The following East Cobb food scores for the week of May 24 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
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The proposed senior apartment building at Sprayberry Crossing has been scaled down to three stories.
Just days before a third hearing before the Cobb Planning Commission, the developer of the proposed Sprayberry Crossing mixed-use project has revised the site plan again and made other changes.
Atlantic Realty Acquisitions submitted the changes with the Cobb Zoning Office after a meeting on Tuesday arranged by Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell that involved the developer, county staff, and citizens both for and against the rezoning request.
The Cobb Planning Commission is scheduled to hear the request again on Tuesday, June 1.
The senior apartment building would have 132 units, which is 40 less than what was presented in May, and it would be reduced from five to three stories.
The new plans call for 102 townhomes and a maximum of 34,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. Here’s the new site plan that was submitted Wednesday, and the developer’s latest tipulation letter.
Traffic issues have also been a major concern, in particular the main entrance to Sprayberry Crossing on Sandy Plains Road, and attempts to align it with a traffic light at Kinjac Drive.
Here’s what Cobb DOT is recommending, noting that a final traffic study revision was submitted on May 20.
For a larger view of the latest site plan click here.
Not all of those new documents were available for the Tuesday meeting, according to resident Tim Carini, who’s led opposition to the project, mostly for traffic reasons as well as the apartments.
He reiterated that one reason he’s still opposed to senior apartments is a federal housing law that says age-restricted facilities that fall below 80 percent of the units occupied by that designated age group (Sprayberry Crossing would have 55 and up) lose that exemption.
“Once that happens the apartments become open to all ages,” Carini said in a message to a Facebook group opposed to the Sprayberry Crossing rezoning. That group has several hundred members, many of them proud to have been called part of a “mob” fighting the case by Atlantic Realty’s attorney.
The county disputes that interpretation, but Carini insists that “we are just a few steps away from having apartments in East Cobb that could become low income and open to all ages at some point in the future.”
The townhome units originally numbered 44 and were raised to 62 after another apartment building was dropped in April. The 102 units now being proposed would be at least 2,000 square feet and no more than 10 percent could be rented at any given time.
The Sprayberry Crossing Action Facebook group, which organized several years ago to push for redevelopment of the blighted shopping center, was also posting updated information for its nearly 6,000 members.
Group leader Shane Spink, who’s been one of the group’s leaders said “hope to see this resolved by Tuesday.”
The Planning Commission meeting is at 9 a.m. Tuesday, it’s a loaded agenda that includes another hearing for the delayed East Cobb Church-townhome proposal in the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford area.
In-person seating will be limited due to social distancing protocols, but there also will be commenting for those watching online. They can sign up to speak by clicking here.
The Sprayberry Crossing proposal now calls for 102 for-sale townhomes.
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The Sprayberry PTSA has been getting out word about a parent in its school community who’s fighting for his life after being shot during an armed robbery earlier this month.
Kaushik Govani, 55, remains in critical condition after being shot by armed robbers on May 12 at the Bottle Shop liquor store that he owns in Acworth, according to Cobb Police.
Police said Thursday morning that they’ve arrested a suspect, Rashaad Snipes, 19, who’s being held at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center for armed robbery, aggravated assault and aggravated battery.
Police said that when officers arrived at the liquor store on Baker Road in Acworth around 9:35 p.m. on May 12, they found him lying on the floor with gunshot wounds.
Govani was rushed to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, and a fundraiser started by his family said he was shot three times, causing serious damage to his heart, diaphragm, stomach, liver, and spleen.
Because he is the sole provider of a family of five, the goal is to raise $200,000, with more than $45,000 generated in pledges thus far.
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Updating our story last week about Soren Tucker, a transgender student at Pope High School who wanted his preferred name announced at Wednesday’s graduation:
His wish was granted.
Lily Smith, a fellow Pope senior who started an online petition that has gathered more than 21,000 signatures, announced that the Cobb County School District had agreed to the request.
“It is unclear if there will be changes that affect the future and county policies, but we won this victory!” Smith wrote on Tuesday.
Tucker, who has identified as male for the last two years, will still have his legal female birth name on his diploma, as is the protocol for the Cobb County School District.
A Cobb County School District spokeswoman said Wednesday, shortly before the commencement ceremony, that Pope principal Thomas Flugum met with Tucker and his family for the first time on Tuesday.
“They had a great conversation and the student and parent’s preferences were taken into account during Pope’s graduation ceremony,” the spokeswoman said. “While official school business requires the use of a student’s legal name, all of our schools take student and family preference into account during informal school activities.”
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The attorney for Cobb school parents fighting the Cobb County School District’s mask mandate said Wednesday they’re dropping their lawsuit.
Rob Madayag
Rod Madayag told East Cobb News he’s filed a notice to dismiss a federal lawsuit because “the school district indicated that it was going to be mask optional next year, which is all our clients wanted in the first place.”
The dismissal notice comes three weeks after a federal judge denied the suing parents their request for a temporary restraining order to end the mandate during the Cobb school district academic year that concluded Wednesday.
Two weeks ago, the district said it was relaxing its mask mandate for the “fully vaccinated” and announced that “we fully expect to start the 2021-2022 school year with masks as optional.”
Five parents filed a lawsuit in April in Cobb Superior Court, but it was remanded to federal court (you can read that notice and the suit by clicking here).
In their suit, the parents claimed the Cobb school district’s mask mandate—which applied to students, teachers and other staff—has effectively created two “separate, but unequal” learning environments, one in-person, and one virtual.
In addition, the plaintiffs alleged that the district’s contract tracing procedures violate students’ right to privacy under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, as well as the equal protection provisions of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
They also claimed CDC guidance for students wasn’t based on scientific data showing mask-wearing is safe for them because there isn’t any.
“People are surprised to learn that there are zero studies cited or conducted by the CDC that show that it is safe for a child to wear a mask for 8 hours a day, every day,” Madayag said.
“It is a shame that people were so flippant about putting kids in masks for 8 hours without making sure it was safe. What kind of message does that send to our kids?”
Some of the plaintiffs alleged in their lawsuit that their children have suffered from constricted breathing, including a Walton High School student with ADHD.
Madayag said he will be working with parents to press for state legislation to prohibit policies along those lines in the future.
Gov. Brian Kemp also is expected to sign an executive order prohibiting local school districts from imposing mask mandates when the 2021-22 school year begins. The order would not prohibit staff and students from wearing masks if they choose.
A Cobb school district spokeswoman told East Cobb News there are no further updates for now on a final decision about masks for the next school year, which begins Aug. 2.
As for the lawsuit, she said in a statement that “when this lawsuit began, we said we looked forward to the facts of this case being argued in court, not social or traditional media. As the case being dropped shows, our comments from one year ago are as true as they are today.”
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Cobb Schools has traditionally made several summer learning options available to students and parents through its Summer Link program. While Link is still available, the Cobb Academic Department has also been busily working behind the scenes to bring many other programs to life in 2021.
Learning gaps have become a national concern during the COVID pandemic. Many students have not been able to get the attention and help they need while learning online. “The COVID-19 pandemic is unique,” said Chief Academic Officer Jennifer Lawson recently in a presentation to the Board of Education. “This means there are no historical events which directly parallel it, and the research indicators we would use to guide our response to it are limited.”
The Student Learning and Recovery Plan is Cobb’s answer to helping fill these learning gaps. Consisting of many different programs based on individual needs and grade level, the Learning and Recovery Plan is designed to help both students and parents utilize a portion of their summer break to get caught up in various areas.
Our district also offers the Cobb Course Refresher, which allows high school students to gain a greater comfort level with certain course content. The Cobb Course Refresher allows students to review course lessons online. This includes content for courses taken in 2020-2021 or for classes they will take during the 2021-2022 school year.
While every school has its own academic response and will vary, the District has created five major areas for local schools to implement and make available to its learning community. Up-to-date information on District summer programs can always be found on the Summer Programs page of the District website.
In addition to traditional summer school for high schoolers to make up missing credits, Cobb continues to offer its Virtual Academy (CVA) as an option over the summer. CVA and the Summer Link programs are open to Cobb’s Middle and Elementary students.
Cobb is also offering several programs by “Invite Only,” such as the Summer Enrichment Academy (for certain Elementary-aged students) and the Summer Learning Quest (for certain Middle and High School students) which are both making their debut this year.
Parents should consult their local schools’ website and newsletter for more specific information and schedules. For example, Riverside Elementary is offering “Building Bridges for Success” over the summer, which includes reading, writing, and math, as well as hands-on activities like photography, art, and robotics.
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After a rigorous 48-hour online competition sponsored by The National Cyber Scholarship Foundation (NCSF), three Wheeler High School students were named Scholars in the National Cyber Scholarship Competition (NCSC). Jenna Bond, Archishma Goli, and Christina Nikolova were among the top 540 highest scoring students who met the eligibility criteria for a $2,500 Scholarship to a U.S. college of their choice.
A fourth Wheeler student, Natalie Ajemian, was named a finalist in the competition. The Cobb students are all members of Wheeler’s Girls In Cyber Security Club, which is sponsored by teacher Jennifer Callison-Bliss.
In recognition of their achievement, all four Wheeler students earned an invitation to participate in the Cyber Foundations Academy –a multi-week online program based on the nationally recognized SANS Foundations training course and certification –valued at more than $3,000.
The Wheeler students competed against 5,000 high school students in a cybersecurity competition designed to challenge its participants to solve computer security problems and/or capture and defend computer systems. Only 10% percent of the 50,000 students nationwide who sought to qualify for the NCSC met the requirements.
“The National Cyber Scholarship Competition recognizes high school students who have demonstrated exceptional cybersecurity prowess and who wish to pursue a career in a growing field in critical need of their talent,” noted David Brown, executive director, National Cyber Scholarship Foundation. “The NCSF mission is to identify and develop the next generation of cyber professionals. Each and every student who participated in this competition has the potential to develop their skills and build a successful career in cybersecurity.”
There are several qualification pathways for the National Cyber Scholarship Competition, including CyberStart America, a free online program that helps students discover their interest in cybersecurity and develop their talent and skills. The NCSC offers 600 college scholarships to top-ranking competitors. Additionally, National Cyber Scholars, along with competition 1,000 finalists, are invited to participate in the Cyber Foundations Academy. To learn more, visit: National Cyber Scholarship Foundation.
The National Cyber Scholarship Foundation (NCSF) is a national nonprofit whose mission is to identify, nurture and empower the next generation of cybersecurity experts; and eliminate the cybersecurity skills gap in the United States. NCSF aims to support the entry of thousands of talented students into the cybersecurity industry by providing enrichment opportunities, world-class training, and scholarships to fund the degree-level study.
CyberStart America is a free national program for high school students, aiming to uncover hidden cyber talents and to identify and develop the next generation of cyber superstars. CyberStart’s immersive gamified learning platform can take students from zero cybersecurity knowledge to possessing the skills necessary to compete in a national-level Capture the Flag challenge in a matter of weeks. Students new to the field with a strong aptitude and students with an existing interest in the field can use the platform to train and qualify for the National Cyber Scholarship Competition, allowing them to compete for life-changing college scholarship opportunities.
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The Cobb County School District on Tuesday announced the Class of 2021 valedictorians and salutatorians, and students from East Cobb schools had some of the highest grade-point averages in the county.
Overall, graduating seniors in the Cobb school district combined for an average GPA of about 4.7. Cobb salutatorians are very close with a 4.63 average.
Three valedictorians and one salutatorian from Cobb high schools posted GPAs higher than 4.8. In total, 12 valedictorians and nine salutatorians earned GPAs above 4.7.
Madeleine Maurer of Pope High School tallied a GPA of 4.845, second-highest in Cobb, and will be attending the University of Pennsylvania.
Mehul Kalia, Wheeler High School
Not far behind her is Mehul Kalia of Wheeler High School, who has a GPA of 4.797. He’s headed to Georgia Tech to study computer science
All graduations are taking place this year at Cantrell Stadium at McEachern High School over the next two weeks. Dates and times for the East Cobb schools are listed below with their vals and sals:
Kell (Wednesday, June 2, 7 p.m) Valedictorian —Alaina Westee, 4.563, Kennesaw State, biochemistry Salutatorian—Riley McClure, 4.484, U of Georgia, psychology
Lassiter (Tuesday, May 25, 7 p.m.) Valedictorian—Gloria Wu, 4.768, Georgia Tech, business administration; Salutatorian—Malia Trask, 4.741, Georgia Tech, aerospace engineering
Grace Yan, Walton High School
Pope (Wednesday, May 26, 7 p.m.) Valedictorian—Madeleine Maurer, 4.845, U of Pennsylvania, tbd Salutatorian—Gregory Park, 4.786, Georgia Tech, tbd
Sprayberry (Friday, June 4, 7 p.m.) Valedictorian—Olivia Sternagle, 4.719, U of Georgia Honors College, biology Salutatorian—Yousuf Azeem, 4.625, Georgia Tech, computer science
Walton (Friday, May 28, 9 a.m.) Valedictorian—Grace Yan, 4.769, MIT, computer science and brain and cognitive science Salutatorian—Sheena Lai, 4.767, Stanford, undecided
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The group advocating for East Cobb Cityhood held another virtual town hall meeting last Thursday with Milton Mayor Joe Lockwood as the featured guest.
During the hour-long session, which included pre-screened questions from the public, Lockwood emphasized the “local control” message that East Cobb Cityhood proponents have been pressing.
Milton became a city in North Fulton in 2006 and has 39,000 residents. Lockwood said that like some of the sentiment in East Cobb, there was vocal opposition to cityhood at the time.
“A lot of people just didn’t want [a new] government,” he said. “It was ‘leave us alone.’ But once we started making improvements, it was interesting to see people starting to expect more.”
Lockwood is serving his third consecutive term as mayor and is in his final term in that capacity due to term limits.
He said what he’s most proud of in Milton is “a sense of belonging and community” that has developed since cityhood.
“There’s a sense of pride, of more people getting involved” in civic affairs and community life,” Lockwood said.
Milton provides more services than the proposed city of East Cobb, including police and fire that were part of the initial East Cobb cityhood effort in 2019.
Lockwood said when it comes to zoning and planning, “people want things to be the same.” He said Milton has effectively limited density to maintain a suburban and in some cases rural feel to an affluent community that’s similar to East Cobb.
Density and urban-style development are growing issues in Cobb County, especially with East Cobb redevelopment projects at Sprayberry Crossing and in the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford area that have drawn community support and opposition.
The JOSH redevelopment involving East Cobb Church would fall within the city limits of East Cobb, which includes less than half of the 2019 map and would have a population around 55,000.
The revived East Cobb Cityhood effort is focused on planning and zoning [along with code enforcement and parks and recreation] in the wake those and other development issues in the county.
Craig Chapin, the cityhood group’s head, said during the town hall that some of the pushback agains denser development “isn’t about how things were in Cobb County. You’re looking at a community and wondering what the future will look like.”
During the town hall, the cityhood group showed results of recent polling on cityhood issues reflected in the slides below. More details can be found on the cityhood website.
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To kick-off Memorial Day weekend, The Avenue East Cobb invites the community to purchase a ticket for their upcoming Family Movie Night event on Thursday, May 27, 2021. The patriotic movie being shown is SGT. STUBBY: AN AMERICAN HERO based on the incredible true story of America’s most decorated dog. All proceeds from the event benefit Project Charlie Oscar. For ticket sales: https://aec-may.eventbrite.com.
The May Family Movie Night, sponsored by Project Charlie Oscar, aims to raise community awareness of their charity, whose mission is to serve Military Veterans and their families by providing horseback riding activities, equine job training and the essential resources needed for improved quality of life.
“Our Vision is to reduce the number of suicides in the Military Veteran Community and bring awareness to Veteran’s needs,” says Victoria Hoefler, Founder & President of Project Charlie Oscar. “Project Charlie Oscar is proud to partner with The Avenue East Cobb to promote our programs and spread awareness about our Charity.”
Parking for the event will begin at 6:00pm at The Avenue East Cobb in Marietta. Pre-movie entertainment includes Little Red Barn Petting Zoo, a balloon artist, and a DJ with trivia and games. The movie begins at sundown following a bugle playing Taps and a moment of silence for our fallen heroes.
For more information about Project Charlie Oscar, to get involved, or to support the organization, please visit https://www.projectcharlieoscar.org/.
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Cobb Police said Tuesday night that Cody Demmitt has been captured in Arkansas.
ORIGINAL REPORT:
The Cobb Police Department late Monday afternoon released a photo of a man suspected of injuring one person during a shooting on Sunday at a home in Northeast Cobb.
Police said they’ve obtained an arrest warrant for Cody Demmitt, who remains at-large and is wanted for aggravated assault.
According to a police release, Demmitt shot multiple rounds at a residence at 3760 Westchase Drive, located in the Canterbury Ridge subdivision off Canton Road and near Hawkins Store Road.
Police said their detectives said were called to the home at 11:30 p.m. Sunday after a shooting had been reported.
Police said they found a male with a gunshot wound to a shoulder, and he was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Police said Demmitt is a neighbor of the victim, and had not been allowed to attend a party at the home. Demmitt fired several shots in the house and fled the scene before law enforcement arrived, police said.
Anyone with information about the incident should call Cobb County Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons Unit at 770-499-3945.
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A developer who is seeking to convert the former Park 12 Cobb Cinema in East Cobb into a storage facility wants some additional time to prepare its case.
On Monday, Stein Investment Group sent a letter to the Cobb Zoning Office seeking a delay in the proposal’s initial hearings to July.
Stein’s request for a special-land use permit is listed on the Cobb Planning Commission agenda for next Tuesday, June 1.
The zoning staff has recommended approval with some conditions. but Garvis Sams, an attorney for Stein, wrote in the letter that the delay is needed “in order to fully complete all tasks with which are charged.”
He wasn’t more specific than that.
In addition to a SLUP (site plan here), which is required for self-storage facilities in unincorporated Cobb, Stein also is amending a previous zoning decision for the general commercial category that had been approved for the theater.
The SLUP would be heard by the Planning Commission on July 6, and the “Other Business” item would be heard by Cobb commissioners on July 16.
Park 12 Cobb closed at the end of 2020, more than three years after a community fight to keep it open as a movie theater.
Nearby residents opposed a rezoning case to turn the property on Gordy Parkway at Shallowford Road into a Lidl grocery store. Some wanted to have movies nearby, and others were concerned about traffic, and the Cobb Board of Commissioners turned down the rezoning request in September 2017.
At the time, Lidl attorney Parks Huff said that “this is not a difficult decision. This is technically a property rights issue and needs to be approved.”
The cinema owner, Georgia Theatre Company, had expressed a desire at the time to sell the property.
Park 12 Cobb briefly reopened last fall after COVID-19 closures, but GTC made the decision to permanently shutter that cinema as well as others in its Georgia and the southeast region.
Another self-storage facility sits nearby, as part of the Sandy Plains MarketPlace retail center on the former site of Mountain View Elementary School.
Meanwhile, a Lidl store not far down in the Sandy Plains Road corridor would anchor the proposed Sprayberry Crossing redevelopment, that’s slated to be heard yet again by the planning board in June.
The Planning Commission voted to hold the case for further traffic details after a second full hearing in as many months.
The East Cobb Church proposed mixed-use development also was delayed to June.
The full agenda for next Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting can be found here.
It begins at 9 a.m. in the 2nd floor board room of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta.
There will be limited in-person seating due to social distancing protocols, but the meeting will be live-streamed on the county’s Facebook Live and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.
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Because all 17 high school graduations in the Cobb County School District are being held in a single location, those commencement exercises will take place over the next two weeks.
The Cobb school district announced in February that due to COVID-19 considerations, Cantrell Stadium at McEachern High School will be the venue for all schools.
That’s the largest-capacity stadium in the Cobb school district, and where delayed 2020 graduations took place last July.
Here’s what the Cobb school district posted earlier this month about how those graduations will be taking place:
“Ceremonies are scheduled Monday, May 24, through Friday, June 4, with Saturday, June 5, reserved for making up ceremonies postponed due to inclement weather. Ceremonies are not scheduled on Sunday, May 30, or Memorial Day, Monday, May 31. Ceremonies are only scheduled for mornings and afternoons to avoid the heat of the afternoon.
“Tickets will be limited due to public health guidance. Specifics about ticket allocations and distribution will be provided by the individual high schools in late March. To accommodate family and friends who are unable to attend, each ceremony will be streamed live.”
And here’s the graduation schedule for the six high schools in East Cobb:
Tuesday, May 25: Lassiter High School, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, May 26: Pope High School, 7 p.m.
Friday, May 28: Walton High School, 9 a.m.
Saturday, May 29: Wheeler High School, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, June 2: Kell High School, 7 p.m.
Friday, June 4: Sprayberry High School, 7 p.m.
More graduation details, including links to livestreams of commencement exercises, can be found by clicking here.
Earlier this week Cobb school officials unveiled a draft list for what would be a Cobb Education SPLOST VI sales-tax referendum that calls for the construction of a special events facility.
Until the pandemic, most Cobb high school graduations took place at the Kennesaw State University Convocation Center. Some schools have had graduations on their own campuses, including Wheeler, as well as large church sanctuaries in the county.
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The Georgia High School Association has scheduled some of its baseball championship series for Truist Park next week, and there’s going to be a Cobb County presence with Lassiter High School.
The Trojans (32-6) will meet Houston County in a best-of-three doubleheader for the Class 6A title starting at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, followed by Game 2 of that series the same night.
Should the series go to a decisive third game, it would take place on Thursday at 12 p.m.
Lassiter defeated East Cobb rival Pope in the semifinals this week to reach the state title series for the first time in 11 years.
Lassiter won state titles in 1999 and 2006.
Tickets are $15 and will be available for purchase online athttps://gofan.co/app/school/GHSA. Parking for the championship games at Truist Park (755 Battery Ave.) is free in the Red Deck for three hours
For more information on the games as well as the GHSA, please visit www.ghsa.net.
Other GHSA state title series are being played at Coolray Field in Gwinnett and in Savannah. Here’s the schedule for the games at Truist Park, as released by the Atlanta Braves:
Monday, May 24
7A – Parkview High School vs North Paulding High School: First Pitch 5 p.m. with Game 2 set to start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
Tuesday, May 25:
7A – Parkview High School vs North Paulding High School: First Pitch 12 p.m. (If needed)
5A – Loganville High School vs Starr’s Mill High School: First Pitch 5 p.m. with Game 2 set to start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
Wednesday, May 26:
5A – Loganville High School vs Starr’s Mill High School: First Pitch 12 p.m. (If needed)
6A – Lassiter High School vs Houston County High School: First Pitch 5 p.m. with Game 2 set to start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
Thursday, May 27:
6A – Lassiter High School vs Houston County High School: First Pitch 12 p.m. (If needed)
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Soren Tucker posted a Hamlet-like photo on his Instagram page on his 18th birthday.
Since changing his first name as a sophomore at Pope High School, Soren Tucker says he hasn’t encountered many issues with identifying as transgender since then.
Born female, Tucker for the last two-plus years has gone by a family name from his mother’s side of the family, which is of Norwegian ancestry. He says he has largely been supported by other students and teachers at Pope.
Soren Tucker is the name listed under his senior photo in his yearbook, and as an active member of Pope Theatre He even performed in a male role last fall in the club’s presentation of a one-act play entitled “Who’s Zoomin’ Who?”
Soren Tucker’s senior photo in the Pope yearbook.
But when Pope holds its commencement exercise Wednesday, Tucker’s birth name will be on his diploma, and more than likely will be uttered during Pope’s roll-call of graduating seniors.
That’s because Cobb County School District policy requires diplomas and graduation call-lists to include a student’s legal name.
Tucker, who turned 18 last fall, has not yet begun the process of legally changing his name, and is just now beginning to explore that process.
He said “I do plan on walking [to receive his diploma], but I’m not sure what I will do” if he does not hear his preferred name.
Tucker, who declined to reveal his birth name in an interview with East Cobb News, said he’s still hoping to have Soren listed on the call list, if not the diploma.
Lily Smith, a friend of Tucker’s, has begun an online petition that in just a few days has generated more than 13,000 signatures.
“Despite being fully supported and correctly recognized by students and staff, the administration refuses to recognize Soren by his name,” Smith wrote in her appeal. “This is a BLATANT act of transphobia, and the students of Pope High School do not and will not stand for hate, prejudice, and discrimination against their students. PLEASE sign and help us right this wrong.”
A spokeswoman for the Cobb County School District reiterated the naming policy in response to a request for comment from East Cobb News, saying legal names are used for all official school business.
“If any student or family changes a student’s legal name, we update that student’s official record which impacts, among other examples, their schedules, transcripts, and diplomas,” the spokeswoman said.
When asked how he came to identify as transgender, Tucker said that for many people like him, “you just always know something’s not right.”
He said he’s trying to be happier in his life, and making a name change is “the easiest thing” he says he can do to become more comfortable at this point in his transition.
When asked if he’s planning on hormone treatment or surgery in the future, Tucker said that “generally, I prefer to live in the present.”
Tucker’s near-future includes enrolling as a freshman this fall at Kennesaw State University, where he plans to major in theatre performance and where he can use his preferred name.
Tucker says undergoing a name change is more than symbolic.
“It comes from knowing that something isn’t right,” he said. “It holds a lot more meaning than just a name. Transgender people just want to be regarded for who they really are.”
An honor Tucker received as a Pope senior includes his preferred first name.
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Cobb school board members heard plenty from parents Thursday about Critical Race Theory, masks and an upcoming accreditation review.
After highly-charged comments from parents Thursday and a response from a school board member on the subject of Critical Race Theory, Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale weighed in on the increasingly controversial topic.
At Thursday’s Cobb Board of Education meetings, Ragsdale said that “as long as I am Superintendent, I will commit to keeping any theory or curriculum, which is not part of Georgia’s standards, out of every Cobb County classroom.”
Those comments were included in a statement the Cobb County School District issued Friday morning, prefaced by asserting that “Ragsdale made it clear that the staff in Cobb Schools will continue to focus on keeping Cobb’s schools, schools.”
The statement included links from the Cobb school district’s performances in standardized tests and other academic indicators.
“District data clearly indicates that the Superintendent’s laser-like focus on success for each Cobb student is working for our students, families, and county,” the CCSD statement reads.
A number of parents addressed the Cobb school board at Thursday’s meetings about Critical Race Theory, which asserts that racism is a social construct and has led to “systemic racism” that pervades law, policy, culture and other aspects of American society.
At Thursday night’s board meeting, parent Jeff Clark said that while “we need an honest conversation about race, this isn’t it. This is indoctrination.”
He said that “radical members of this committee [school board] are holding our children hostage. . . . Let us teach Dr. King’s message, not Mao’s.”
At a Thursday afternoon work session, East Cobb parent Amy Henry called Critical Race Theory “child abuse. . . . You’ve awokened Mama Bears all across Cobb. But we’re not woke, we’re just awake.”
“Woke” is a slang term used by racial and social justice activists in making references to social awareness.
Earlier Thursday, Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr wrote a letter to the Georgia Board of Education asking that it “take immediate steps to ensure that Critical Race Theory and its dangerous ideology do not take root in our state standards or curriculum.”
Kemp and Carr are among the latest Republican office-holders and conservative political activists to blast Critical Race Theory, and there are bills in some state legislatures to prohibit teaching it in public schools.
On Thursday, the Cherokee County School Board voted to ban the teaching of CRT in a packed meeting in which some attendees chanted “no CRT.”
Some Cobb parents making critical comments of CRT also accused the three Democrats on the school board for threatening to undermine the academic quality of the school district with their request for a special review by its accreditation agency.
Two of those Democrats, Jaha Howard and Charisse Davis, have been pressing for the Cobb school district to create the position of Chief Equity Officer to oversee, among other things, diversity issues.
No such position has been suggested by Ragsdale or the four Republicans who make up the school board majority.
The Cherokee school board also voted Thursday not to proceed with a “diversity, equity and inclusion” program that is being adopted by corporations, non-profits as well as K-12 and higher education institutions, including Georgia State University.
Cobb school board members didn’t respond to the public comments about CRT during their meetings.
But late Thursday night, Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters, wrote on her Facebook page that “the Critical Race Theory (CRT) debate has been bizarre…mainly how it became a scripted conservative talking point 40+ years after its inception.”
She said in response to comments from Cobb school parents that “I would struggle to give you a complete definition of all that CRT entails and let’s admit that three people on a board of seven would not be responsible for CRT (OR the mask decision you don’t like for that matter). And please stop sharing MLK quotes in the arguments against CRT. MLK was considered a radical and paid for it with his life.”
In her post, Davis also linked to a story in Boston Review called “The War on Critical Race Theory” that was shared by Maureen Downey, an education journalist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“This week’s discussion of critical race theory, prompted by the crowds showing up at local school board meetings decrying what they consider the application of CRT in their schools, has led to comments by folks who only show up when we are discussing racial issues,” Downey wrote.
Over the last two years, Cobb school board members have openly clashed on racial topics. They couldn’t come to a consensus on an anti-racism resolution last summer in the wake of the George Floyd death in Minneapolis.
School board member David Banks of East Cobb said during his re-election campaign last fall that he considered “white flight” the biggest long-term challenge facing the Cobb school district, leading to accusations by Davis that he was “spewing racist trash.”
After the November elections, the four school board Republicans voted to abolish a newly-approved committee 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.
Howard accused his GOP colleagues of “systemic racism” for that vote and for requiring a board majority to place items on the board’s meeting agendas.
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A rebuild of Sprayberry High School and annexes for several elementary schools in East Cobb are among the possible projects on a draft list for the proposed Cobb Education SPLOST VI draft list that was revealed Thursday.
During a Cobb Board of Education work session, Dr. James Wilson, a planning consultant for the Cobb County School District, outlined the major projects (as seen in the graphic above).
Referring to Sprayberry, he said that “a rebuild of major portions of that school” are needed for a 38-year-old campus whose last upgrade was a decade ago with a new auditorium.
A new career and technology building is earmarked at Sprayberry in the current SPLOST V period, but a construction timeline hasn’t been announced.
Wilson said the school board will be asked in September to approve a construction project for a new Sprayberry gym, which is included in the current SPLOST V collection period.
A parents group has been publicly pushing for a Sprayberry rebuild this spring, pointing out that other high schools in East Cobb have been recently getting rebuilds and major facilities improvements.
New annexes are proposed at Kincaid, Mt. Bethel, Murdock, Sope Creek and Tritt elementary schools in East Cobb, and an addition and modifications are being proposed for Bells Ferry Elementary School.
The draft list includes a commencement and special events center for the 112,000-student school district, a second career academy in the north Cobb area, athletic facility improvements, security and technology upgrades and the ability to build “undesignated classrooms,” where they’re needed but whose exact locations aren’t known now.
Wilson said a major emphasis of SPLOST VI—if it’s approved by Cobb voters in November—would be major infrastructure improvements at many schools and including 18 areas of work.
Details of the draft list were to be posted on the Cobb school district’s website. Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said the draft list won’t be modified much before a final list is presented in June to the Cobb school board, which will be asked to pass a resolution calling for a November referendum.
SPLOST VI would begin in 2024 and would collect a one-percent sales tax for five years, generating nearly $900 million for school facility, maintenance and technology expenses.
The draft list calls for a rebuild for the main building at Sprayberry, which relocated to the northwest intersection of Sandy Plains Road and East Piedmont Road in 1973.
“It’s not going to be the entire school,” superintendent Chris Ragsdale said, adding that language that was consistent with recent projects at Walton, Osborne, Pebblebrook and Campbell high schools.
“It’s something that at least a couple people are pleased to hear it,” said school board member David Chastain, who represents the Sprayberry attendance zone, noting the lobbying by the parents’ group that has included several rallies on campus to bring attention to their efforts.
When school board member David Banks asked whether possible land purchases might be considered for Sprayberry, Ragsdale said that specifics won’t be discussed publicly (acquisitions are allowed to be discussed in executive session) and that “we’re always looking” for land for school facilities throughout the county.
Rebuilds of the main buildings on the campuses of Walton and Wheeler High School in East Cobb have taken place in recent years.
Ragsdale said the Walton project was the most challenging because it has the smallest land area of any high school in the Cobb school district.
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CenterStage North, the community theatre that stages live performances at The Art Place-Mountain View, announced Wednesday it will not be holding its 2021 season due to ongoing local restrictions related to COVID-19.
In a social media posting, the theatre’s board said that “latter-year scheduling conflicts will make a return for CenterStage North impossible in 2021. This is sad news for all of us. We miss you, our loyal patrons; we miss the stage; we miss the camaraderie; and we miss our art.”
The message indicated that “we have a season fully selected and ready to begin in February 2022. We’ve got an exciting season lined up that kicks off with a comedy-drama, followed by a Southern comedy in May, a head-spinning (and door-slamming!) farce in August, an audience-interactive musical in October (we would give you a Clue, but ….), and finally a heartwarming holiday show will close out our season in December 2022.”
CenterStage North performances haven’t taken place since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.
The board’s message also said that anyone who’s purchased tickets or a subscription for performances in 2020 and 2021 will have their payments applied to the 2022 season. Those seeking refunds should e-mail boxoffice@centerstagenorth.net.
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Roadwork is expected to cause delays on Sandy Plains Road Weather permitting, the Cobb County Water System will continue making warranty repairs to the roadway on Sandy Plains Road between Piedmont and Ebenezer Thursday, May 20, and Friday, May 21. Work will involve temporary lane closures in the northbound direction beginning in the morning at approximately 9 a.m.
All lane closures will be removed before 4 p.m. each day.
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The Cobb Board of Education’s monthly meetings on Thursday include a required public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2022 operating budget.
The public hearing begins at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, before the scheduled 7 p.m. voting meeting. The school board also will hold a public work session starting at 1 p.m.
All the meetings take place in the board’s meeting room at the Cobb County School District central office, 514 Glover St., Marietta.
All of the public meetings will be livestreamed on the district’s BoxCast channel and on CobbEdTV, Comcast Channel 24An executive session is scheduled between the work session and budget hearing.
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.
The school board tentatively adopted the budget in April for the purpose of advertising public hearings.
The final public hearing and formal budget adoption is scheduled for June 10.
More Cobb school district budget and financial data can be found by clicking here, including general fund and other fund overviews and line-item details, and video presentations of previous budget presentations to the school board.
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!
A spokeswoman for the Cobb County School District reiterated the naming policy in response to a request for comment from East Cobb News, saying legal names are used for all official school business.
