While the East Coast of the United States braces for a Nor’easter, much of Georgia is about to go into a rare deep freeze this weekend.
The National Weather Service in Atlanta has several special weather statements as temperatures will drop to their lowest in more than two years.
A wind chill advisory is in effect for Cobb County, metro Atlanta and North Georgia through Saturday morning.
Temperatures Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings are expected to drop into the low 20s and the high teens.
Saturday’s high is expected to reach only into the mid 30s. Although warmer weather returns on Sunday with highs in the mid 40s, wind conditions could result in a wind chill factor in some places in the single digits.
There’s also a “red flag” warning on Saturday, meaning that the combination of high winds and low humidity could lead to quickly spreading fires.
Temperatures will be warmer for the start of next week, with highs in the low 60s and sunny skies in the forecast from Monday through Thursday.
But evenings will still be cold, ranging from the high 20s to the low 40s during those days.
Rain is expected Wednesday and Thursday, and colder highs will resume toward the end of next week, in the mid 40s, along with lows in the high 20s.
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The Cobb school board’s Republican majority is recommending a map that would leave East Cobb with two seats. For a larger view click here.
Republican members of the Cobb legislative delegation have filed a bill that would redistrict Cobb Board of Education posts along similar lines recommended recently by the school board’s GOP majority.
State Rep. Ginny Ehrhart of West Cobb filed HB 1028 on Wednesday (you can read it here) as the Cobb legislative delegation—which has a one-member Democratic majority—was meeting over reapportionment.
Co-sponsors of the bill include East Cobb Republicans John Carson, Matt Dollar and Don Parsons.
The delegation is carving out Cobb commission and school board lines for the next decade following the 2020 Census.
The local reapportionment process is usually completed within a county’s delegation before being submitted as a bill that must pass the full legislature, typically in consent fashion on what’s called a local calendar.
Instead, Ehrhart’s legislation will start in the House, after getting a first reading and committee assignment next week.
(PLEASE NOTE: The process of redistricting elected school board posts has nothing to do with the boundaries of school attendance zones, which are drawn by school district administrative staff and are done mainly to balance out school capacity.)
For the last three years, the Cobb school board has held a 4-3 Republican majority (after the GOP previously enjoyed a 6-1 advantage), and has been roiled in a number of controversies that generally have fallen along partisan lines.
State Rep. Erick Allen, a Smyrna Democrat and the Cobb delegation chairman, proposed a draft map of Cobb school board posts earlier this month that would make few changes to the current lines.
The four Republicans on the Cobb school board approved a map designed to maintain their majority. The map would take out most of the East Cobb portion of Post 6 that currently includes the Walton and Wheeler high school clusters.
That seat is currently held by first-term Democrat Charisse Davis, who under the GOP map would be drawn in the same post as Jaha Howard, another first-term Democrat who represents Post 2 in the Smyrna area.
The school board’s recommendation is advisory, but Ehrhart’s bill follows similar lines.
Post 6 would be centered in the Smyrna-Vinings area, keeping several precincts in the Powers Ferry and Terrell Mill corridors.
The Walton-Wheeler zones would mostly be shifted to Post 5, which covers the Lassiter and Pope attendance zones.
That seat is held by Republican vice chairman David Banks.
The new lines, however they might be drawn, will take effect for 2022 elections that include three school board seats.
They are Post 2 (Howard has declared his intent to run for state school superintendent); Post 6 (Davis has not announced her plans) and Post 4 in Northeast Cobb (incumbent David Chastain has said he will be seeking another term).
The Cobb delegation also will be redrawing the four district lines for the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
On Tuesday, the commission’s three Democrats voted in favor of a map drawn by Allen that makes minimal changes to the current lines.
But the two Republicans, JoAnn Birrell of Northeast Cobb and Keli Gambrill of North Cobb, voted against that map.
They are both up for re-election this year. Birrell said she does not support the proposed map because it has taken out some of her East Cobb precincts.
Like the school board’s map, the commissioners’ action is “more of an endorsement vote,” deputy county manager Jimmy Gisi said during the Tuesday meeting.
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The Georgia House on Thursday voted to approve a bill that would allow for a referendum for a proposed city of East Cobb.
After an hour of debate, the vote was 98-63, and the bill now goes to the Georgia Senate.
East Cobb Republican State Rep. Matt Dollar, the bill’s chief sponsor, voted in favor of the bill, along with other East Cobb Republicans John Carson and Sharon Cooper.
The latter is one of three co-sponsors of the East Cobb Cityhood bill, but was the only one of the trio who did not speak during the floor debate.
(You can watch a replay of the House floor session by clicking here and on the House Chamber Day 8 tab; the East Cobb debate begins around the 1:49 mark).
Voting against the bill was another East Cobb Republican, State Rep. Don Parsons, who said he wasn’t consulted about the legislation, nor has he ever heard anything from a citizens group supporting cityhood since the issue first arose four years ago.
He also objected because doesn’t think the proposed city area—around 60,000 people centered along the Johnson Ferry Road corridor—represents a community of interest.
“There is no city of east Cobb waiting to be incorporated,” he said. “There’s nothing that draws it together as a city.”
Also opposing the bill were Cobb Democrats who wanted all four current Cobb cityhood bills—including Vinings, Mableton and Lost Mountain—to be considered together.
Cobb delegation chairman Erick Allen, a Smyrna Democrat, was among those asking for a delay in an East Cobb vote for that and other reasons.
Among the charges opponents have made against the East Cobb bill would be that its proposed services—police and fire, planning and zoning and code enforcement—would add another layer of government.
But State Rep. Ed Setzler of West Cobb, another co-sponsor, said the bill isn’t about adding more government, but “representative government.”
While the current four Cobb district commissioners represent around 200,000 people, the six city council members in East Cobb would represent around 8,000 people.
“Why do the people of Smyrna deserve that level of self-governance, and the people of my community do not even deserve the right to decide if they want it?” Dollar said in his concluding remarks before the vote.
Opponents also questioned last-minute changes to Dollar’s bill this week, including moving up the East Cobb cityhood referendum from November to May.
“People need more than a couple of months of education to learn how the city would work,” said Rep. Teri Anulewicz, a Democrat and former member of the Smyrna City Council.
A co-sponsor of the Mableton cityhood bill, she said she’s not opposed to cities, but said the East Cobb bill—a substitute of legislation first introduced last year by Dollar and Cooper—is being rushed through and is “not ready for a vote. Certainly not in May.”
Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones, a Republican from North Fulton, noted than in 15 years of new cities being formed, mostly in metro Atlanta, residents of those municipalities are generally satisfied.
They include Milton and Johns Creek in her district, as well as Peachtree Corners, Tucker and South Fulton.
“It has been a resounding success,” she said, imploring her colleagues to let the citizens of the proposed East Cobb city to have a say in how they may want local governance.
“Keep an open mind, and let the people vote,” Jones said.
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The following East Cobb food scores for the week of Jan. 24have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
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!
The committee instructions include allowing up to an hour for debate before a vote. You can watch a replay of the Rules Committee meeting by clicking here.
The House session on Thursday begins at 10 a.m. and you can watch that by clicking here.
Only a few questions were raised by the Rules Committee. One member asked Dollar if he knew the financial impact a City of East Cobb would have on Cobb County government.
Dollar said he didn’t know and since he first introduced a Cityhood bill in 2019 he has not heard anything from county officials about those concerns.
However, at a House Governmental Affairs Committee meeting Jan. 13, Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, Chief Financial Officer Bill Volckmann and Public Safety Director Randy Crider said they wanted more time to examine the possible impact of an East Cobb city.
It’s one of four bills in this legislative session that would create new cities in Cobb County, along with Vinings, Lost Mountain and Mableton.
A financial feasibility study required as part of the East Cobb legislation was released only in November, and included police and fire services that were not part of the bill Dollar and State Rep. Sharon Cooper introduced in 2021.
East Cobb Cityhood leaders commissioned the study in July and did not disclose until after the report was concluded that public safety was included in August.
Those leaders said in November that there was public feedback supporting those services, but they did not elaborate.
Critics of the East Cobb bill have said the study didn’t full provide a full financial picture of the cost and maintenance of public safety equipment, as well as financials for hiring police officers and firefighters.
His bill would call for a referendum for eligible voters in the proposed city of nearly 60,000 people to decide whether or not to incorporate.
The latest revision to the bill would move the referendum up from the Nov. 6 general election to the May 24 general primary, and to have a mayor directly elected citywide.
Those changes can be found by clicking here; it’s version LC 47 1445S in the upper right corner.
The East Cobb bill is the first Cityhood bill taken up by the legislature this year. The a subcommittee of the House Governmental Affairs Committee was hearing the Vinings and Lost Mountain bills Thursday afternoon.
A bill to create a city of Buckhead out of Atlanta also has been filed and has drawn considerable interest and opposition.
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He and his wife Judy had been attending a leadership seminar at the University of Notre Dame, his alma mater, when he was stricken.
An update on Monday morning on a CaringBridge page said that the Boyces were to meet with doctors to establish his progress.
Judy Boyce posted an update early Tuesday evening saying that her husband “was a man of God who always put other people first.”
She said he was “thrilled to return” to Notre Dame last fall to participate in the school’s Inspired Leadership Initiative program.
“He had never been happier than he was in the past few months, participating in this program, bicycling to campus and interacting with and mentoring students,” she said. “He was having the time of his life.”
Boyce, a Republican and a retired Marine officer who lived in East Cobb, served as chairman for one term, and was defeated by Democratic current chairwoman Lisa Cupid in 2020.
He was an active member of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church.
The Cobb government statement that while in office, “Boyce garnered a reputation as a true public servant, putting the needs of those he served above anything else. Although the retired Marine Colonel often leaned on his military leadership skills, those who worked for him knew he had a soft heart for the county’s employees and often preached he needed to “take care of his troops.”
The statement also quoted Cupid as saying that “he loved the county and our country and dedicated himself to making Cobb a better and more inclusive place for everyone. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones during this very difficult time.”
Said Cobb County Manager Dr. Jackie McMorris: “On behalf of the leadership team, we are grateful for his leadership and he’ll be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
The Cobb County Republican Party posted a message on its Facebook page Tuesday evening, saying that Boyce “will leave a void in Cobb County. He served his country well and was a friend to so many. Our hearts are broken. Please keep his family in your prayers.”
Judy Boyce said contributions may be made to the University of Notre Dame via the Michael H. Boyce Memorial Fund. Gifts may be made online at https://giving.nd.edu/Boyce, by phone at 574-631-5150, or by mail: University of Notre Dame Department of Development, 1100 Grace Hall, Notre Dame, Ind. 46556.
“Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers during this most difficult chapter,” Judy Boyce said in her update.
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State Rep. Matt Dollar, East Cobb cityhood bill chief sponsor
The East Cobb Cityhood bill that was favorably reported out of a State House Committee earlier this month would move up a referendum for voters in the proposed city limits from November to May.
If approved by the Georgia General Assembly during the current session, the bill would call for a May 24 referendum for eligible voters in the proposed city limits.
That’s the date of the 2022 general primary in Georgia.
Those voters would determine whether a City of East Cobb with a population of around 60,000, would be created out of a 25-square-mile area of unincorporated Cobb along the Johnson Ferry Road corridor.
Another significant change presented by chief sponsor State Rep. Matt Dollar on Monday to the House Governmental Affairs Committee would change the council-mayor form of government—you can watch a replay of the meeting here.
The original HB 841 called for a “weak mayor” form of government with six city council members. They would choose among themselves a mayor to serve a two-year term—with a two-term limit.
In Dollar’s change announced Monday, a mayor would be elected citywide, and six city council members also would be elected citywide. But two members would have to reside in each of three council districts.
Dollar said in a brief committee meeting Monday that the changes were being made due to feedback from the public and by committee lawmakers.
The revised bill HB 841 (you can read it here) was offered as a substitute just as the committee and one of its subcommittees met two weeks ago to consider it.
Supporters and opponents of the bill, including lawmakers and citizens, spoke at both meetings.
Referendum language in the original version of HB 841.
But what wasn’t discussed was the new referendum date. Neither Dollar nor Ed Setzler, a new co-sponsor who is a Republican from North Cobb, mentioned it during those public meetings two weeks ago.
The substitute bill was not posted online for the general public until after the full committee issued a “do pass” recommendation.
The original legislation submitted in 2021 by Dollar and State Rep. Sharon Cooper, both East Cobb Republicans, called for a referendum to be included on Nov. 6 general election ballot.
The May referendum language in the substitute HB 841 reported out a House committee.
Lawmakers returned to regular business on Monday after spending last week in budget meetings.
East Cobb News left a message with Dollar on Sunday seeking comment about the proposed change in the referendum date.
At Monday’s committee meeting, he said the reason for changing it was to have a mayor and city council elected in November to avoid a special election in early 2023.
He said the mayor and council members would be elected to four-year terms, and would be limited to serving three terms.
But committee member Mary Margaret Oliver was skeptical that there would be sufficient time for a Cityhood bill that passed early in the legislative session and signed into law to be put on the May primary ballot.
She called the process “maximum chaos.”
East Cobb News also contacted the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood on Sunday.
In an e-mailed response Sunday evening, spokeswoman Cindy Cooperman said the group “has evaluated and is supportive of holding a referendum vote in the May primary. If the majority of residents in East Cobb vote yes to Cityhood, it opens the door for a council to be elected in November thereby avoiding the need for a special election. In addition to being more cost effective, this timing is ideal to get an elected council in place for 2023.”
On Monday, the Governmental Affairs Committee voted to favorably report the bill.
The next step will be for HB 841 to go to the House Rules Committee, which would schedule the bill for a debate and vote by the full House.
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The festival, which benefits Walton High School music programs, will take place at its usual venue—the recreational parking lots at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church—from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
In addition to food samples from local restaurants, there will be music, a kids’ zone, a raffle and silent auction and “Best of” voting.
Restaurants and local businesses can apply to be vendors by clicking here.
The Taste of Marietta festival will take place a couple weeks before, on April 24 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Marietta Square.
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The 2022 Polar Bear Run at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church is scheduled to take place next Saturday, Jan. 29, starting at 8 a.m.
While the event is for participants of all ages, it’s also one of the earliest qualifiers for the Peachtree Road Race.
A 2K fun run starts at 8 a.m., followed by a 5K timed run and cub run and cub dash follows at 9:15 a.m.
Registration is still underway and can be done by clicking here. Costs range from $25 for the cub races through $35 in advance for the 5K.
The Polar Bear Run is in its 34th year, and proceeds benefit the Johnson Ferry Academy high school music students who need financial assistance to attend an annual summer mission trip.
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The meeting, which was to have taken place at the Mountain View Regional Library, is being limited to online participation due to county COVID-19 restrictions.
The first community meeting was cancelled on Jan. 13 due to the current Omicron variant surge.
Monday’s event lasts from 6-8 p.m. and will be conducted via Webex. The signup link can be found by clicking here. The meeting number is2300 863 0071 and the password is “plan5.”
Participants also can join by telephone at +1-415-655-0003 with an access code of 2300 863 0071.
Every five years the state requires local governments to update their long-term planning priorities. The last update in Cobb was in 2017 (you can read it here).
The update covers a wide range of planning topics, including land use, transportation, housing, economic development, community facilities, human services, public health, education, natural and historic resources, public safety, intergovernment coordination, disaster resilience, military compatability and place-making.
Among the development issues in the update that’s raised concern is the proposed creation of a Unified Development Code.
The Cobb Community Development Agency has proposed a UDC—which exists in Atlanta, DeKalb County and the city of Roswell— that incorporates zoning, planning and land-use with design, landscaping, architectural and other guidelines.
The agency said on an information page that the changes are needed to “streamline these documents into one combined document that would be more easily accessible to the public, designers, and County staff reviewers.”
But some civic leaders around the county have been critical of UDC, saying it would change the suburban nature of many Cobb communities (see our previous post). One opponent has said it amounts to declaring “war” on the suburbs.
The 2040 Comprehensive Plan update process will take several months, with additional public meetings to be scheduled, and culminating with a vote by the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
A future meeting is slated for the Mountain View Regional Library, with a date to be determined.
There will be an open house at the Cobb Civic Center on April 14.
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For a more detailed view of the proposed map, click here.
The Cobb Board of Commissioners will be asked on Tuesday to vote on a redistricting map to be recommended to the county’s legislative delegation.
Lines for the four commission districts will be drawn during the current legislative session, and the map proposed for Tuesday’s meeting does not call for dramatically shifting boundaries.
But some precincts in East Cobb would be redrawn in the map proposal by State Rep. Erick Allen, a Smyrna Democrat who heads the county’s legislative delegation.
District 2 commissioner Jerica Richardson, a Democrat, would lose the Willeo, Shallowford Falls and Sewell Mill 1 precinct and parts of the Sewell Mill 3 and Fullers Park precincts.
They would move to District 3, represented by Republican JoAnn Birrell. Click here to see the present map.
She’s up for re-election this year, as is her fellow Republican Keli Gambrill of District 1 in North Cobb.
District 2 has the largest population of the four, with a 2020 Census total of 193,175, an increase of 1,638 from the last Census, and includes much of East Cobb and the Cumberland-Smyrna-Vinings area.
District 3, which stretches to the Town Center/KSU area, has a population of 189,682; the District 1 population is 190,629; and District 4, which covers most of South Cobb, the population is 192,663.
If the commissioners approve the map recommendation, it would be only advisory.
In December, the Cobb Board of Education voted along party lines—it has a Republican majority—to recommend a map designed to keep that GOP edge.
Democrats hold a one-seat majority in the 21-member Cobb legislative delegation, which will make the final decisions for the school board and commission boundaries.
The commission meeting Tuesday also will include the first public hearings on code amendments (agenda item and proposed changes).
Topics of note include alcoholic beverage uses, regulation of health spas and short-term rentals, and traffic plan requirements for certain zoning and land-use permit applications.
Commissioners revise code amendments every January and don’t hear zoning cases during the month.
The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building (100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta), but it will be conducted in virtual format due to continuing COVID restrictions.
There will be two general comment sessions for residents, as well as the public hearing for the code amendments, that the public can participate in virtually. The details can be found in the full agenda packet by clicking here.
The meeting will be live-streamed on the county’s website, cable TV channel (Channel 24 on Comcast) and Youtube page. Visit cobbcounty.org/CobbTV for other streaming options.
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The Cobb County School District resumed public reporting of new COVID-19 cases this week after not doing so to start the spring semester.
But changes are underway to alter the present reporting system, and in Friday’s update only the district-wide total number of cases—1,856— were disclosed in its weekly notification report.
That’s for the past week, Jan. 14-21, and is a single-week high during the current school year.
The totals no longer include a school-by-school breakdown, as has been done for most of the past two years.
There also was no information provided on COVID case numbers reported before that. The spring semester in Cobb began on Jan. 5.
Until Friday, district’s notification report page had not been updated since Dec. 17, 2021, the last day of the fall semester.
At the time, there were 6,709 cumulative cases reported among students and staff since July 1, 2021.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said Thursday night that as the Omicron variant subsides, reporting those figures will be done differently.
“Most organizations have encouraged case counts not be the primary emphasis,” said Ragsdale, reading from prepared remarks, and citing the CDC and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House COVID-19 adviser.
“We are taking the guidance to not focus on case counts,” Ragsdale said. Changing school district protocols is a “multi-step process that will result in no numbers being seen on a web page after the Omicron variant goes through. We will still report, as required, to DPH.”
On Jan. 6. Ragsdale said the district was changing some COVID protocols, including eliminating most contract-tracing, after a new state public health order was issued for schools.
On Thursday, Ragsdale later discussed mental health issues affecting youth, as well as learning loss caused by COVID-19 disruptions, saying some mitigation efforts have been “damaging to students.”
“The bottom line is that we are having school,” he said, “and we are trying to get back to normal as quickly as possible. Because we know a normal school day for our students is what’s going to benefit them most.”
He added that parents should keep their kids home if they are sick, but “otherwise, they need to be in school, where teaching and learning are going to be going on every day.”
Board memberJaha Howard tried to question Ragsdale at that point, but chairman David Chastain told him that “if you have any questions, you can call the superintendent. We’re going to move forward with the agenda.”
Howard voted against adopting the Thursday night business meeting agenda at a Thursday afternoon work session because it contained no specific COVID-related items.
The superintendent made the COVID remarks during dedicated time for him to speak on a variety topics and that typically aren’t published on the agenda.
Howard has attempted to question Ragsdale at previous board meetings about COVID and other issues, without much success.
After a brief interchange with Howard, Chastain repeated his comments, and the board began acting on other agenda items.
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As she hinted last week, Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid has extended a declaration of emergency regarding COVID-19 until mid-February.
A current emergency declaration was to have expired on Friday. A message sent out by the county late Thursday afternoon said that the new order is “for another 30 days but will be reevaluated if the surge eases.”
She cited the continuing spread of the virus, and specifically the Omicron variant, and the impact to local hospitals for her new order.
“Cases remain well above high community spread, and until we get those numbers down we need to encourage residents to take precautions; to continue wearing masks, watching their distance, and washing their hands,” Cupid said. “Those precautions are outlined in this order.”
That’s still excessively beyond the “high” transmission threshold of 100 cases per 100K.
The order keeps the county’s emergency operations plan in place and calls for continuing portions of public meetings online.
That includes a Cobb Board of Commissioners work session and regular meeting next Tuesday.
The county statement Thursday said that mask requirements and social distancing guidelines that have been in effect in county government facilities will expire at the end of the month.
But “that could also change if circumstances warrant it.”
The mask mandate applies to all indoor county facilities, including libraries and recreation centers.
It does not apply to private or non-county buildings, nor the Cobb County School District.
County courthouses continue to operate under a mask mandate ordered by the Georgia Supreme Court.
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The following East Cobb food scores for the week of Jan. 17 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
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!
County spokesman Ross Cavitt said in a release that more kits are expected in a few days after being delayed to an increase in demand for tests.
The kits will be available to the public at the park pavilion, with access from Al Bishop Drive.
Cavitt said individuals will receive one kit per person, with a maximum of four per vehicle.
“With such a limited supply, the distribution is not expected to take long,” Cavitt said.
He said county officials will be working with Cobb and Douglas Public Health to distribute the additional kits later in January, at designated events and with local non-profits.
“The intent is to target residents that may not be able to go to testing sites or order kits online from the federal government,” the county release said.
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Former Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce remains hospitalized in Indiana after having surgery Tuesday.
Cobb County Government sent a message Tuesday saying that Boyce, an East Cobb resident, suffered two strokes “in recent days.”
Boyce and his wife Judy had been attending a leadership program at the University of Notre Dame, his alma mater, when he was stricken.
An update Tuesday posted to the CaringBridge website said Boyce is on a ventilator and is being sedated as doctors obeserve how he responds.
“Needless to say, this is a very grave situation for our dear friend,” the update states. “Prayer is a powerful thing! Let’s all continue to pray for Mike and Judy.”
More than 100 people have sent messages, including Piedmont Church pastor and MUST Ministries head Ike Reighard as well as Cobb County Manager Jackie McMorris and current Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell.
UPDATED, SATURDAY, JAN. 22:
Boyce remains in a hospital in South Bend, Ind., and has been visited by family members.
“They are all talking to him and he is showing signs of recognition by occasionally movement of his feet and legs,” wrote Sue Ballard Stone on the CaringBridge page.
“The doctors love the fact that they are talking with him and playing his playlist from the iPod for the time they are there.”
Boyce, a retired Marine colonel, defeated then-chairman Tim Lee in the 2016 Republican primary, then was unopposed in the general election.
He was defeated in his re-election bid in 2020 by Democratic current chairwoman Lisa Cupid.
Boyce is an active member of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church in East Cobb.
“We know Mike is a fighter,” McMorris said in a statement issued by the county. “Our prayers are with him, as well as Judy and the family. We are hopeful of a speedy recovery and praying he can come through this. Our county family hopes to see him back in Cobb County as soon as possible.”
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The Cobb Board of Education will be asked to approve taking out $100 million in short-term loans for construction projects on Thursday.
The board is meeting in public at a 2 p.m. work session and a 7 p.m. business session Thursday at the Cobb County School District Central Office (514 Glover St., Marietta).
There will be public comment periods at the start of both meetings, but speakers must sign up in advance by clicking here.
Each public comment session is limited to 30 minutes, and individual speakers have a maximum of two minutes.
The agendas for both meetings can be found here; the work session technically begins at 1 p.m., but members will convene, go into an executive session and return for a public work session at 2 p.m.
Another executive session will take place between the public meetings.
In recent years, the Cobb County School District has taken out short-term loans to get a head start on construction projects funded by its Special Local-Option Sales Tax, and to save money.
If the board approves, the $100 million loan would be repaid at the end of the calendar year with SPLOST revenues.
The board will be asked to accept a “best bid” for the purchase of the loans that will be presented at the work session. The final vote would come in the evening session.
The board also will be asked to consider changing the policy for signing up for public comment periods.
Last year the board approved an online registration process but a proposal to be presented Thursday would revert to the previous in-person sign-up process.
The board also will be asked to spend $3 million to purchase 25 air conditioned buses that hold 72 passengers each.
What’s not listed specifically on the agenda is any mention of the Cobb school district’s changing COVID protocols that were announced in December by Superintendent Chris Ragsdale.
He said that per a new state public health order, Cobb will eliminate most contact-tracing and will be changing staff quarantine policy for employees who are identified as close contacts.
A district spokeswoman told East Cobb News last week that the policy for counting cases is “under review” and that “once determined, we will provide an update on our COVID-19 webpage about what process we will use going forward.”
There could be information provided by Ragsdale under agenda items at both meetings regarding superintendent’s remarks.
The only items listed under board business at the work session are for annual board member compliance reports and appointments to the district’s facilities and technology committee, which conducts SPLOST oversight.
Thursday’s meetings will be the first with board member David Chastain of East Cobb presiding as chairman.
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Most Cobb County School District graduations will return to KSU after a two-year absence.
After two years of socially-distanced graduations at a single venue, the Cobb County School District is returning 2022 commencement exercises to familiar locations.
Most of the district’s 16 traditional high schools will have their graduations at the Kennesaw State University Convocation Center, the primary venue before the COVID-19 pandemic.
That’s where all six East Cobb high school Class of 2022 seniors will be getting their diplomas.
McEachern High School, which was the site for all Cobb graduations the last two years, will be having its commencement at Cantrell Stadium on campus, and Allatoona High School will hold graduation at its Allatoona Stadium.
Wheeler High School had been having its graduations at Wildcat Arena on campus but this year will be at KSU.
Monday, May 23: Kell High School, 7:30 p.m., KSU
Wednesday, May 25: Lassiter High School, 3:30 p.m., KSU
Wednesday, May 25: Wheeler High School, 7:30 p.m., KSU
Thursday, May 26: Walton High School, 10 a.m., KSU
Thursday, May 26: Sprayberry High School, 7 p.m., KSU
Friday, May 27: Pope High School, 2:30 p.m., KSU
More graduation will be forthcoming in the following weeks; click here for the full graduation schedule.
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Last week Keep Cobb Beautiful announced it was closing its designated recycling dropoff locations in the county—including Cobb Fire Station No. 14 near the Mountain View Regional Library and the East Cobb Government Service Center on Lower Roswell Road.
The reasons were for a lack of garbage service providers in the county as well as a significant increase in the improper utilization of the recycling drop spots.
KCB, which is an agency of Cobb County government, indicated that the closure is “for now,” and that “we will continue to work on a solution that is best for all parties and will notify the community as soon as we are able to implement a suitable solution.”
Suggested alternatives sites for those looking to drop off recycled items include the following:
Main County drop off located at 1775 County Services Pkwy, Marietta, 30008
City of Smyrna Recycling Center located at 3475 Lake Dr.SE, Smyrna, 30082
Ask your garbage provider to provide curbside recycling with your service.
You also can call 770-528-1135 for more information and to find other places that take recycling materials.
Some community organizations hold single-event recycling opportunities, including the Pope High School Band.
It will be having a recycling fundraiser on Saturday, Jan. 29 at the Northeast Cobb YMCA (3010 Johnson Ferry Road) from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
You can bring metal, electronics, appliances, paint and paper documents for shredding. The cost is $10 per car plus additional disposal fees for electronics, large items and other materials.
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State Rep. Erick Allen’s draft map of Cobb school board posts. For a larger view, click here.
Democratic members of the Cobb legislative delegation will be holding a virtual town hall meeting Tuesday to go over proposed redistricting maps for the Cobb Board of Education.
The event, which is organized by State Rep. Erick Allen, the delegation chairman, begins at 6:30 p.m. and can be accessed by clicking here.
The other lawmakers involved are State Rep. Teri Anulewicz and State Rep. David Wilkerson.
Democrats hold a one-member majority in the Cobb delegation, which will redraw lines for the school board as well as the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
(PLEASE NOTE: This process has nothing to do with school attendance zones, which are drawn by school district administrative staff and are done mainly to balance out school capacity or when new schools open.)
Redistricting for elected offices is done every 10 years by legislators after the Census is updated. In November, Georgia lawmakers redrew Congressional and legislative lines.
County legislators are responsible for redrawing the lines of districts for county commissioners and city council members and school board posts.
The map would reduce the number of school board members representing the East Cobb area from three to two.
Cobb school board Republicans are recommending a map that shifts Post 6 out of East Cobb. For a larger view click here.
The current Post 6, represented by Democrat Charisse Davis, currently includes most of the Walton and Wheeler clusters.
But the Cobb GOP school board map would shift that post into the Cumberland-Smyrna-Vinings area completely, drawing current Post 2 board member Jaha Howard into the same area.
Allen’s map retains most of Post 6 as it looks now.
Like Davis, Howard is a first-term Democrat who’s openly challenged the Republicans on a number of issues, including race, equity and diversity, school discipline and COVID response.
They also prompted a special review of the Cobb school district by its accrediting agency last year.
It was the latest in a series of contentious public meetings along sharp partisan lines that have roiled the school board over the last three years.
Chastain, who represents the Kell and Sprayberry clusters, has announced his intention to seek re-election this year.
Davis also is up for re-election but hasn’t announced her plans. Amy Henry, a Republican who has four children in the Walton High School cluster, has declared her intent to run for that seat, and has said that “Post 6 should remain largely as-is.”
Howard has declared his intent to run for Georgia school superintendent.
Qualifying starts in March, with a May primary.
The Cobb school board will meet at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursday and and include time for public comment.
Agendas for the meetings will be posted at this link on Tuesday.
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