East Cobb News

Stable enrollment patterns projected for schools in East Cobb

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Cobb school enrollment
Cyclical school enrollment growth patterns that began in Cobb County in the 1950s are continuing again, according to demographic projections prepared for the Cobb County School District.

After decades of continuing growth, enrollment projections for public schools in East Cobb are expected to remain relatively stable in the near future.

A demographic report presented to the Cobb Board of Education in February showed that areas of the highest growth in Cobb County continue to be in the Smyrna and South Cobb areas.

That’s the focal point of new and near-future construction projects in the Cobb County School District.

Pockets of increasing enrollment in East Cobb have resulted in expansions and new classroom space in selected schools.

The newly adopted Cobb Education VI SPLOST calls for the replacement of the main classroom building at Sprayberry High School, as well as expansions and additions at Dickerson and Dodgen middle schools, and Bells Ferry, Kincaid, Mt. Bethel, Murdock, Sope Creek and Tritt elementary schools.

Dr. James Wilson, a former Cobb and Fulton superintendent, told school board members in February that Cobb County is back to where the suburbanization trends began in the 1950s.

“It just moved around,” Wilson said. “It has moved all the way around, and it has moved back to the south.”

The counterclockwise trends then shifted to East Cobb through the 1980s and then to North Cobb and West Cobb.

He showed a county land-use map showing that most of the undeveloped areas of Cobb are in western and southern areas. Cobb commission Districts 2 and 3, which include East Cobb, have less than 5,000 acres of undeveloped land combined.

“We’re running out of land,” Wilson said, noting that continuing the kind of large-scale residential development of previous times, including Chimney Lakes in East Cobb “is just simply not there.”

He cited 2020 Census statistics showing a sharp drop in county permits from the start of the economic recession in 2007.

“We’re not going to get back to the building of 2003 and 1998 and so on,” Wilson said.

CCSD Enrollment

Wilson also showed board members a chart (above) breaking down school-age groups in each high school cluster, with the Campbell High School attendance zone experiencing the biggest increases.

These figures too are based on 2020 Census data; the high numbers of ages 15-19 in the North Cobb zone are because of students enrolled at Kennesaw State University.

“This allow us to plan accordingly, Cobb Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said during the presentation, “where we might need a new high school, a new elementary school, and what the trend is telling us about families.

“They may start out in one area and then relocate to a different area. So this is very important data for us to be able to utilize.”

Wilson also showed enrollment figures by school from the start of COVID-19. The Cobb school district enrollment has fallen to around 107,000 from the nearly 112,000 students pre-pandemic.

You can watch a replay of the enrollment presentation by clicking here and then going to the Feb. 10 work session; the presentation begins around the 53-minute mark.

You can read through the presentation slides by clicking here.

The tables below show five-year enrollment figures at East Cobb schools, starting with the disrupted 2019-20 school year, including the present 2021-22 school year, and projections for the 2023-24 school year.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Capacity 19-20 21-22 23-24
Addison 662 628 581 570
Bells Ferry 712 743 719 754
Blackwell 837 729 641 677
Brumby 1162 957 956 948
Davis 800 601 610 647
East Side 1087 1240 1128 1063
Eastvalley 562 779 673 766
Garrison Mill 700 674 677 642
Keheley 600 477 413 453
Kincaid 762 678 578 710
Mt. Bethel 937 1098 992 1094
Mountain View 962 843 773 827
Murdock 962 987 935 933
Nicholson 637 480 406 468
Powers Ferry 900 411 391 422
Rocky Mount 612 613 562 557
Sedalia Park 912 732 621 605
Shallowford Falls 962 681 591 711
Sope Creek 1162 1157 1058 1131
Timber Ridge 612 560 482 528
Tritt 937 919 807 907
CCSD Totals 56,702 49,091 45,943 49,901

 

MIDDLE SCHOOLS

Capacity 19-20 21-22 23-24
Daniell 1175 1015 906 1104
Dickerson 1187 1307 1208 1354
Dodgen 1187 1297 1208 1246
East Cobb 1387 1458 1297 1355
Hightower Trail 1012 1068 1022 1083
Mabry 1162 951 887 958
McCleskey 937 708 630 657
Simpson 962 899 868 858
CCSD Totals 28,770 26,533 25,206 25,558

 

HIGH SCHOOLS

Capacity 19-20 21-22 23-24
Kell 2025 1502 1496 1483
Lassiter 2087 2070 1945 2286
Pope 1912 1943 1855 1790
Sprayberry 2087 1778 1890 1957
Walton 2812 2655 2689 2757
Wheeler 2187 2179 2296 2534
CCSD Totals 36,168 35,220 35,949 36,881

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Cobb schools continue registration for kindergarten, 1st grade

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The Cobb County School District is continuing online registration for kindergarten and first grade for the 2022-23 school year.Cobb schools new student registration

There’s a special link to sign up for students who are new to the district. For parents who already have a child in the district, they can use their ParentVue account to register additional new students.

The parents of new students must provide the following information:

  • Proof of residency: Home ownership documentation or lease/rental agreement; and current utility monthly statement;
  • Certificate of Immunization (Form #3231): Available from a Georgia physician or the Cobb and Douglas Public Health Department;
  • Certificate of Vision, Hearing, Dental, and Nutritional Screening Form 3300B:Available from a Georgia physician or the Cobb and Douglas Public Health Department and must be dated within 12 months of the first day of school;
  • Proof of Birth Date: The school will accept one of the following documents: a certified copy of Birth Certificate, Military ID, Passport, Adoption Record, a religious record authorized by a religious official, an official school transcript, or an affidavit of age;
  • Social Security Card or CCSD waiver Form JBC-4: The state will require the social security number for students applying for the HOPE scholarship.

Families should check their school website for more information.

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East Cobb real estate sales for the week of March 14, 2022

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East Cobb real estate sales, 2860 Gant Quarters Drive
Gant Quarters

The following deeds for residential East Cobb real estate sales were filed the week of March 7 with the Cobb Superior Court Clerk’s Office Real Estate Department.

The addresses include ZIP Codes and the subdivision names and high school districts are in parenthesis:

March 14

4801 Rushing Rock Way, 30066 (Tanglewood Park, Lassiter): Jean Francois Chapius to Courtney and Joseph DiStefano; $1.12 million

4285 Arbor Club Drive, 30066 (Arbor Bridge, Lassiter): Jamey Burgin to James Way and Whitney Hickan; $570,000

3657 Autumn Ridge Parkway, 30066 (Blackwell Chase, Sprayberry): Afrodite Walker to Jenna and James Coleman; $480,000

3485 Old Suttons Way, 30062 (Suttons Orchard, Lassiter): Steven Popov to Peter and Iris Cavadi; $452,000

1562 Hillhaven Drive, 30062 (Blackjack Hills, Sprayberry): Steve Cronic to Bryan Raver; $515,000

1370 Varner Road, 30062 (Briarwood Hills, Wheeler): William Jackson Jr. to Craig Hawkins; $299,000

March 15

65 Gateside Place, 30067 (Column Gate, Walton): Cheryl Heckert to Shawna Traynor; $985,000

5490 Conway Drive, 30068 (Hyde Park, Walton): Tina Li to Janet Huber and Christopher Launer; $815,000

2224 Snug Harbor Drive, 30066 (St. Charles Square, Sprayberry): Leigh Redfearn Veasley to Norma Pepper; $478,000

1664 Paddlewheel Drive, 30062 (Wellcrest Townhomes, Wheeler): Cassie Quirindongo to Maya Roffler; $190,000

2860 Gant Quarters Drive, 30068 (Gant Quarters, Wheeler): Fair and Honest Offers, LLC to Darcey and Paul Mullis; $725,000

540 Oriole Drive, 30067 (Meadowbrook, Wheeler): D.K. Homes Inc. to Samantha and Marcus Jakubiszak; $420,000

1710 High Trail, 30068 (Longview at Rivers Call, Wheeler): Karen Geiger to Tina Li; $1 million

March 16

4557 Forest Peak Circle, 30066 (Highland Pointe, Lassiter): Matthew and Maureen Levy to Seth Brodsky; $450,000

2292 Kilkenny Way, 30066 (Callanwolde, Lassiter): David Burrow to Luiz Marinho; $355,000

3006 Alberta Drive, 30062 (Holly Springs, Sprayberry): Judith Kurian to OP Gold, LLC: $363,500

2075 Fairport Way, 30062 (Fairport, Sprayberry): Alireza Ghadrdan to Zachary Brumett and Emily Conrad; $570,000

2104 B.T. Shepperd Drive, 30062 (Piedmont Chase, Sprayberry): Kyle Taliaferro to Daniel and Elizabeth Seidel; $491,000

March 17

2278 Turtle Club Drive, 30066 (Turtle Rock, Lassiter): Turtle Rock Homeowners Association Inc. to David Zyzak and Li Li; $220,000

3096 Harold Dean Drive, 30066 (Channon, Sprayberry): Grant Bean to Georges Eloquin; $324,450

4265 Biltmore Place, 30062 (Biltmore, Walton): H & H Renovations Inc. to Mary Grace Dial and John Hastings, $1.7 million

March 18

4082 Longford Ridge Drive, 30066 (Longford, Kell): Doris Goddard to Stacy Newsome; $376,000

4555 Wenden Lame, 30062 (Breckenridge, Pope): Kenneth Cutts to Chadwick and Sara Roberts; $755,000

270 Piedmont Road, 30066 (Bristol Mill, Sprayberry): QAC Holdings, LLC to Chun Huang and Chenghua Wu; $330,000

2210 Piedmont Forest Drive, 30066 (Piedmont Forest, Sprayberry): Zillow Homes Property Trust to Maciel da Silva; $395,000

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Woman and dog killed in pedestrian crash near Sprayberry HS

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Sandy Plains Road pedestrian fatality crash

Cobb Police said a woman and her dog were killed after they were struck by a pickup truck as they were crossing Sandy Plains Road near Sprayberry High School Monday night.

Police said the woman was walking her dog around 9:13 p.m. at the intersection of Sandy Plains Road and Whitlock Road when she crossed into the path of a Ford Ranger heading south on Sandy Plains.

The woman and dog were both killed on impact, according to police, who have not released her name pending notification of kin.

Police said the driver of the Ford Ranger, Robert Liebmann, 53, of Marietta, was not injured.

Police are asking anyone with information about the crash to call 770-499-3987.

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Kroger holds groundbreaking at MarketPlace Terrell Mill

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Kroger MarketPlace Terrell Mill groundbreaking
Pictured L-R: JR Connolly, Connolly Investments; Bob Ott, former Cobb County Commissioner; Mike Servold, VP of Operations, Kroger; Jerica Richardson, Cobb County Commissioner; Victor Smith, President, Kroger Atlanta Division; Ruben Fernandez, VP of Merchandising, Kroger; Patti Rice, Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance; Henry Simpson, Project Manager, Kroger; Brandon Ashkouti, Eden Rock Real Estate Partners; Paul Harrell, Robertson Lois Roof Architects.

The centerpiece of the MarketPlace Terrell Mill mixed-use project will be under construction soon.

Kroger held a groundbreaking celebration Tuesday for its planned superstore at 1310 Powers Ferry Road.

It’s on the site of the former campus of Brumby Elementary School, and is the last component of the development to get underway.

Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid, current commissioner Jerica Richardson and former commissioner Bob Ott were on hand, as were representatives of the Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance.

The Kroger store will total 90,000 square feet and will include a gas station. Completion is expected by March 2023.

Inside the store the features will include a cheese shop, expanded deli offerings, grocery pickup and self checkouts.

It will replace the Kroger store at Powers Ferry and Delk Road.

“This new store signifies Kroger’s ongoing commitment to the community and to the ongoing economic prosperity of the region,” said Felix Turner, Kroger’s manager of corporate affairs for the Atlanta division.

Kroger received $35 million tax abatements from the Development Authority of Cobb County, but a Cobb judge rejected issuing those bonds after a legal challenge from Larry Savage, an East Cobb resident who has run for Cobb commission chairman.

But in 2019, the Georgia Supreme Court upheld the issuing of the bonds. Kroger had indicated it might pull out of the project if it didn’t get the tax breaks.

The 23 acres at the southwest intersection of Powers Ferry Road and Terrell Mill Road was rezoned for the mixed-use project in 2018, and regarded as a transformational redevelopment in the community.

In addition to a 289-unit apartment building, the $120 million MarketPlace Terrell Mill development includes retail and restaurant space.

Among the new business there is a Regions Bank, Lush Nail Salon and Ideal Dental. Restaurants include Chick-fil-A, Panera Bread, Wendy’s and Los Abuelos Mexican Grill.

The first building to be completed in the complex is Extra Space Storage, a self-storage facility.

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Cobb Commission Chair to deliver State of County address

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Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid will deliver the annual State of the County address on Thursday.Lisa Cupid, Cobb Commission Chair candidate

The event typically has been sponsored by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce but this year she opted for it to be conducted independently by county government.

The address begins at 7 p.m. at Jim Miller Park and will be aired live on the county’s website (cobbcounty.org/CobbTV) and its YouTube channel (youtube.com/cobbcountygovt.)

The address comes as Cobb commissioners and county government officials are preparing for budget season—Cobb’s fiscal year starts on Oct. 1—and with four cityhood campaigns on elections ballots this year.

County department heads have been submitting their budget requests in recent weeks, and their requests total around $1.2 billion, an increase of nearly $180 million more than the current fiscal year 2022 budget.

Much of that comes from combined requests to add nearly 700 county employees to address staff shortages in a number of departments.

Only four new full-time positions were filled in the current budget and none were approved for FY 2020.

Cobb officials also have been addressing the three cityhood referendums coming up on May 24, including East Cobb, Vinings and Lost Mountain, and a likely referendum in November in Mableton.

At a town hall meeting last week at the Sewell Mill Library, they repeated estimates that if all four cityhood referendums pass—affecting more than 200,000 people, more than a quarter of Cobb’s population—the county would lose an estimated $41 million a year.

In April, Cobb commissioners will get a preview of the 2022 county tax digest, which typically is formalized in July as they are completing budget adoption.

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Valvoline files site plan request for Roswell-Johnson Ferry land

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Valvoline Roswell-Johnson Ferry plans
The Merchants Walk Chevron station building before it was demolished in 2021.

What had been the site of a longstanding Chevron gas station at one of East Cobb’s busiest intersections may soon house an oil change business.

Valvoline Instant Oil Change has requested a site plan revision from the Cobb Board of Commissioners to develop the acre lot for a 2,088-square-foot oil facility.

Those plans are scheduled to be heard by commissioners on April 19 (you can read the filings here).

Filings with the zoning office indicate the facility will have three bays and will have right-in and right-out access only on Roswell Road (see rendering at the bottom).

There also will be landscaping a trash enclosure and 15 parking spaces.

Since rezoning isn’t required, the application doesn’t have to go to the Cobb Planning Commission. But county commissioners must approve changes to site plans.

Commissioners approved general commercial rezoning for the property in 1999, and it’s been the site of gas stations since the early 1970s.

The Chevron station closed in late 2020, and was demolished in early 2021, not long after we stopped in and snapped the above photo.

The Valvoline filings and county property tax records indicate that the two parcels making up the 0.95 acres have a combined appraised value of $822,240.

The owner of a 0.89 acre tract in that assemblage, Ruth McLaughlin, also owns 0.71 acres directly behind it that’s valued at $1.24 million.

Valvoline Roswell-Johnson Ferry plans

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East Cobb attorneys to hold Friday food truck events through June

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The Auto Accident Attorneys Group (1454 Johnson Ferry Road) will be having a food truck event every Friday at its premises from April 8 to June 24.AAG Food Truck Friday

The events take place from 4-7 p.m. each Friday, with a variety of food vendors on hand (here’s an early schedule, with menu tabs).

The debut food truck lineup includes Island Chef (Caribbean items), Willie B’s Sisters (soul/comfort food), Baltimore Crab Cake ATL and Hermanas Italian Ice.

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Cobb library system to participate in Virtual Money Smart Week

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Cobb library Virtual Money Smart Week

Submitted information:

Money Smart Week 2022 will be held Saturday, April 9 – Saturday, April 16. This week-long free virtual programming provided by governmental, non-profit, and educational institutions will focus on supporting the needs of low-to-moderate income households to encourage greater financial well-being in our communities.

This year’s line-up includes:

  • Monday, April 11: 2 pm: Spend Smart. Eat Smart, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach (register here)
  • Tuesday, April 12, 2 pm: Credit: Build & Improve It!, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (register here)
  • Wednesday, April 13, 2 pm: Buying or Refinancing a Home: Options & Tools, North West Housing Partnership (register here)
  • Thursday, April 14, 2 pm: Social Security: Understanding Retirement, Spouse, & Survivor Benefits, Social Security Administration (register here)

View more details at www.moneysmartweek.org. Registration is advised. Questions for the panelists can be submitted during the registration process.

For more information, click here.

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County officials take Cityhood town hall to East Cobb

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Cityhood town hall EastCobb
Cobb communications director Ross Cavitt (at lectern) reads questions for department heads at the Sewell Mill Library. 

The latest in a series of what Cobb government officials are calling objective “information sessions” about four cityhood referendums came to East Cobb this week.

One of those referendums will take place May 24 for a proposed City of East Cobb, which was the focus of a town hall Thursday at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center.

(You can watch a replay of the nearly hour-long town hall at the bottom of this post.)

Commissioners JoAnn Birrell and Jerica Richardson, whose districts include East Cobb, also attended, but they spoke only briefly, saying they can’t publicly take a position.

“I encourage you to ask the hard questions,” Richardson said, “because this is about your future. We want to make sure that you’re equipped with the information that you need so you can make the best decision for you and your family.”

During her 2020 campaign, Richardson said she was opposed to East Cobb cityhood, and recently attended an information session held by the East Cobb Alliance, which opposes citiyhood.

“We’re here to educate, we can’t advocate, one way or the other, on cityhood,” said Birrell, who was adamantly opposed to an East Cobb cityhood campaign in 2019 when the proposed boundaries pushed into her district.

She said she didn’t know at the time that she was supposed to have been impartial, although county officials typically have been mum on other referendums, including Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) extensions.

Cobb finance officers estimate the county could lose more than $41 million in annual revenue if all four cities—East Cobb, Lost Mountain, Mableton and Vinings, totalling more than 200,000 people—are created, with only a few hundred thousand dollars in savings.

Of that, around $23 million of that would come out of East Cobb, which unlike the other proposed cities wants to provide police, fire and E911 services.

That was the subject of many of the audience questions read by Cobb communications director Ross Cavitt.

Cobb public safety department heads repeated many of the same points they made at a March 10 town hall, saying the East Cobb financial feasibility study has incomplete information.

They said that transferring equipment and facilities and mutual aid agreements would have to be negotiated, and response times and fire insurance rates would likely rise for those living in a city of East Cobb.

Interim Cobb Police Chief Scott Hamilton said that response times vary, depending on what kind of call is dispatched, but that a “city would probably have fewer officers for major calls.”

Cityhood town hall East Cobb
Interim Cobb Police Chief Scott Hamilton, left, and Cobb Deputy Fire Chief Michael Schutz

Michael Schutz, the deputy Cobb Fire Chief, noted a recent house fire in Indian Hills that prompted a response from nearly 30 personnel and several engines and trucks.

In rattling off the staff and equipment at the two proposed East Cobb fire stations (currently Cobb 15 and 21), he said the numbers don’t come close to that total.

The East Cobb city hall would be located at the East Cobb Government Service Center, and a question was asked about how much it would cost to transfer that facility.

Cavitt read a statement prepared by the Cobb County Attorney that state law specifies only two hard figures about transferring county properties to a new city—$5,000 for a fire station (minus engines and other equipment) and $100 an acre for public park land.

After the town hall, Sarah Haas, a member of the Committee for Cityhood in East Cobb, took issue not only with some of the county finance and staffing estimates, but also with the scope of the county’s information campaign (including an online resource page).

“It’s hard for me to believe that this information is purely educational,” she said. “I get the sense that they’re trying to instill fear, uncertainty and doubt, more than to provide information.”

Haas said the “financials don’t pass the smell test,” including county estimates that fire expenses in East Cobb would come to $12 million (the cityhood group’s financial study estimates an annual fire department budget of $5.7 million).

She said that previous cityhood efforts have always come with issues to be hammered out during a two-year transition period, including finances. A feasibility study provides only an outline for what a future city might provide.

“I’d love to have a crystal ball and say that this is what we should create as a budget,” said Haas, who led the cityhood group’s recent town hall meeting.

“There are always going to be unanswered questions about cityhood. We’re doing our best job to educate people about the benefits of a city.”

Among those in attendance Thursday was former Cobb Planning Commission member Andy Smith, also a 2020 Cobb commissioner candidate.

He’s concerned about high-density development issues that have prompted all four cityhood campaigns in Cobb County.

A member of the Cobb Neighborhood Safety Commission, Smith said he’s perplexed about the addition of public safety services in East Cobb, which also would provide planning and zoning and code enforcement services.

But he said recent zoning decisions on the Cobb Board of Commissioners—including the East Cobb Church mixed-use development and a controversial rezoning around Dobbins Air Base that resulted in an unusual land swap—have led to him support cityhood.

“It’s about having local control of zoning,” Smith said, adding that Cobb’s building codes are also a problem.

Smith said given recent developments, it’s crucially important to have a more locally focused governing body writing those codes to retain East Cobb’s suburban character and control how redevelopment—commercial and residential—is handled.

The East Cobb Business Association and the Rotary Club of East Cobb will be having debates on the cityhood referendum in April and May, featuring the cityhood group and the East Cobb Alliance.

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Cobb school district to pay $2K bonus for permanent employees

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The Cobb County School District will be paying a $2,000 bonus to all permanent full-time and part-time employees at the end of April.Campbell High School lockdown

Superintendent Chris Ragsdale announced the bonuses at Thursday’s Cobb Board of Education meeting and said the funding comes from the district’s allotment of federal CARES Act money.

Permanent employees include teachers and administrators, paraprofessionals and other staffers who are not hired on a seasonal basis.

The state of Georgia previously said it would be giving similar bonuses to bus drivers, custodians, and cafeteria workers.

The Cobb school district did not indicate in a release issued after the meeting the total cost of the bonuses.

The Cobb school district has given two retention bonuses to school bus drivers and monitors during the current school year to help prevent staff shortages.

Last April, Cobb teachers received a $1,000 bonus from the state using CARES Act funds.

Earlier this month the district announced that 98 percent of its full-time certificated employees would be returning for the 2022-23 school year, but did not indicate how many positions it needs to fill.

The district’s website has nearly 200 open positions posted. The Cobb school district has nearly 18,000 employees and is the largest employer in Cobb County.

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GOP special election candidate opposes East Cobb Cityhood

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A second candidate in an April 5 special election for a legislative seat in East Cobb said this week he’s opposed to East Cobb Cityhood.Mitchell Kaye, Georgia House special election

Mitchell Kaye, a former legislator and one of three Republicans in the four-candidate field for Georgia House District 45, issued a statement Wednesday saying that public safety services for the proposed City of East Cobb “continue to bother me.”

Voters in the proposed city will be deciding in a May 24 referendum on whether to create a city, and to approve a charter on how the city would be governed.

When cityhood legislation was filed in March 2021, it proposed planning and zoning, code enforcement and parks and recreation services.

But when a financial feasibility study was released in November, it included police and fire services. Cityhood leaders said public safety was an issue that kept coming up when they met with citizens and community groups over the last year.

Kaye said the initial services “offer a real benefit to local residents, but unfortunately the original legislation was hijacked to include an unnecessary public safety component.

“The more I looked into the public safety component, the worse it looked. In my 33 years in East Cobb, I have heard no complaints regarding our excellent police and fire protection,” Kaye said in his statement.

“Regarding our own police force, there will be no benefit, but costs will rise with the duplicative requirement for our own municipal court, municipal judge(s) and a jail.”

East Cobb is the only of four cityhood campaigns in Cobb proposing public safety. Lost Mountain and Vinings referendums also will be on May 24, and a Mableton cityhood bill is still pending in the Georgia legislature.

Kaye added further thoughts on his campaign website.

Early voting is underway for the District 45 special election, which was called in February when former State Rep. Matt Dollar, the East Cobb Cityhood bill sponsor, resigned his seat.

Dustin McCormick, the only Democrat in the special election, has said he is adamantly opposed to cityhood.

The other two Republican candidates, Darryl Wilson and Pamela Ayalon, previously told the MDJ they encourage voters to inform themselves about cityhood issues but didn’t state a  personal position. East Cobb News has contacted both seeking further comment.

Wilson replied by saying he doesn’t have a vote on cityhood since he lives outside the proposed boundaries. He also told us this:

“Ultimately, all voices have to be heard and vote on the best way to control the character of your community.

“I believe that is what is about to happen in East Cobb with the referendum.

“The people will decide and I will represent the people.

“If you agree, I really need your vote and all of your neighbors friends in our district with the widest distribution possible.”

Kaye said he supports citizens having the right to vote on a referendum.

But in his statement he said that a friend’s home was destroyed last week by fire (and the man suffered extensive burns), and he noted the extensive response from Cobb Fire.

“They were able to use county-wide departmental resources, resources that a city the size of East Cobb could not,” Kaye said.

“This incident only reinforces my NO position on cityhood. The safety and well being of our community cannot be jeopardized.”

Early voting continues through April 1 for the special election in the current boundaries of District 45. The winner will fill the remainder of Dollar’s term, through the end of this year.

Cobb Elections has more information on who is eligible to vote in the special election, which is different from those who may be voting in the primaries.

McCormick also has qualified for primary in the new District 45. State Rep. Sharon Cooper, a Republican, has qualified after serving in District 43 since 1997.

Cooper is a co-sponsor of the East Cobb Cityhood bill has a primary candidate in Cobb GOP activist Carminthia Moore.

None of the special election GOP candidates qualified to run in the new District 45.

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Pope HS principal retiring after career in Cobb school district

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New Pope gym
Thomas Flugum, at left, attending the ribbon-cutting for the new Pope High School gymnasium in 2018.

The Cobb County School District announced Thursday that Dr. Thomas Flugum is retiring as the principal of Pope High School.

The news was announced after the Cobb Board of Education held an executive session where personnel matters are discussed.

Flugum’s retirement is effective June 1, according to Keeli Bowen, the Cobb school district’s chief human resources officer. His replacement has not been named, but new principal appointments are typically made in the spring for the following school year.

Flugum has been the principal at Pope since 2017, after arriving at the East Cobb high school in 2010 as a teacher and coach and later serving as an assistant principal.

He is a former Army officer and Cobb police officer who became a teacher and coach at a number of Cobb high schools. He was an assistant football coach at Sprayberry and Lassiter and was head football coach at Wheeler.

In October 2020, Flugum was charged with DUI in Woodstock in a case that is still pending in the Cherokee County court system.

Last year, he and Cobb school district officials came under fire from local Jewish groups after swastika graffiti was found in a boys bathroom at Pope. Flugum’s letter to the school community did not specify that it was an anti-Semitic incident; Rabbi Larry Sernovitz of Temple Kol Emeth later spoke to students on the campus.

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Cobb school board approves Eastvalley ES, Walton HS projects

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Walton sports complex
Walton High School tennis courts will be built on Providence Road, next to a new baseball stadium.

The Cobb Board of Education on Thursday approved construction projects for a replacement building for Eastvalley Elementary School and a sports complex near Walton High School.

The contracts recommended by Cobb County School District passed by 7-0 votes. The Eastvalley replacement facility will cost $36.7 million and the campus will be relocated to the former East Cobb Middle School site on Holt Road.

The Walton sports complex costs $6.738 million and will house the school’s baseball and tennis teams.

During a board work session Thursday afternoon, district officials said the Walton complex will have access points on Providence Road and Pine Road and will have 80 parking spaces.

The Walton complex has been delayed several months after residents in the nearby Independence Square subdivision expressed concerns about the baseball bleachers and public address system being located near their homes.

Jennifer Sunderland, who went public with those concerns, told East Cobb News on Wednesday that they have been addressed, “and we are pleased with the new design which moved home plate and concessions so they are not directly behind neighborhood homes.”

Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said at the work session that the configuration of the baseball field has been switched 180 degrees, with the outfield fencing being located closest to the homes.

Board member David Banks said he has safety issues about students using a crosswalk at Bill Murdock Road and Pine, which is a three-way stop.

He told by staff that the district is discussing the possibility of having a traffic signal at that location.

The Walton complex is expected to be completed by the end of the year, while the new Eastvalley campus is slated to open for the 2023-24 academic year.

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New East Cobb Christian bookstore holding ‘soft opening’ Saturday

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All Things Inspiration, East Cobb Christian bookstore opening

LaVonya Williams-Tensley, owner of All Things Inspiration, a new Christian bookstore serving the East Cobb area, reached out to us about her business having what she’s calling a “soft opening” on Saturday.

The address is 2745 Sandy Plains Road, Suite 156, in The Corners Shopping Center (where the Queen of Hearts antique store is located), and the opening event lasts from 12-4 p.m. Saturday.

It’s the second such store for Williams-Tensley, who also has a store on Veterans Memorial Highway in Austell with the same name.

All Things Inspirational sells books and Bibbles, Bible study materials, church supplies, gifts, and games, music and DVDS. For more information you can click here or call 786-208-4560.

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East Cobb Food Scores: Pappasito’s; Carol’s Cafe; schools; more

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Pappasito's Cantina, East Cobb food scores

The following Cobb food scores for the week of March 21 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:

Arbor Terrace of East Cobb
886 Johnson Ferry Road
March 24, 2022 Score: 100, Grade: A

Bells Ferry Elementary School
2600 Bells Ferry Road
March 22, 2022 Score: 100, Grade: A

Carol’s Cafe
2543 Bells Ferry Road, Suite 50
March 22, 2022 Score: 82, Grade: B

Domino’s Pizza
2146 Roswell Road, Suite 100
March 21, 2022 Score: 96, Grade: A

Eastside Christian School
2450 Lower Roswell Road
March 21, 2022 Score: 100, Grade: A

First Brazilian BBQ
1458 Roswell Road
March 22, 2022 Score: 100, Grade: A

Garrison Mill Elementary School
4111 Wesley Chapel Road
March 24, 2022 Score: 100, Grade: A

Kincaid Elementary Schools
1410 Kincaid Road
March 23, 2022 Score: 100, Grade: A

Mabry Middle School
2700 Jims Road
March 24, 2022 Score: 100, Grade: A

Mountain View Elementary School
3151 Sandy Plains Road
March 22, 2022 Score: 100, Grade: A

Pappasito’s Cantina
2788 Windy Hill Road
March 21, 2022 Score: 99, Grade: A

Rocky Mount Elementary School
2400 Rocky Mountain Road
March 23, 2022 Score: 100, Grade: A

Sedalia Park Elementary School
2230 Lower Roswell Road
March 21, 2022 Score: 100, Grade: A

Shallowford Falls Elementary Schools
3500 Lassiter Road
March 22, 2022 Score: 100, Grade: A

Simpson Middle School
3340 Trickum Road
March 22, 2022 Score: 100, Grade: A

Sprayberry High School
2525 Sandy Plains Road
March 23, 2022 Score: 100, Grade: A

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East Cobb real estate sales for the week of March 7, 2022

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8 woodlawn drive, East Cobb real estate sales
A Woodlawn Drive home that sold for $2.7 million.

The following deeds for residential East Cobb real estate sales were filed the week of March 7 with the Cobb Superior Court Clerk’s Office Real Estate Department.

The addresses include ZIP Codes and the subdivision names and high school districts are in parenthesis:

March 7

5400 Willow Point Parkway, 30062 (Willow Point, Walton): Mary Jean Harmon to Matthew Lee Sobotka; $479,000

2264 Bella Vista Court, 30066 (Piedmont Circle, Sprayberry): Baburam Sharma to Open Door Property Trust; $475,000

1032 Azalea Circle, 30062 (Eastwood Forest, Sprayberry): Kyle Duncan to Margaret Poplin; $300,000

8 Woodlawn Drive, 30067 (Sanders Field Estates, Walton): Charles King Sewell to Susan and Terrance Childers; $2.7 million

1132 Ashborough Drive, Unit H, 30066 (Ashborough Village Condos, Wheeler): Sr. Whole Investment Inc. to Thomas and Carol Haslach; $189,000

942 Bobcat Court, 30067 (The Village, Wheeler): Zillow Homes Property Trust to Kyler Bleakman; $357,000

3150 Woodwalk Drive, Unit 3412, 30339 (The Flats at Riverwalk, Wheeler): Eric Hsieh to Megan Morgan; $305,000

605 Abbington River Lane, 30339 (Abbington at Wildwood, Wheeler): Anthony Barsoom to William Gillette; $798,000

161 Hitching Post Court, 30067 (Fox Hills, Wheeler): Leah Hughes to Joe and Rebekah Bowie; $490,000

March 8

1513 Jamerson Landing, 30066 (Jamerson Forest, Kell): Patrick Westerbrook to Joshua David Westerman; $375,000

4371 Brandon Cove, 30066 (Brandon Ridge, Lassiter): Reginald and Lisa Ray to Christina Banaag; $360,000

1494 Pleasant Street, 30066 (Oak Creek Estates, Sprayberry): John Phillips to Alex and Allison Slaughter; $300,000

3248 Hembree Court, 30062 ((Hembree Hills, Pope): Gilda Statham to Better Real Estate, LLC; $447,000

2966 Missy Drive, 30062 (Rolling Acres, Pope): Nathan Williams to Niah Shearer; $499,000

3742 Baccurate Way, 30062 (Covington Ridge, Pope): Alice Hirzel to Dylan Clay and Adam Clay; $850,000

3296 Robinson Oaks Way, 30062 (Robinson Oaks, Pope): Darrelle and Tammy Edwards to Samual Kim; $550,000

3654 Brisbane Drive, 30062 (Lost Forest, Pope): Mindy Minsu Choe to Amir Alavi and Silvia Segura; $805,000

March 9

4950 Willow Cove Way, 30066 (Willow Creek, Kell): Luk Perez to Jamie Cunningham and Zachary Nixon; $450,000

4121 Christacy Way, 30066 (Thornbrook, Sprayberry): Partha Srivastava to Oscar Hernandez and Leah Garrison; $471,000

4053 Maybreeze Road, 30066 (Sprayberry): American Residential Leasing Company, LLC to Robert and Afton May; $400,000

2996 Rockbridge Road, 30066 (Piedmont Hills, Sprayberry): Open Door Property Trust to SFRES Owner LLC

March 10

4411 Rosemary Court, 30066 (Hampton Ridge, Lassiter): Michael Rouse to Krasimir Dulevski; $700,000

1921 Kerry Creek Drive, 30066 (Kerry Creek, Sprayberry): Elizabeth Lee, executor to Elizabeth Lee; $102,996

1336 Shaw Drive, 30066 (Pine Valley, Sprayberry): Sonja M. Mikes Revocable Trust to Yamasa Co. Ltd.; $310,000

1495 Keener Lane, 30066 (Romans Ridge, Sprayberry): Lot One Homes of Georgia to Uday and Neki Uday; $614,250

771 Burning Tree Drive, 30067 (Atlanta Country Club, Walton): The Estate of Eunice Currin Byrd to Kevin Geiger; $1.1 million

March 11

1340 Gray Rock Drive, 30066 (Gray Rock Estates, Kell): Dennis Carter to Robert Bailey; $315,000

2374 Netherstone Drive, 30066 (Waterford, Lassiter): Christian and Billie Wickstrom to William Crimmins and Lauren Feller; $517,500

4750 Ashmore Circle, 30066 (Hampton Ridge, Lassiter): Lauri and Jeffrey Fellman to Timothy and Ashlyn Fogle; $470,000

4039 Crossfield Court, 30062 (Woodbine Station, Lassiter): Matthew Oakes to Mandikandan Sivanesan and Sandhya Rajamanickam; $552,000

1602 Hickory Woods Way, 30066 (Hickory Woods, Sprayberry): Theresa Levy to Marcial and Monica Rodriguez; $840,000

3930 Stone Ridge Court, 30062 (Johnsons Crossing, Pope): Sandra Franco to Iuliia Grishkova and Roman Sirotinsky; $345,000

4437 Freeman Road, 30062 (Breckenridge, Pope): David Sherman to Yini and Hang Yu; $835,000

72 Jennifer Court, 30062 (Heartwood, Pope): Vanessa Achenbach to Daniel and Janice Thompson; $349,000

3672 Bellegrove Ridge, 30062 (Lost Forest, Pope): Guozhu Zhu to Leny and Kenneth Turner; $800,000

4021 Tritt Homestead Drive, 30062 (The Park at Lost Forest, Pope): The Estate of Sandra Jean Woods to Won Ju Yoon; $633,000

2797 Andante Court, 30062 (The Oaks of Old Canton, Pope): Windsor Residential Group to Yangcan Zou and Qian Zhang; $1.015 million;

935 Bridgegate Drive, 30068 (Bridgegate, Walton): Wei-Mei Wang to Subramanian Gowtham to Raman Dhanishaya; $617,000

3028 Gant Quarters Circle, 30068 (Gant Quarters, Wheeler): Rita Burpee to Pimenta Bettencourt; $635,000

591 Smithstone Road, 30067 (Hyde Park, Wheeler): Michael Boni to Eric Pictor; $330,000

3316 Sulky Circle, 30067 (Ward Meade Farm, Wheeler): Mark and Katie Henefeld to Lorenz Hampl and Amanda Yosslowitz; $1 million

903 Riverview Drive, 30067 (Overlook at Riverview, Walton): Charlotte Ann Mahler to Stewart Shannon; $225,000

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East Cobb resurfacing projects OK’d with 2022 SPLOST funds

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Robinson Road, East Cobb resurfacing projects
All of Robinson Road is slated to be resurfaced.

Several major thoroughfares in the East Cobb area will get resurfaced as part of the initial group of projects funded through the Cobb 2022 SPLOST.

Cobb commissioners on Tuesday approved the spending of $28.2 million to repave 29 roads totalling nearly 43 miles around the county.

They include Johnson Ferry Road between Roswell Road and Post Oak Tritt Road, Sandy Plains Road from Shallowford Road to Alabama Road and all of Robinson Road.

Here are the roads in East Cobb that will be resurfaced; there’s not a specific timetable for each one to be completed:

  • Delk Road from Powers Ferry Road to Terrell Mill Road, 0.3 miles
  • Fairfield Drive from Lower Roswell Road to Indian Hills Parkway, 1.3 miles
  • Johnson Ferry Road from Post Oak Tritt to Roswell Road, 2.5 miles
  • Little Willeo Road from Johnson Ferry Road to Timber Ridge Road, 1.8 miles
  • Robinson Road from Roswell Road East to Roswell Road West, 3.2 miles
  • Timber Ridge Road from Roswell Road to Lower Roswell Road, 1.3 miles
  • East Piedmont Road from Sandy Plains Road to Allgood Road, 2.1 miles
  • Maybreeze Road from Ebenezer Road to Shallowford Road, 0.7 miles
  • North Hembree Road from Hembree Road to Shallowford Road, 0.5 miles
  • Old Mountain Park Road from Alabama Road to the Fulton County line, 0.5 miles
  • Sandy Plains Road from Shallowford Road to Alabama Road, 3.1 miles
  • Trickum Road from Shallowford Road to the Cherokee County line, 2.4 miles

In 2020, Cobb voters extended the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax that collects funds for various county projects, including road maintenance.

The new six-year collection period began in January; here’s more information about what’s on the project list.

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ECBA, East Cobb Rotary Club schedule Cityhood debates

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East Cobb city forum
Mindy Seger of the anti-city East Cobb Alliance debates David Birdwell of the Committee for East Cobb Cityhood at an ECBA forum in late 2019.

A debate between supporters and opponents of the upcoming East Cobb Cityhood referendum is being organized by the East Cobb Business Association.

The event takes place on Tuesday, April 19 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Olde Towne Athletic Club (4950 Olde Towne Parkway) and is open to the public.

The debate is free but attendance is limited to 275 people and according to the ECBA website, nearly 100 people have already signed up. Registration is required and you can do that by clicking here.

The ECBA sponsored a debate in 2019 between Committee for East Cobb Cityhood and the East Cobb Alliance, which is against cityhood.

Shortly after that debate, cityhood supporters announced they would not be pursuing legislation in 2020.

But a new bill was submitted in the Georgia legislature in March 2021, and it passed and was signed into law, calling for a May 24 referendum.

Earlier this month, the pro-cityhood group held a town hall at Olde Towne and the Alliance conducted public information sessions.

The format of the ECBA debate will be for both sides to answer “the most commonly asked questions” about cityhood and the referendum.

But there won’t be direct questioning of the debate participants by the audience.

Also, the ECBA is saying that campaigning and political signs will not be allowed.

Overflow parking around Olde Towne includes nearby office building lots and the Northside medical building.

Another East Cobb Cityhood forum is being organized by the Rotary Club of East Cobb on May 4 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Pope High School. The moderator will be longtime Atlanta journalist Donna Lowry.

Attendance is limited and citizens wishing to attend must register by clicking here.

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East Cobb realtor to hold luncheon for first responders, military

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East Cobb realtor first responders luncheon
Firefighters from Cobb Fire Station 3 at the 2021 first responders luncheon.

First responders and military veterans will be treated to lunch next Wednesday, March 30, by East Cobb realtor Janice Overbeck.

She’s holding an appreciation luncheon from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Janice Overbeck Real Estate Team offices (2249 Roswell Road).

Police officers, firefighters, EMTs, active and retired military personnel are included in those invited to the luncheon. A food truck sponsored by Capital City Home Loans will serve burgers and hotdogs, along with food from other local business partners.

Attendees can have lunch on the back patio or take it to go. They’re asked to RSVP at 404-585-8881 or email janiceoverbeck@janiceoverbeck.com.

Cobb County Animal Services also will be holding an adoption event. For information click here.

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