For decades, the Southern Technical Institute bathtub races entertained swarms of students, alumni, and community members as engine-laden bathtubs throttled around what is now Kennesaw State University’s Marietta Campus.
The idea for the game was conceived by Frances Beusse, executive director of alumni and constituent engagement, who frequently heard from SPSU alumni about their desire to bring the bathtub races back. Knowing that a real-life revival was a long shot, Beusse proposed a digital recreation as a way to celebrate SPSU history while showcasing the talent of current students. She partnered with Will McKenna, director of development for CCSE, to explore the possibility of incorporating the concept into a capstone project. From there, they worked with faculty to develop a plan and brought in alumni to serve as advisors and subject matter experts.
The game’s momentum grew after an encounter between McKenna and Lee Miller, an SPSU alumnus and former Bathtub Racing Association president. Miller, who participated in the races in the 1980s and early ’90s, was approached with the idea and quickly signed on to help bring it to life.
“From the moment I heard about it, I knew it would be a cool project,” Miller said. “The bathtub races were such a unique part of the school’s history, and it was exciting to think about how we could bring that spirit into a new form for future generations of students.”
As an advisor for the project, Miller has been instrumental in providing historical context, sharing old photos and videos, and contributing to the creative process. He spoke with students about the tradition, which began in the late 1960s when engineering students repurposed old cast iron bathtubs into finely tuned machines, eventually leading to high-speed races across campus.
Over the years, the event became a celebrated part of student life, drawing large crowds and fostering a sense of camaraderie. The races were sunset in the early 1990s, but a retired bathtub racer still hangs in the Engineering Technology Center as a tribute to this eccentric yet beloved piece of SPSU history.
The game’s development is being spearheaded by a team of student developers, which include computer game design and development major Sasha Melbourne, who serves as the lead programmer for the game.
“The concept has always fascinated me,” she said. “It’s such a quirky, fun event, and I love the idea of combining that with gaming. We’ve tried to replicate the excitement of the races by making it fast-paced, unpredictable, and full of surprises. It’s not just about recreating the past; it’s about making something that people can enjoy in the present day.”
The development team has risen to the challenge of balancing historical accuracy with the need to make the game accessible. They worked hard to recreate the course, the bathtubs, and the atmosphere that made the event so memorable.
“It’s been a process of experimentation, iterating, and making corrections to each detail,” Melbourne said.
While the game aims to be competitive and entertaining, it also intends to create a sense of connection between current students and SPSU alumni. Miller, whose father attended Southern Technical Institute in the early 1960s and whose son is currently attending KSU, is excited to see how the game brings together generations.
“I think the game is a great way to bridge the gap between the past and the present,” Miller said.
As the development team puts the final touches on the game, they have also reflected on how the game could inspire future student-driven initiatives.
“We’ve learned a lot from this process, both technically and creatively,” Melbourne said. ” I think it’s a great example of how students at KSU can come together and use technology to bring something special to life.”
Sasha Melbourne, center, leads a team of student developers creating a video game based on the Southern Technical Institute bathtub races.
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The existing scoreboard at Raider Valley during a Walton varsity football game.
Private funds were raised in the Walton High School community to replace an electronic scoreboard at the sports stadium in Raider Valley.
But the Cobb County Board of Education was asked this week to approve the purchase, which caused some confusion in the community.
An agenda item for Thursday’s board meetings noted that the $439,497 amount would pay for removal of the existing scoreboard and replacing it with “a new multi-sport digital video scoreboard with video control and software systems on a new monopole structure.”
The agenda item includes a line item that states “Budgeted:” and the filed indicates “Yes,” but it wasn’t specific.
Typically such items specify a funding source, such as a SPLOST (special-purpose local-option sales tax) earmark.
At a board work session Thursday, board member John Cristadoro, who’s a football coach in the Walton feeder program and whose daughter plays volleyball for the Raiders, asked Marc Smith, the Cobb County School District’s Chief Technology and Operations Officer, about it.
“Just to be clear—are we writing a check for $439,000?” Cristadoro asked.
Smith told him that “Walton” is paying for that, meaning the individual donors, who were not identified in the agenda item.
“So, not the district?” Cristadoro asked.
“Correct,” Smith replied.
John Cristadoro
That led to some further discussion after board member Becky Sayler asked why the board needed to approve it.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale told her that the district changed a policy regarding such matters years ago after schools were going into debt getting loans for such purchases, and were finding it hard to retire that debt.
“It was damaging to the students and it was damaging to the coaches and to the sports at those schools to keep having that debt,” he said, “and have all the fees that parents pay to participate in extracurricular activities.”
“He said the district also requires construction and equipment items to go through its SPLOST and maintenance department since “regardless of who pays for it, it becomes school district property.”
All items costing more than $200,000 also need board approval, Ragsdale added.
The Cobb school district doesn’t fund a variety of equipment and other items related to extracurricular activities, including sports uniforms and equipment.
Walton’s football, soccer, lacrosse and track and field teams compete at Raider Valley, which was part of the original campus that opened in 1975.
The Walton High School Foundation has been conducting a fundraising drive for what it has called a new “jumbotron,” and solicited donations last weekend at the 50th anniversary celebration for the school.
The objective is to have the new scoreboard installed and in place for the start of the 2025 football season in August.
Cristadoro asked Ragsdale if the district had the latitude to turn down a privately-funded project if it thought it would be too cost prohibitive or posed other concerns.
“On the front side, we’re able to say, okay, you’re going to have to cover said expense and upkeep,” Ragsdale said, referring to a non-district funding source.
The Cobb school district spent $6.78 million to construct a new baseball field and tennis courts on Pine Road as part of Walton’s campus rebuild project, as well as $5.65 million to acquire property there.
In that time, the district also relocated the softball field to the former baseball field on Raider Mountain at the back of the campus, and another $1 million for a pedestrian bridge on Bill Murdock Road to the new sports complex.
Those projects, along with a new campus classroom building that opened in 2017 and a new gymnasium and performing arts theatre that opened in 2020, were funded with SPLOST revenues.
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“It’s concerning, looking ahead,” Chris Ragsdale said about future budget prospects for the Cobb County School District.
After a few years of generous employee pay raises and spending growth, the Cobb County School District is taking a more judicious approach to its fiscal year 2026 operating budget.
Amid an uncertain economic climate and with lower growth in the Cobb tax digest, district financial officials on Thursday proposed a $1.8 billion budget Thursday that provides modest pay raises and includes reclassifying some teaching positions.
The board on Thursday “tentatively” adopted the budget, which means that the district will then publicly advertise a budget process that includes a public hearing and formal adoption in May.
No layoffs are planned, but the cost of Georgia Teacher Retirement System benefits for Cobb educators, as well as other employee health benefits, has risen by $33 million from the current FY 2025 budget of $1.8 billion, Chief Financial Officer Brad Johnson said during a Cobb Board of Education work session Thursday afternoon.
For employees eligible for a step pay increase, those raises could go as high as 4.6 percent.
General fund revenues total $1.7 billion with $166 million from other sources.
The budget proposal includes using $43 million in reserve funding to help balance the budget, with the property tax rate holding steady at 18.7 mills for the third year in a row. The district has a fund balance of $198 million.
“It’s not a great budget, but it’s far from gloom and doom,” Cobb Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said.
But he said there are “storm clouds” possible beyond the coming academic year.
“We’re not the only district in this position. It’s concerning, looking ahead.”
(The district did not have the budget proposal available online until after the board’s Thursday night meeting; details can be found at this link.)
After near double-digit increases in the Cobb tax digest in recent years, only two percent growth is projected for 2025, which would yield around $17.4 million in school revenue.
Last year, Cobb had tax digest growth of more than 7 percent and 15 percent in 2023.
Johnson detailed the major personnel changes, which would shift 57 school-leaving interventionist positions to fill classroom vacancies.
The interventionists help detect possible learning issues, but Ragsdale said their work will continue, just in different fashion.
Another 68 teachers who had been on special assignment will be also redirected to classroom teaching positions.
“We’re hoping the economy turns around and that we’ll have a different conversation [about the budget] this time next year,” Ragsdale said.
The school board will hold a second budget public forum on May 15, right before it is scheduled to adopt the budget.
The Cobb school district’s fiscal year runs from July 1-June 30.
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A notorious novel that’s been banned for adults and children in some parts of the world for years has been removed from the Cobb County School District.
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said Thursday that the district’s continuing review of books deemed inappropriate for minors has culled “American Psycho,” written by Bret Easton Ellis and published in 1991.
At a Cobb Board of Education work session, Ragsdale did not elaborate on the reason, nor did he say which schools carried the book.
The Cobb school district has removed more than three dozen books over the last two school years for what Ragsdale has said contain sexually explicit, lewd, graphic or otherwise inappropriate content for minors (here’s the full list).
Some citizens have objected to what they have called “bans,” and filed a civil rights complaint, saying many of the books have minority and LGBTQ themes.
After last November’s elections Ragsdale, asked his critics “to take a break.”
“American Psycho” has been the subject of bans and removals for much of its history, even before its publication.
Protagonist Patrick Bateman, a successful New York investment banker in the 1980s, also is a serial killer, and the novel is replete with graphic descriptions of murderous violence, sex and sadistic behavior.
Feminist groups organized boycotts due to the book’s depictions of violence against women, and Ellis received death threats.
“American Psycho” was made into a film in 2000 starring Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe and Reese Witherspoon.
At the book’s 25th anniversary, Ellis told Rolling Stone that he wanted his novel to be a scathing, satirical condemnation of the excesses of Wall Street and American finance at the time:
“I created this guy who becomes this emblem for yuppie despair in the Reagan Eighties—a very specific time and place—and yet he’s really infused with my own pain and what I was going through as a guy in his 20s, trying to fit into a society that he doesn’t necessarily want to fit into but doesn’t really know what the other options are.”
He said the book also “was really about the dandification of the American male. It was really about what is going on with men now, in terms of surface narcissism” and that themes revolving around male culture “seemed to me much more interesting than whether he is or is not a serial killer, because that really is a small section of the book.”
The American Library Association placed “American Psycho” on its most banned book list for the 1990s. In some parts of Australia, the book was banned altogether, or sold to adults only with wrapping paper on the cover.
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The Cobb Board of Education and the public will get a first look the Cobb County School District’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget on Thursday.
The presentation will take place at an afternoon work session, to be followed by a public forum on the budget and a second presentation Thursday evening.
According to an agenda item, the proposed budget is $1.86 billion, a slight increase from the current district FY 2025 budget of $1.8 billion.
The agenda item contained no further details and did not indicate whether there would be a change in the property tax millage rate; the district has said that information would be posted after the budget proposal is introduced.
The budget presentation takes place at a work session that starts at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
The budget public forum starts at 6:30 p.m., and the board’s monthly voting meeting, which includes tentative budget adoption, starts at 7 p.m.
All meetings Thursday take place in the board room of the CCSD Central Office, at 514 Glover St. in Marietta. An executive session will follow the work session.
The budget proposal anticipates $1.81 million in revenues but does not indicate how the difference would be made up.
The final budget hearing is scheduled for May 15, also at 6:30 p.m., shortly before the board is scheduled to adopt the budget.
In July, the school board adopts a property tax millage rate after the final Cobb tax digest is issued.
The Cobb school district’s fiscal year runs from July 1-June 30 of each year.
Also on Thursday’s agenda, the board will be asked to set a maximum price of $15.9 million for the construction of a second career academy on the campus of Allatoona High School.
The board will be asked to ratify a $439,497 purchase of a new video scoreboard at the Walton High School athletic stadium. The funding was raised privately by parents but it must be confirmed by the board.
The also board will be asked to spend $1.7 million to purchase 10 48-seat school buses, and another $450,000 for the acquisition of two K-9 dogs to assist with school security measures.
At the Thursday evening meeting, recognitions include Wheeler High School’s boys state basketball championship team as well as Susan Sharrow of Pope High School, the Cobb school district’s 2024-25 library media specialist of the year.
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The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) released the names of the first group of winners in the 70th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Approximately 830 distinguished high school seniors have won corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards financed by about 124 corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations. Also included in this category are awards supported by several foundations and individual donors who have established endowments with NMSC.
Scholars were selected from students who advanced to the Finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship competition and met criteria of their scholarship sponsors. Corporate sponsors provide National Merit Scholarships for Finalists who are children of their employees, who are residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage.
Most of these awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study and provide annual stipends that range from $1,000 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.
Funding for these National Merit Scholarships is provided by corporate organizations that represent nearly all sectors of American industry. Sponsors from the business community have underwritten awards offered in all 70 competitions, expending or committing nearly $882 million to support the intellectual development of the nation’s scholastically talented youth.
Declan Amerault, Wheeler. National Merit Truist Scholarship. Probable career field: Applied Mathematics
AndreaJoya, Lassiter. National Merit Truist Scholarship. Probable career field: Biomedical Engineering
Nathan ThomasKiesel, Wheeler. National Merit ViaSat Scholarship. Probable career field: Science/Research
Ethan A. Konnick, Mt. Paran Christian. National Merit James E. Casey Scholarship. Probable career field: Information Systems Management
Eugene G. Li, Walton. National Merit Truist Scholarship. Probable career field: Computer Programming
Spencer Lieth, Walton. National Merit Vulcan Materials Company Scholarship. Probable career field: Engineering
Eric Mo, Walton. National Merit James E. Casey Scholarship. Probable career field: Electrical Engineering
Dhriti Raguram, Walton. National Merit James E. Casey Scholarship. Probable career field: Neuroscience
Vikram Sharma, Lassiter. National Merit Schneider Electric North America Foundation Scholarship. Probable career field: Medicine
Isha Varughese,Walton. National Merit Truist Scholarship. Probable career field: Finance
Adam Wang, Walton. National Merit Norfolk Southern Scholarship. Probable career field: Computer Science
William Zhao, Walton. National Merit Siemens Scholarship. Probable career field: Classics
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A group of young East Cobb innovators has returned home after proudly representing Georgia—and the world—on one of the biggest stages in youth robotics, the 2025 FIRST championship @ Houston TX (April 16 to 19). A local FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) Challenge team, composed of six boys ages 10 to 14, recently competed at the 2025 FIRST Championship in Houston, Texas, placing an impressive 62nd out of 160 top-tier teams from 55 countries.
The team was one of only two from Georgia selected to attend the World Festival, a rare honor considering nearly 500 teams competed statewide throughout the season, which began last August.
The team members are:
Zeeno Tang, 11, Sope Creek Elementary
Ryan Zhang, 11, Pickett’s Mill Elementary
Ryan Chen, 12, Westminster Schools (Mt. Bethel Elementary graduate)
All six boys participate in the Robotics Club at Hongfan Chinese Academy, a Sunday extracurricular program in East Cobb that played a key role in developing their skills in programming, engineering, and collaboration.
Judges praised the team’s impressive technical understanding as well as their creative and research-driven approach to solving real-world problems. They also highlighted the team’s inclusive and supportive dynamic, and commended how the boys collaborated during the whole process.
The team’s journey is a testament to the strength of East Cobb’s academic and extracurricular community, parent involvement, and the boundless curiosity and creativity of youth. With their success on the global stage, these young East Cobb students have not only represented their community with pride—they’ve inspired it.
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The shiny floor at the main Walton High School gymnasium, which opened in 2019. ECN photos and video.
While orchestral students played music in the cool indoors, games, food, and other activities were being enjoyed on a warm, sunny day outdoors at Walton High School Saturday.
The school community came together to celebrate the school’s 50th academic year, which ends next month, and with many organizations providing information and a cool tent respite at their booths.
It was a low-key festival, but exemplified the ethos and spirit of a high-performing school that has grown with its community.
Students drew and painted artwork that was displayed on the walls of the performing arts center, which opened along with a new gymnasium in 2019.
A painting of George Walton, with the backdrop of the main school entrance.
They sit now where the original classroom building was located when Walton opened for classes in the fall of 1975 on a winding stretch of Bill Murdock Road.
What had been farm country not that many years before would soon become a busy hub for a fast-growing, sprawling East Cobb.
Walton’s opening alleviated heavy overcrowding at Wheeler High School, where I had been a freshman just the year before.
While I missed many of my friends who had begun attending the—ahem—other WHS, I could see how fast things were changing in East Cobb.
There was land along the greater Johnson Ferry Road corridor that was being scarfed up, going from animal-grazing to new subdivisions and retail centers in quick fashion.
It didn’t take long for Walton to be overcrowded, too, and in 1981 Lassiter High School opened, followed by Pope High School (named after a former Walton teacher) in 1987.
When I returned to East Cobb in 1990, after more than a decade being away at college and as a young adult, I almost didn’t recognize the place.
Yes, it had the classic suburban look, just as I remembered, but the feel was different. East Cobb had gotten busy, and Walton had become one of the highest-rated high schools in Georgia, coming under a novel conversion charter governance.
Walton was a magnet for families seeking academic and extracurricular excellence, and there’s hardly a neighborhood in its attendance zone that doesn’t advertise that fact when the “for sale” signs go up.
Many of the booths at the Walton celebration Saturday displayed trophies from past athletic competitions. Others showed off plaques commemorating orchestral trips to Carnegie Hall.
Little about the present campus—the new classroom building opened in 2017—resembles what was there in 1975. But Walton’s evolution reflects so much about what East Cobb has become, and how we think of the community today.
Students’ artwork hanging on the walls in the theatre building also exemplify that spirit. One was a painting of George Walton, one of America’s founding fathers and a Georgia signatory to the Declaration of Independence.
Many featured the schools’s logo and sports themes, while others rendered past and present buildings and campus landmarks.
There are so many ways that thousands of students have experienced Walton for the past 50 years. In a half-century, Walton’s impact on the community is unmistakeable.
As the Dorian Orchestra played “Fields of Gold” (video below) in the theatre, it was easy to close one’s eyes and get swept away with memories from high school days—no matter where one may have gone to high school—when the future of young people seemed so limitless.
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The Cobb County School District was to have kicked off a series of educational sessions about school safety later this month with an in-person public meeting at Hillgrove High School.
But the district announced Friday—due to safety reasons, of all things—that series is being postponed.
Instead, the district will offer those sessions online, with dates and details of the first seminar to be announced later. The Hillgrove town hall had been scheduled for next Monday, April 28.
“After being briefed about violence in other townhalls in our community, we have decided to postpone a series of educational seminars about school safety,” the district said near the bottom of a posting about the sessions, which will now be all-digital.
“While not directly associated with our schools, intentional disruption and acts of violence do not allow for effective communication with you and have a significant impact on the well-being of our entire county.”
The announcement Friday did not mention other incidents, but it follows a contentious town hall meeting in Acworth this week by U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, at which three people were arrested and six others were escorted out.
One of those persons also was Tasered by police in front of the town hall crowd, which was limited to constituents in Greene’s district that includes Northwest Cobb.
The arrested individuals were charged with misdemeanor obstruction, battery and disorderly conduct. Local Democrats have said the people arrested and ushered out have had their First Amendment rights violated and that police used excessive force.
Greene, a Republican and a supporter of President Donald Trump, said the disruptive citizens were properly dealt with (see video at bottom).
The Cobb school district is undertaking a variety of safety initiatives in the wake of a deadly shooting last year at Apalachee High School.
In October the district hired a private security firm with former intelligence and military officials to provide what it calls proactive solutions to address not only potential active-shooter situations but also gang activity, cyberviolence and other safety threats.
Two canine detection teams also will be employed, with another security firm training CCSD officers to work with the dogs who can identify “person-worn or concealed-carried explosives and firearms.”
Friday’s posting by the district explained some of those initiatives, and further said in explaining the switch to virtual safety sessions that “we have experienced disruptions during similar District events and look forward to a time when we can listen and learn together, safely.”
The district wasn’t specific about disruptions at its own events, but some citizens have been removed from Cobb Board of Education meetings in recent years during public comment sessions.
In 2022, some citizens protested a decision by the school board to hire armed, non-police professionals to provide school security.
And last year, two parents filed a lawsuit against the Cobb school district over a scuffle while trying to sign up for a public comment session at a school board meeting in 2023.
In recent months, the district has enacted a policy that requires all attendees at school board meetings to pass through an electronic security screening system.
The Cobb school board meets on Thursday with the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget to be presented.
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The Cobb Board of Education will hear a tentative fiscal year 2025 budget proposal Thursday.
Spring and summer in Cobb County is also budget season for Cobb government and the Cobb County School District.
The Cobb Board of Education will be presented with the district’s fiscal year 2026 tentative budget on Thursday, and will hold a public budget forum Thursday evening.
The budget presentation takes place at a work session that starts at 1:30 p.m. The budget public forum starts at 6:30 p.m., and the board’s monthly voting meeting starts at 7 p.m.
All meetings Thursday take place in the board room of the CCSD Central Office, at 514 Glover St. in Marietta. An executive session will follow the work session.
The final budget hearing is scheduled for May 15, also at 6:30 p.m., shortly before the board is scheduled to adopt the budget.
In July, the school board adopts a property tax millage rate after the final Cobb tax digest is issued.
The Cobb school district’s fiscal year runs from July 1-June 30 of each year.
The current district FY 2025 budget of $1.8 billion was adopted last year that held the property tax rate at 18.7 mills and included broad employee raises.
Watching the Funds-Cobb, a citizens financial watchdog group, has been critical of the district’s budget process, saying it doesn’t provide the public with adequate time to examine or speak to the budget.
The budget hearings take place the day the budget is presented, and the day it is to be adopted. The group has suggested having hearings somewhere in between those dates.
“Yes, the district holds the legally required public hearings—but they defy the spirit of the law,” the group posted on its Facebook page in late March. “It’s all for show.”
For most homeowners, school taxes comprise around two-thirds of their property tax bills. Seniors 62 and older can claim a general exemption from school taxes.
The Cobb Board of Commissioners will be presented a proposed fiscal year 2026 budget at a work session on June 24.
Public hearings on the budget and millage rate will take place on July 8 at 9 a.m., July 16 at 6:30 p.m. and July 22 at 7 p.m., with adoption scheduled for the latter date.
Last month commissioners were presented with a wish list by county department heads that would add 290 employees (much of it for public safety agencies) and $92.7 million to a budget that would add up to $1.3 billion.
Last July commissioners also held the property tax rate but spending went up $63.7 million, despite pleas from residents to roll back the millage.
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Walton High School is celebrating a remarkable milestone—50 years of Raider pride, tradition, and achievement. Since opening its doors in the fall of 1975, Walton has grown into one of the top public high schools in Georgia and has earned a national reputation for academic excellence, innovation, and student success.
The community is invited to commemorate this golden anniversary on Saturday, April 19th, with a special open house and festival on campus from 1:00–4:00 p.m.
Location: Walton High School, 1590 Bill Murdock Rd, Marietta, GA 30062
Date: Friday, April 19, 2025
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
A Festival of Raider Pride
The anniversary celebration will be an engaging and family-friendly event that reflects the school’s dynamic community spirit. Sports teams, student organizations, and academic groups will host booths outside the school, offering informational displays, student projects, and activities for kids. Whether you’re a longtime Raider, a new Raider, or a future Raider, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
Guests will also have a chance to explore some of the most innovative areas of Walton’s campus, including:
The state-of-the-art gymnasium
The cutting-edge sports medicine facility
The high-tech robotics annex
The school’s modern theater
Walton Through the Years: A Walk Down Memory Lane
Inside the Information Center, visitors can step back in time to see “Walton Through the Years.” This retrospective includes a collection of Walton yearbooks, a video montage of memorable moments, and memorabilia spanning five decades of Raider tradition and excellence.
Continuous Music and Delicious Bites
While guests explore Walton’s past and present, the celebration continues with live musical performances inside the Theater throughout the event. Outside, food and snack options will be available, giving visitors a chance to grab a bite while strolling down memory lane or learning about the impressive opportunities available to Walton students.
A Legacy of Excellence
Since opening its doors in the fall of 1975, Walton High School has grown into one of the most recognized and high-performing schools in Georgia and the nation. Known for its strong academic performance, dedicated teachers, and successful extracurricular programs, Walton continues to be a model of student achievement and community involvement. You can explore more of Walton’s accomplishments here.
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Scott Sweeney, a former member of the Cobb Board of Education who lives in East Cobb, has been appointed to the Georgia Charter Schools Commission.
Sweeney most recently was the chairman of the Georgia Board of Education. He was appointed in February to the GCSC by Gov. Brian Kemp and will serve a four-year term.
The Georgia Charter Schools Commission approves and oversees charter schools in the state of Georgia, including through policy-making and renewal activities.
There are 111 charter schools in Georgia, with 78 authorized by local school districts and 33 directly by the GCSC.
The GCSC is an agency of Georgia state government and operates with an appointed body of seven members. Sweeney is one of three members appointed by Kemp, and the others are appointed by the lieutenant governor, and Speaker of the House.
Sweeney, whose sons attended schools in the Walton High School cluster, served on the Cobb school board for two terms, from 2011-2018.
He was defeated in a bid for a third term, then served on the state board of education from 2018-2024, including the last two years as chairman, and also as chairman of the board’s charter schools committee.
Upon his appointment to the GCSC, Sweeney said that he was “thankful for all who were able to join me for my swearing in ceremony and immensely grateful for having served on the State Board, and now with the SCSC. I’m Looking forward to continuing service for students, families, teachers, and leaders.”
Sweeney is a senior business advisor for InPrime Legal, a law firm based in East Cobb that provides legal services for businesses.
Sweeney and Kemp with State Rep. Sharon Cooper of East Cobb (L) and Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp.
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Ron Storey, who has been the Cobb County School District Department’s police chief since 2013, has died.
The department announced the news on a social media posting Thursday, but provided no details, saying “Chief Storey was an exceptional leader and individual, who cherished his family and work family.”
The Cobb school district did not disclose a cause of death in response to a message for information from East Cobb News.
A district spokeswoman sent the following response Thursday night:
“Our hearts are saddened by the passing of Cobb Schools Chief of Police Ron Storey, whose decades of service have left a lasting impact on our schools and community.
“Chief Storey dedicated his life to protecting others, serving in law enforcement for nearly 40 years and leading school safety efforts in Cobb for over a decade. His leadership, mentorship, and unwavering commitment to safety made a difference in the lives of countless students, staff, and families.
“We are grateful for his years of service and devotion to keeping our schools safe. His legacy will endure, and our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time.”
The district’s police department has around 80 staffers and sworn officers, many of them assigned to schools as resource officers.
Storey, who was 72, joined Cobb schools in 2013 after serving as a Cobb Police officer and administrator since 1986. He was a graduate of Osborne High School and his children graduated from McEachern High School.
Storey was a former master sergeant in the Georgia Air National Guard and after serving as a patrol officer with Cobb Police, worked his way up to deputy chief.
The Cobb school district did not indicate if a successor has been named. According to the department’s leadership information, the second-in-command is Capt. Wayne Pickett, who like Storey also came from Cobb Police.
Storey’s death comes as the Cobb school district is undertaking a variety of safety initiatives in the wake of a deadly shooting last year at Apalachee High School.
In October the district hired a private security firm with former intelligence and military officials to provide what it calls proactive solutions to address not only potential active-shooter situations but also gang activity, cyberviolence and other safety threats.
Two canine detection teams also will be employed, with another security firm training CCSD officers to work with the dogs who can identify “person-worn or concealed-carried explosives and firearms.”
And in 2022, the district began a policy of hiring non-police professionals to help provide security at schools over the protests from some in the public.
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Ten students from high schools in East Cobb are among the 145 chosen across the state as Georgia Scholars, State School Superintendent Richard Woods announced Tuesday.
According to the Georgia Department of Education, “Georgia Scholars carried exemplary course loads during their four years of high school, performed excellently in all courses, successfully participated in interscholastic events within their schools and communities, and assumed leadership roles in extracurricular activities sponsored by their schools.
Each honoree receives a seal for their diploma along with a graduation cord to recognize their achievement.
The local students include the following:
Lassiter: Elizabeth George, Andrea Joya, Sophia Joya
Walton: Vishruth Tallam, Rahaf Vaid, Shalein Valvani, Owen Wu, Edward Yao
Wheeler: Marissa Loncar, Leanne Vuong
Students from Kennesaw Mountain and North Cobb high schools also are among the honorees,
“Congratulations to the 145 outstanding students honored as Georgia Scholars this year” Woods said in a statement. “This prestigious recognition identifies students who go above and beyond in all aspects of life – both within the school walls and in the community. I wish them great success in their futures and can’t wait to see the impact they make on our state, nation, and world.”
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Some recent anti-Semitic incidents at schools in East Cobb turned out students and parents Thursday night at the Cobb Board of Education meeting.
“Right now Cobb County is failing its students,” Dickerson MS parent Mindy Melnikowski said.
During an evening public comment period, they urged the Cobb County School District to take stronger action to curb what they say aren’t isolated incidents, but becoming too frequent.
Recently swastikas were discovered drawn on walls at Dickerson Middle School and Wheeler High School.
In addition, Samantha Epstein, a Wheeler freshman, told school board members that a teacher in one of her classes showed slides she thought were anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian.
Days later, in the same AP Human Geography class, she said, a slide of a cartoon of an Israeli soldier with a broom sweeping up Palestinian bodies was described as ethnic cleansing.
“I’m the only Jewish student in the class, I immediately felt uncomfortable,” said Epstein, who added that she and her older siblings, who have attended Wheeler and Campbell High School, also have been exposed to other instances of anti-Semitism at school.
That included an incident at East Cobb Middle School, when her sister was in eighth grade there, and who saw other students wearing swastika armbands giving a Nazi salute that were posted to social media.
Epstein said when she was at ECMS last year, she saw a teacher post a pro-Palestinian sign after the Hamas attacks on Israeli citizens that triggered the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
“We want to feel safe in our schools and know that even though our religious beliefs are different, we are treated fairly and equally,” she said.
The district has said that the graphics used in Epstein’s class have been removed from the curriculum.
Dickerson parent Mindy Melnikowski said she complained in the fall of 2023 that her then-seventh-grade son was taught “historical inaccuracies and anti-Semitic tropes using unapproved resources embedded deep in CTLS [the district’s main online curriculum portal] to appear legitimate.”
“Despite months of urging school officials to correct the damage, no action was taken,” Melknikowski said. “Last week, the consequences were clear. Swastikas on the walls and students giving Nazi salutes.
“This should not come as a surprise. When teachers spread misinformation unchecked, hate follows.”
Wheeler student Abdul Aziz Abasa, a student in the same class as Epstein, said the incidents at Dickerson and Wheeler “are completely different” and that “we want everyone to get a diverse amount of information” even about such highly-charged topics.
He said that the graphic in his class depicting Israeli soldiers included individuals from a variety of ethnic groups, and that teachers should have some “leeway” in exposing students to a variety of viewpoints
“We should be open to media that is critical of other military groups, and to censor media infringes on our First Amendment right,” Abasa said.
Leona Blumberg, who has twins who have attended Dickerson and Mt. Bethel Elementary School, said her son was told at the latter school by another student that “Hitler didn’t do enough or “Hitler should have wiped out the rest of your family.
“Most of my family was wiped out by Hitler.”
She said the most distressing issue has been a lack of response from the school or school district to Jewish parents.
Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale addressed the comments later in the meeting, saying the district was “taking action” but didn’t elaborate.
He said that while “we cannot discuss actions that may already have been taken, rest assured that anti-Semitism will not be tolerated in any form.”
Ragsdale recounted the story of his father, a German prisoner-of-war who was tortured during World War II.
“He lived with those scars for the rest of his life, and while I may not be Jewish, anti-Semitism has a resounding negative impact on me.”
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!
Kennesaw State University will make room for approximately 460 more students interested in living on campus with the addition of The Summit II residence hall, which was celebrated during a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday.
The nearly 97,000-square-foot residence hall is being built on the south end of the Kennesaw campus adjacent to The Summit I student housing, which opened in 2022. The Summit II, which will include housing for 460 students, will consist primarily of double-bedroom suites for first-year students and will feature study spaces and community areas, including an outdoor space connecting the Summit I and Summit II buildings.
The new residence hall, scheduled to open in Fall 2026, will help meet the needs of Kennesaw State’s growing enrollment. The addition of The Summit II will bring KSU’s total number of residential communities to 11, with a total capacity of more than 6,300 beds across the Kennesaw and Marietta campuses.
“Summit II is an exciting example of our mission and strategic plan in action,” KSU President Kathy S. Schwaig said. “With group study spaces, enhanced safety features, and a premier living-learning environment, Summit II exemplifies our commitment to student success.”
Special guests at the groundbreaking ceremony included Kennesaw State University Foundation Trustees, representatives from the University System of Georgia, members of the KSU President’s Community Advisory Board, and Cobb County Commissioner JoAnn Birrell. Following Schwaig’s remarks, Board of Trustees Chair Teddy Parrish and Kennesaw State student Dallas Lee spoke about the significance of the project.
“This is a time of transformation and growth in which I am tremendously proud to take part,” said Parrish, a 1995 Kennesaw State graduate. “I can assure you, when I was at KSU as a student, we did not have any housing like this. Students will benefit from spaces that build community for years to come.”
Lee, a senior majoring in media and entertainment, can attest to Kennesaw State having modernized residence halls where students feel welcomed and supported. Lee is in his third year living in The Summit I while working for KSU Housing and Residence Life, first as a resident assistant and now as a community assistant.
“I am proud to stand here today and discuss why an underclassman community like The Summit is so unique and impactful for student life, and how excited I am to see a new phase of this home come to life,” Lee said. “This place is a steppingstone into adulthood, and we want to make sure our students recognize that and take advantage of what KSU has to offer.”
Adding another personal touch to the project, four people with ties to Kennesaw State will be involved in the construction of The Summit II. The staffs of the consulting firms partnering with KSU include three Owl alumni – Jean Heo (civil engineering ’22), Ryan Horgan (architecture ’15) and Stephen Prather (civil engineering ’15) – as well as current construction management student and intern A.J. Clanton.
“I love working in construction because it allows me to see the tangible results of my hard work,” said Clanton, who received his internship through a Kennesaw State job fair. “KSU has equipped me with the skills and knowledge to not only earn an internship but also excel in the field.”
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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!
Contracts for major renovations projects at two East Cobb elementary schools are on the Cobb Board of Education agenda Thursday.
Sedalia Park and Powers Ferry elementaries are scheduled to get flooring, door, hardware, window and blind replacements and new bathroom partitions in the current Cobb Education SPLOST VI.
They’re among a number of school construction contracts that will be presented at a board work session that starts at 1:30 p.m., with proposed action scheduled at a voting meeting beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday.
An executive session is scheduled in between the public meetings, which will take place in the board room of the Cobb County School District’s central office (514 Glover Street, Marietta).
You can view the agendas for the public meetings by clicking here.
The open meetings also will be live-streamed on district’s BoxCast channel and on CobbEdTV, Comcast Channel 24.
Agendas item for the Sedalia Park project indicate a cost of $1.323 million, and $778,565 for Powers Ferry.
Both projects are expected to be completed by July, according to the agenda items.
Another contract would spend $997,633 to resurface the tracks at Wheeler, Kell and Campbell high schools, also to be completed by July.
At the evening meeting, a number of athletics recognitions will take place.
They include the state champion girls swimming and diving team from Lassiter High School, including individual champions Finnly Jollands, Kate Bradley, Ashlyn Loftin, Ashley Gal, Rose Jones and Gavin Halusic.
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!
Newly elected Cobb school boar member John Cristadoro will be the featured speaker at the East Cobb Area Council Chamber of Commerce breakfast on March 27.
The event takes place from 7:30-9 a.m. at Indian Hills Country Club (4001 Clubland Drive).
Cristadoro, a Republican, serves Post 5, which includes the Walton, Wheeler and Pope clusters.
He and his wife have two children, who attend Walton High School and Dickerson Middle School, and he has been involved with the Walton youth football program as a coach.
The East Cobb Area Council holds three breakfasts during the year, including the East Cobb Pigskin Preview in August and the East Cobb Citizen of the Year award in November.
The cost for the March 27 breakfast is $35 for Chamber members and $45 for non-members.
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!
As graduation season approaches, Cobb County School District is dedicated to preparing students for their next big step. To help guide them through the transition, Cobb Schools is hosting a College Fair on Tuesday, March 25, at Hillgrove High School.
This event is designed to equip students with the tools they need to continue to the successful start they earned in Cobb. By connecting with representatives from over 50 universities, students and families can explore academic programs, learn about admissions requirements, and get answers to key questions about their postsecondary options.
Event Details:
Hillgrove High School (4165 Luther Ward Rd, Powder Springs, GA 30127)
Tuesday, March 25
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM | Overview of the U.S. College Application Process
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM | College Fair
Additional Informational Sessions:
Financial Aid Overview – Learn how to navigate the financial aspects of college or trade school.
Understanding the Role of the College Essay – Get advice on crafting a compelling personal statement.
HBCU Experience Panel – Gain insights from alumni about Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Taking Advantage of the Hope & Zell Grant – Discover how Georgia’s programs support the Technical College System of Georgia students.
From Graduation to the Next Chapter
Cobb Schools has a strong tradition of preparing students for success beyond high school, and this college fair is just one of the many ways the district ensures students are ready for their next journey. As seniors prepare to walk across the stage this May, underclassmen can use this event to start planning for their own futures.
Register Today!
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to take charge of your future! Scan the QR code or visit ScholarTrek/Cobb to sign up. The journey to college and career success starts here—see you at the College Fair on March 25!
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!
Mt. Bethel Christian Academy’s master plan to accommodate new classroom buildings and relocated athletics facilities was adopted in December.
A request by Mt. Bethel Christian Academy for up to $50 million in tax-free bonds to expand its upper-school campus on Post Oak Tritt Road will be heard by the Cobb Board of Commissioners Tuesday.
According to an agenda item, Mt. Bethel is asking commissioners to adopt a resolution from the Development Authority of Cobb County “to finance the costs of, constructing, expanding, improving and/or equipping certain educational facilities for the use and operation” of the private school facility, where a high school campus has been in operation since 2014.
Private businesses and other entities seek the bonds for expansion projects, and commissioners are asked to adopt those resolutions.
But public money is not used for what are called “Lease Revenue” bonds, which lower the cost of borrowing compared to standard corporate bonds.
The agenda item (you can read it here) further states that “the proposed Bonds will not be an obligation of the County, or of the State of Georgia or of any county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision of the State of Georgia. The proposed Bonds will not be paid from taxes, but will be payable by the Issuer solely from amounts to be paid or provided by the Company.”
Mt. Bethel, which began under the auspices of the now-Mt. Bethel Church in 1998, is planning to move its middle school grades to the 33-acre site near Holly Springs Road.
It enrolls nearly 700 students at all grade levels, including around 200 in high school. The expansion project would allow up to 625 students in grades 6-12.
The school is proposing to build a multi-story classroom building and other academic facilities and construct a new dining hall.
In December, commissioners adopted a master plan for the Post Oak Tritt property to relocate and expand some existing athletic facilities and allow a second access point to the campus.
The school separated from the church in 2021 and has rented K-8 class space at the church property on Lower Roswell Road.
But the school’s lease is up in 2028, and academy officials are also seeking a new site for the K-5 grades.
There’s not room on Post Oak Tritt Road for the entire school, which school officials envision having around 1,000 students in the future.
The development authority held a public hearing for the Mt. Bethel proposal on Jan. 24, and according to Tuesday’s agenda item, there were no speakers commenting either for or against the bond proposal.
But some nearby residents were concerned about some of the changes that were eventually incorporated into the master plan, including lighting and noise issues stemming from the athletic facilities, as well as a buffer between the school and the neighborhood.
The Board of Commissioners meeting begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the county office building at 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta. You can view the full agenda by clicking here.
You also can watch the hearing on the county’s website and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.
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!
Many of the booths at the Walton celebration Saturday displayed trophies from past athletic competitions. Others showed off plaques commemorating orchestral trips to Carnegie Hall.
Scott Sweeney, a former member of the Cobb Board of Education who lives in East Cobb, has been appointed to the 
