild of the high school. And look, some opposition will always be there, but in this case I don’t believe they, from what I have seen, reflect the overall sentiment of the community.”

The Cobb Commission rezoning hearing begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday. There will be limited in-person attendance due to COVID-19 protocols, but the hearing will be aired on the Cobb County government’s Facebook and YouTube pages, as well as on the CobbTV public access outlet, Channel 23 on Comcast.

*Most portions of the Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center have sat in disrepair for years.*

Chattahoochee Nature Center to hold 43rd Possum Trot 10K

June 12, 2021 2:28 PMJune 12, 2021 12:22 PM by Wendy Parker

Possum Trot 10K

Submitted information and photo:

An Atlanta tradition for 43 years, the Possum Trot 10K has allowed runners to take part in a great race along the beautiful banks of the Chattahoochee River while helping save animals and fund environmental education at the Chattahoochee Nature Center (CNC). This year, the runners had the option to select an in-person or virtual race. The in-person race begins at 7 a.m. on June 19.

Participants will receive free professional photos as well as a commemorative t-shirt. Winners in each age group will receive medals. Runners receive free admission to CNC’s 127 acres all day.

Tamara Kinmon, CNC Event Program Director, said, “We are so excited to be able to offer runners an in-person and virtual race option in 2021. After having to move to an all-virtual race in 2020 we look forward to the 2021 participants starting in waves and enjoying the flat, fast race along the Chattahoochee River.”

All proceeds from the race benefit the Chattahoochee Nature Center’s environmental education programs focused on the Chattahoochee River and its watershed as well as CNC’s wildlife rehabilitation efforts.

So far this year, CNC has taken in over 400 injured animals. The on-site staff works tirelessly to help the injured animals and return them to their habitats, if possible.

In addition to helping wildlife, CNC traditionally hosts more than 40,000 students from more than 400 schools in the metro Atlanta area, teaching them all about the importance and science of nature. For many students, CNC is the first time they are out in nature or on the Chattahoochee River. This past school year we offered virtual field trip options to keep students connected to nature.

“We are grateful to our presenting sponsor Northside Hospital,” said DeAnn Fordham, Senior Director for Development at Marketing at CNC. “Their support allows us to implement our health and wellness opportunities and connect people to nature.”

Please note: There is local construction in the area and the Chattahoochee Nature Center can only be accessed from the east near Azalea Drive. CNC is open during construction and we can’t wait to see visitors this summer. For more information, please visit https://www.chattnaturecenter.org/visit/.

Cobb NAACP to hold Juneteenth celebration at Marietta Square

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Cobb NAACP to hold Juneteenth celebration in Marietta Square

June 12, 2021 2:08 PMJune 12, 2021 9:05 AM by Wendy Parker

Submitted information: Cobb NAACP Juneteenth

Cobb County Branch of the NAACP invites everyone to celebrate Juneteenth Saturday, June 19, in Glover Park on the Marietta Square. The free cultural festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and feature live music and entertainment, arts and crafts, vendors, face painting, food, a health fair and free health screenings. Masks are recommended. If you are interested in being a vendor or volunteering, contact the Cobb NAACP at 770-425-5757.

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of end of slavery. Dating back to 1865, it was June 19 when Union soldiers led by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and all enslaved people were free. This was two and a half years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The celebration of June 19 was coined “Juneteenth” and grew with more participation from descendants. Juneteenth today celebrates African American freedom while encouraging self-development and respect for all cultures.

For information: Visit the Cobb NAACP website.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

East Cobb food scores: Chipotle; Willy’s; AJ’s Seafood; more

June 11, 2021 4:32 PMJune 11, 2021 3:08 PM by Wendy Parker

Chipotle Johnson Ferry, East Cobb food scores

The following East Cobb food scores for the week of June 7 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:

AJ’S Famous Seafood & Poboys
2100 Roswell Road, Suite 2148
June 8, 2021 Score: 93, Grade: A

Amy & Tammy’s Box Lunch
1582 Terrell Mill Road
June 8, 2021 Score: 92, Grade: A

Chipotle Mexican Grill
1281 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 104
June 7, 2021 Score: 100, Grade: A

Shivam Chaat Corner
1826 Lower Roswell Road
June 10, 2021 Score: 62, Grade: U

Willy’s Mexicana Grill
2900 Delk Road, Suite 8
June 7, 2021 Score: 95, Grade: A

Cobb school budget, social media and public comment policies OK’d

June 11, 2021 4:28 PMJune 11, 2021 12:37 PM by Wendy Parker

The Cobb Board of Education on Thursday adopted a fiscal year 2022 budget of $1.5 billion that includes an employee pay raise.

The vote was passed without discussion as part of the board’s consent agenda on Thursday night. The raises range from 4 percent to 8.6 percent for full-time and other non-temporary employees.

The budget proposal proposes holding the line on the school district’s property tax rate of 18.9 mills and using $51 million in reserve funding to reach a balance (budget summary here).

Unlike FY 2021, there’s no federal CARES Act funding. Also projected for FY 2022, which begins on July 1, is a 5.54 percent growth in the Cobb tax digest.

More Cobb school district budget and financial data can be found by clicking here.

During a work session Thursday afternoon, the school board adopted a new social media policy that governs public comments by district employees (you can read it here).

The policy states that “District employees must use Social Media respectfully and ethically to avoid harming the reputations and careers of themselves and colleagues, as well as the reputation of the District and the education profession as a whole.”

One provision would prohibit employees “from making statements on crisis situations or emergencies on behalf of the District without appropriate permission from the District’s Communications department or District leadership.”

Teachers and other employees also will not be allowed to make or accept online connection requests with students, message with them or post photos or videos of students on their personal social media accounts.

Employees will be allowed and encouraged to post “good news/what’s happening at your school” news, event reminders, congratulating students and colleagues and making notifications, including for emergencies.

Also Thursday, the school board voted 4-3 to require members of the public who wish to speak during public comment periods at board meetings to sign up online.

The public will be invited back to attend board meetings for the first time since February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cobb property owners and parents, students and other stakeholders in the Cobb school district are allowed to speak during public comment.

The new registration policy will continue a 30-minute public comment policy before each board meeting, with up to 15 speakers addressing the board for two minutes each.

Public speakers will still have to show a photo ID once they arrive for the public comment period, and those who didn’t make the cut will be placed on a standby list.

“If you’re not who you signed up as, you won’t be allowed to speak,” said said Cobb superintendent Chris Ragsdale, who said the move was done as a courtesy to the public.

The board’s three Democrats voted against the new measure, expressing concern that the policy also includes a provision for the board chairman to prioritize speakers, especially if an item is on the meeting agenda.

Tre Hutchins, one of the three Democrats, wondered what would happen to those who wanted to speak about changing the name of Wheeler High School, an issue that the board’s four-member GOP majority has declined to place on the agenda.

Ragsdale said the first 15 people allowed to speak, first-come, first-serve, regardless of topic.

New principal appointed at Simpson Middle School

June 11, 2021 3:54 PMJune 11, 2021 9:16 AM by Wendy Parker

Simpson Middle School principal, Dr. LaEla Mitchell — *Dr. LaEla Mitchell*

The Cobb Board of Education on Thursday approved a number of new principal appointments for the 2021-22 school year, including for Simpson Middle School in East Cobb.

Current principal Dr. Ansley Daniel has been reassigned as principal at Lost Mountain Middle School effective July 1.

The new Simpson principal is Dr. Mari LaEla Mitchell, who has been an assistant principal at Hillgrove High School for the past four years.

Here are some other appointments approved Thursday:

Dugan, Alison, Principal, Baker Elementary School, resignation effective July 31st, 2021.
Jones, Jeffrey, Appointment to Principal, Baker Elementary School from Assistant Principal, Chalker Elementary School effective June 11th, 2021.
Mitchell, Dr. Mari LaEla, Appointment to Principal, Simpson Middle School from Assistant Principal, Hillgrove High School effective July 1st, 2021.
Nyeste, Dr. Lenora, Principal, Lost Mountain Middle School, retirement effective July 1st, 2021.
Williams, Dr. Lisa, Appointment to Director (.49), Leadership Management, Human Resources Division from Performance Management Coordinator (.49), Human Resources Division effective June 11th, 2021.

In May the school board approved the appointments of new principals at Addison and Murdock elementary schools and Hightower Trail Middle School in East Cobb.

Cobb school board bans Critical Race Theory; Democrats abstain

June 11, 2021 3:35 PMJune 10, 2021 4:24 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb school board Critical Race Theory ban

The four Republican members of the Cobb Board of Education voted Thursday to ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory in the Cobb County School District.

The three Democrats on the board—all of them African-American—abstained from the vote, accusing the all-white GOP majority of placing political interests ahead of educational concerns.

“I abstain from this nonsense,” said board member Jaha Howard, one of the Democrats.

The vote followed an explosive 45-minute discussion that included heated interruptions between Republican chairman Randy Scamihorn and Democrat Tre Hutchins.

(You can watch the work session here; the CRT resolution discussion begins at the 2:20:20 mark.)

Scamihorn presented a resolution during a board work session Thursday afternoon that prohibited the teaching of Critical Race Theory “by that name and any other name” as well as instruction in Cobb schools of the 1619 Project, which The New York Times published in 2019 as a historical critique of slavery in America.

Hutchins, the newest board member who represents Post 3 in South Cobb, protested that expansive language, saying that Critical Race Theory has never been taught in Cobb schools and “is not a real thing” in district schools.

He also worried that some current aspects of the Cobb curriculum, including “No Place for Hate” and Social Emotional Learning, could fall under the CRT umbrella.

Scamihorn countered that Critical Race Theory—which developed in academia and legal circles in the 1970s to argue that racism is America is systemic and structural—has been all over the news in recent weeks, and that bodies like the Georgia Board of Education and the Cherokee school board have voted to restrict it.

“Now we can throw anything at it because we saw it on TV,” Hutchins said. “That’s dangerous. This feels like we’re furthering an indictment against the great teachers we have.”

That set off an extended, testy exchange, with the two board members raising their voices to interrupt one another for several minutes.

Scamihorn said that CRT is being taught in Cobb schools because he’s seen district teachers mention that they have on social media. At one point, he told Hutchins that “you have besmirched our teachers.”

Hutchins responded that “this is the worst thing that we could ever do,” and their harsh words escalated from there, as he and Scamihorn argued over the details of their discussions about the resolution over the last week.

Other school boards and mostly Republican governors and GOP-led legislatures in a number of states have taken aim at CRT and The 1619 Project, which The New York Times adapted into school curriculum that has been introduced in some school districts.

The lead essay by Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones—who won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary—argues that the American Revolution was fought to preserve slavery.

Prominent historians took issue with that claim, and when Hutchins asked Scamihorn to explain the newspaper’s project further, the latter said it’s “a revisionist history and history should be thorough.”

As for being asked to define CRT, Scamihorn referred to comments from parents heard at the May Cobb school board meeting about having “Marxist” roots and that “it pits one group against another.”

Hutchins said those were interpretations only, and that CRT “can be interpreted in a number of ways. It has nothing to do with education in the first place.”

The CRT resolution is the latest wedge issue along racial and cultural lines that has deeply divided the Cobb school board over the last two years.

The board could not agree to a consensus on an anti-racism resolution last year, and the four school board Republicans also voted to abolish a newly-approved committee in November to examine naming policies for Cobb school district schools and buildings.

Charisse Davis, a Democratic board member who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters, said that “it’s become that politics are okay apparent in our district as long as they align with some people’s politics.”

She said CRT “has become a conservative talking point for some people who have no idea what it is, and they certainly haven’t been worried about for the last 40-plus years it’s been around.”

She told of minority parents who’ve complained about receiving threats, racist assignments, bigoted comments and “feeling as if the district does not care that they are part of the One Team.”

Davis noted that Cobb schools became fully integrated in 1970 and that previous school boards actively fought it.

“Anyone that cannot understand the impact that that would have should not be in the business of educating,” she said.

Referring to language in the resolution (which has not been made publicly available), Davis said that “to say that this board encourages a diversity of viewpoints is laughable.”

Republican board member David Chastain, who represents the Kell and Sprayberry clusters, said CRT is a cultural concept that has been debated “at the highest levels of academia.”

He said that he supports a resolution banning CRT because of the confusion over it.

“I try to think about what’s best for our children,” and said he’s concern about the effect of how something like CRT might be taught on students in the younger grades.

“Our kids typically aren’t developing abstract thinking skills until middle or high school anyway,” he said. “This is an adult issue, I don’t think it’s a kids’ issue.”

Some parents spoke on the subject during a public comment period at the start of the work session.

Anja Siedzierski, who was born in Poland and is a mother of two daughters in Cobb schools, said during her childhood in a Marxist country she was taught to “hate America” in government schools, and said CRT “is a dangerous ideology.

She asked “can we go back to teaching kids love and respect?” regardless of background. “Critical Theory is not the way to do that.”

Jennifer Susko, a counselor at Mableton Elementary School who thinks the district hasn’t done enough to address racism, said the resolution is a “maddening choice” and “a lie about history.”

“We’ll watch all white people tell black people that racism is not that big deal,” she said, referring to the board Republicans.

Budget, Critical Race Theory on Cobb school board agenda

June 9, 2021 3:42 PM by Wendy Parker

*Randy Scamihorn, Cobb school board chairman*

The Cobb Board of Education will tackle the controversial topic of Critical Race Theory during a work session on Thursday.

Board chairman Randy Scamihorn placed the item on the agenda with the wording “for potential action” but declined to elaborate, telling East Cobb News he’s doing this “for the board to have a discussion.”

The work session begins at 1 p.m. Thursday, the first of the board’s monthly meetings for June.

The board also will hold a public budget forum at 6:30 p.m., preceding a 7 p.m. business meeting at which it is expected to adopt a fiscal year 2022 operating budget.

You can view the agendas for all the meetings by clicking here.

The meetings will be livestreamed on the district’s BoxCast channel and on CobbEdTV, Comcast Channel 24.

After the work session there is a scheduled executive session.

But it’s at the afternoon meeting that figures to draw the most attention, especially the Critical Race Theory item.

Last month, Cobb superintendent Chris Ragsdale announced that he has no intention of introducing the subject into the Cobb County School District curriculum.

At the same time, the Cherokee County Board of Education voted to ban the teaching of CRT during a packed meeting.

The Georgia Board of Education, at the behest of Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr, voted last week to do the same.

Some Cobb parents have been using the public comment period at board meetings to denounce CRT, with one telling the school board last month that “we need an honest conversation about race, this isn’t it. This is indoctrination.”

Critical Race Theory has come up recently in Georgia and other states, but the concept was developed in the 1970s by academics and legal scholars who argued that racism in America is systemic and structural.

Several books have been published on the topic advancing CRT, but the current wave of political action is being taken up by Republican elected officials.

The Cobb school board has a 4-3 Republican majority and has clashed on a number of topics over the last two years, including an anti-racism resolution last summer.

The four school board Republicans also voted to abolish a newly-approved committee in November to examine naming policies for Cobb school district schools and buildings.

Among those facilities targeted for a name change is Wheeler High School, named after a Confederate Civil War general.

After the Cobb CRT comments last month, Charisse Davis, one of the three black Democratic board members, noted that “the Critical Race Theory (CRT) debate has been bizarre…mainly how it became a scripted conservative talking point 40+ years after its inception.”

A group calling itself Concerned in Cobb County School District is gathering outside the district office before the Thursday school board meetings “to to challenge the Superintendent’s harmful position on Critical Race Theory and talking about race/racism at all. We also aim to demonstrate support for the three board members who are attempting to ensure an equitable education for ALL students.”

The school board will consider a proposed FY 2022 budget of $1.5 billion that includes an employee pay raise.

The budget proposal proposes holding the line on the school district’s property tax rate of 18.9 mills and using $51 million in reserve funding to reach a balance (budget summary here).

Also projected for FY 2022, which begins on July 1, is a 5.54 percent growth in the Cobb tax digest.

More Cobb school district budget and financial data can be found by clicking here.

Timber Ridge Crystal Growing Competition announces winners

June 9, 2021 3:00 PMJune 9, 2021 9:27 AM by Wendy Parker

Timber Ridge Crystal Growing Competition

Back in March we posted about some East Cobb students who had created a virtual contest for Cobb students in the scientific endeavor of crystal growing.

The group is called STARS (for Structural Nucleic Acid Anticancer Research Society), which formed in 2019 in conjunction with students at Timber Ridge Elementary School.

STARS parent Susanna Huang got in touch to announce the winners of the 2021 Timber Ridge Crystal Growing Competition that the groups hosted together.

The group created introductory videos to share various effective crystal growing methods with students as well as to teach the principles of crystallography. Toward the end of the crystal growing competition season, the STARS Team created another series of videos that explained the crystal submission steps, further facilitating the submission process for students.

The winners are:

Brooke Bloxom for the title of Most Exciting Experiment
Most Elaborate Experiment
Elliott Neveln for the title of Clearest Crystal
Jahnavi Bhargava for the titles of Most Natural-Looking crystal and the Best Quality Crystal
Johnny Dickerson for the title of Best Crystal Shape
Ms. Judy Osborne for the title of Most Inspiring Crystal
Michael Duke for the title of the Most Innovative Crystal
Steven Huang for the title of Most Impressive Notebook Entries
Ryoma Takagi for the titles of Most Detailed Lab Notebook and Largest Creative Crystals

Medals of Scientific Excellence:

Elliott Neveln for winning the Best Salt Crystal Award for the K-2nd grade division because his salt crystal alone had the highest clarity and his salt crystal alone had an almost perfect cubical shape.
Steven Huang for winning the Best Salt Crystal Award for the K-2nd grade division because his hand-written lab notebook was the most detailed and reflected much thoughtfulness and intuition.

Some other award winners:

Best Creative Crystal Award for the K-2nd division because his creative crystal looked like a real, natural crystal, with colors of blues and glints of shiny specks.

Michael Duke for winning the Best Creative Crystal Award for the 3rd-5th grade division because his creative crystal was the largest in his grade division and because his lab report was very thorough with detailed observations and conclusions.Ms. Judy Osborne for winning the Best Creative Crystal Award for the teacher division because her crystal was beautifully cultivated, and the quality of this crystal was very evident.

Ryoma Takagi for winning the Championship of the entire 2021 Timber Ridge Crystal Growing Competition for his solid mastery of growing aluminum potassium sulfate, exceptional observation and note-taking skills, and immense diligence, creating a 15 paged lab notebook with 176 data points, tracking the growth of 10 massive alum crystals before putting the data points into Excel graphs and charts to make the crystal growth trends even the more so evident.

The STARS team wrote in to say that over the summer they’re having a free, virtual summer camp to provide students with hands-on experiments and to teach students important note-taking and observational skills to further prepare them for the fall crystal growing competition.

Check their website for further details by clicking here.

COVID-19 vaccinations to end at Jim Miller Park on June 19

June 8, 2021 3:42 PM by Wendy Parker

Jim Miller Park COVID vaccine appointments — *Cobb and Douglas Health has been administering COVID-19 vaccines at Jim Miller Park since January.*

Cobb and Douglas Public Health is winding down its free COVID-19 vaccination site at Jim Miller Park soon, but will continue providing innoculations to the public at various locations indefinitely.

Assistant director Lisa Crossman told the Cobb Board of Commissioners Tuesday that the last day for vaccinations at Jim Miller Park (2245 Callaway Road, Marietta) will be June 19.

Vaccinations are provided there six days a week and members of the public can make an appointment or walk up.

“That doesn’t mean we’re done vaccinating,” she said.

Information on getting vaccination at Jim Miller Park and satellite locations can be found here, along with other details getting a COVID-19 vaccine through Cobb and Douglas Public Health.

A number of “pop up” vaccine locations that have also been in use will continue for the time being.

“We’ll do it until we don’t see a need,” Crossman said.

There’s not a specific location in East Cobb scheduled for this week; the closest spot it the Dwell@750 apartments (750 Franklin Gateway), from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday.

We noted over the weekend that Cobb’s transmission rate of the virus had fallen below what’s called “high community spread”—a 14-day average under 100 cases per 100,000 people.

She also said the COVID-19 test positivity rate is at its lowest in many months, 1.9 percent. Public health officials say anything less than 5 percent is good, and while the numbers across the board in Cobb “are headed in the right direction” she urged the public not to let its guard down.

Cobb’s rate of “fully vaccinated people”—those having received both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine—is 37 percent, and more than 43 percent have had one dose.

Those numbers are slightly higher than Georgia’s overall figures, but are below the national average.

President Joe Biden has set a 70 percent vaccination goal for the country by July 4. Crossman said while it’s doubtful Cobb will reach that target, “we’re going to give it our best shot.”

She said the vaccinations are available to anyone 12 years of age or older, and encouraged parents sending their children to summer camps to get vaccinated.

Crossman also said businesses with 25 or more employees can have Cobb and Douglas Public Health come to their workplaces and provide vaccinations and said the scheduling is flexible, and can be done in the early evenings and on the weekends

Cobb Drug Treatment Court graduates five individuals

June 8, 2021 2:45 PMJune 8, 2021 11:41 AM by Wendy Parker

Submitted information:

The judges and staff of the Superior Court of Cobb County congratulate the five people who completed the Drug Treatment Court program on Monday.

The intensive program, suited for offenders who are generally non-violent, lasts a minimum of two years and aims to treat an individual’s underlying addictions and return him or her to a productive member of society while reducing incarceration costs.

“My decision to participate in the drug court program saved my life,” said Timothy, 35, who was previously charged with methamphetamines possession and was among Monday’s graduates. “This program works if you work at it.”

Graduate Wilmer, 52, entered the program in 2019 after an arrest for possession of methamphetamines and cocaine.

“The Cobb County Drug Court program is one of the best ideas the judicial system has ever come up with. It gives people with addiction problems another chance at life. So much of the life I have now, I would never have had without this program,” Wilmer said. “It’s a hard program, and they will hold you accountable. But if you stick with it and do what they ask you to do, it’s well worth it.”

Robert, 56, was also charged with possession of methamphetamines and dangerous drugs before seeking admittance into Drug Treatment Court. “I am a member of the Drug Court program and now a productive member of society. It works,” he said.

Judge Mary Staley Clark now presides over Drug Court, succeeding Senior Judge George Kreeger. A team that includes prosecutors, treatment counselors, probation officers, administrators and the presiding judge, reviews each request for participation in Drug Treatment Court, and monitors admitted participants throughout. Punishment for violations can range from a night in jail to expulsion from the program.

Various county and state offices collaborate with the judges in operating individual Accountability Courts. For more information, visit cobbcounty.org/SuperiorAC

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Cobb County issues COVID scam alert for federal relief funds

June 8, 2021 2:39 PMJune 8, 2021 9:21 AM by Wendy Parker

Submitted information:

Scam artists are always looking to take advantage of a situation to steal from you. They’ve been using the COVID-19 pandemic and federal relief monies as tools to gain personal information from unsuspecting victims.

If you receive an email about pandemic relief, no matter how “official-looking,” REMEMBER:

Cobb County will not reach out to you directly about receiving federal assistance money.

Do NOT give out personal ID information to any of these sites.

All official assistance information can be found at www.cobbcounty.org/ERA

Any questions or concerns? Call us at 770-528-1000 or email us at information@cobbcounty.org

FOR MORE on these “phishing” emails, check out these sites:

https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus

https://sos.ga.gov/index.php/Securities/coronavirus_scams

https://consumer.georgia.gov/consumer-topics/phishing

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/…/want-get-your…

More COVID-related information from Cobb County government can be found by clicking here.

Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar opens at Sandy Plains Marketplace

June 7, 2021 5:30 PMJune 7, 2021 2:26 PM by Wendy Parker

Bad Daddy's Burger Bar East Cobb opening

As we noted at the end of April, the East Cobb location of Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar was awaiting on approval of an alcohol license from the county as it prepared to open.

The new Sandy Plains Marketplace restaurant (3460 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 100) opened its doors on Monday next to the Hollywood Feed store, and there’s a ribbon-cutting on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.

Opening hours are from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Phone: 470-632-7500.

The menu includes a variety of burgers (including make-your-own) and some non-beef entrees and salads, ranging mostly from $10-$15, cocktails, beer and wine, starters, shakes and desserts and a kids menu.

College Station Sports Store opens at The Avenue East Cobb

June 7, 2021 11:13 AM by Wendy Parker

Submitted information:

“Fans may remember College Station had a location here at The Avenue from 2014-2017 and we are happy to welcome them back.

“College Station was founded in 2000 by Roger Bush and started as a kiosk in the Town Center at Cobb mall. He sold one of the biggest selections of college apparel at the time. He then expanded his business to a full store front inside Town Center. Later he would expand his business to the Mall of Georgia, which recently closed. College Station has always been about college teams but has always been more than just that. College Station carries over 100 teams in the biggest names in NCAA, NFL, MLB, MLS, and NBA! The focus at College Station is to be the premier provider of anything memorabilia athletic-wise from t shirts to shot glasses they have it all!

“College Station Sports Store will be located between Sephora and Simply Mac. https://www.avenueeastcobb.com/College-Station-Sports-Store/”

Related stories:

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories:

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories:

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related story

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Hiring Day at The Avenue

Edward-Johns Jewelers to close

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related story:

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories:

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories:

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories:

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories:

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories:

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related story

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related content

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post: