East Cobb Schools Archives

Cobb schools push SPLOST vote with World Series pitch

October 27, 2021October 27, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Cobb schools SPLOST vote World Series

Bandwagon-jumping is nothing new with the success of a local sports team.

The Cobb County School District is urging citizens to vote to extend the Special-Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for schools by noting in a post that leads its website how schools have benefitted from having the Atlanta Braves in the county.

The Braves play their first World Series game at Truist Park on Friday against the Houston Astros—the final day of early voting for the Nov. 2 referendum, as it turns out—and the district is indulging in a special brand of cheerleading for the home team.

The proposed SPLOST VI, if approved by voters, would generate nearly $900 million from 2024-2029 for construction, maintenance and technology projects for both Cobb and Marietta schools.

Saying that “Cobb County will also win big due to the Braves’ success on the diamond,” the Cobb school district noted how out-of-town fans during the playoffs have already been boosting the local economy—and school SPLOST coffers by extension:

“Now, with worldwide attention focused on pro baseball’s most celebrated stage, Cobb County residents will once again benefit from outside money being spent locally, this time thanks to Astros fans. Every drink, snack, and souvenir purchased by every baseball fan at Truist will help fund education in Cobb County.

“Those 40,000+ fans won’t just be spending money at the park; they will also purchase many other items locally, like meals and gas, that help fund local businesses and services. The economic impact from the 2021 Braves will be felt long after the Commissioner’s Trophy is presented to the team.

“The NLCS and the World Series are high-profile events that bring notice to Cobb County, but they also bring dollars and help to stimulate and prosper our local economy. While most don’t often think of the economic impact of sports at the local level, they are incredibly significant. While we cheer for our home team to end Atlanta’s 26-year World Series win drought, we can also cheer that our local schools are being helped by dollars from Houston fans.”

The post linked to related news stories and a special video the district produced to promote the SPLOST but didn’t break down any dollar figures.

The one-percent sales tax was first approved by Cobb voters in 1998, but some critics wonder why the Cobb and Marietta school districts wanted a referendum two years before the current SPLOST expires.

There’s been some political pushback, both in terms of how previous school SPLOST funding has been distributed, and against current Cobb school board spending practices.

That prompted a reaction from Cobb superintendent Chris Ragsdale, as well as from parents and citizens working to extend the sales tax, including those advocating for a rebuild of Sprayberry High School.

As the Braves swept to a 6-2 Game 1 victory over the Astros Tuesday night in Houston, the Cobb school district posted a similar SPLOST message on its social media channels.

The district also posted separately on the coming rebuild of Eastvalley Elementary School, which is to be relocated to the former site of East Cobb Middle School on Holt Road, among other SPLOST-related stories on the district’s homepage.

The Eastvalley project is to be funded with revenue from the current SPLOST V, but a timetable for construction hasn’t been announced. The former ECMS campus is slated to be demolished by December.

Cobb schools report fewer than 100 active COVID-19 cases

October 23, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Mountain View Elementary School

For the first time in the 2021-22 school year, fewer than 100 active COVID-19 cases are being reported in the Cobb County School District.

The district’s weekly case notification report shows 86 cases currently, but 13 of them are at Mountain View Elementary School in East Cobb.

That’s the only school in the 112-campus district that’s in double figures this week, as cases continue a steady drop since the start of the school year.

Last week, that figure was at 136, under 200 for the first time since the first week of classes in early August.

But a surge in COVID-19 cases across the South ramped up those figures dramatically later into late August, surpassing 1,000 active cases at one point and prompting the entire 5th grade at East Side Elementary School in East Cobb to learn remotely for nearly two weeks.

This week, most schools are reporting no cases at all, including the following in East Cobb:

Elementary schools: Addison, Bells Ferry, Brumby, Davis, East Side, Eastvalley, Garrison Mill, Keheley, Mt. Bethel, Nicholson, Powers Ferry, Rocky Mount, Sedalia Park, Timber Ridge.
Middle schools: Daniell, Dodgen, Hightower Trail, McCleskey.
High schools: Lassiter, Sprayberry, Walton, Wheeler.

Cobb and Douglas Public Health figures from Friday indicated that the 14-day average of cases per 100,000 people in Cobb is 182, above the “high” threshold of 100. That’s a figure that also has been dropping in recent weeks.

The Georgia Department of Public Health keeps a 7-day moving average of COVID-19 figures, and for Cobb County that number is dropping toward that threshold, at 118 cases per 100,000 according to date of onset.

Walton HS parent announces campaign for Cobb school board

October 22, 2021 by Wendy Parker

The mother of four children in the Walton High School cluster who pushed for the Cobb County School District to drop its mask mandate during the 2020-21 school year has declared her intent to run for the Cobb Board of Education.

Cobb Board of Education Post 6 — CCSD map

Amy Henry, who moved with her family to East Cobb from DeKalb County in 2019, filed her declaration with the Cobb Board of Elections and Registration on Tuesday.

It says she is running as a Republican in Post 6, which includes most of the Walton and Wheeler clusters and part of the Campbell cluster.

That seat is currently held by first-term Democrat Charisse Davis, who has not announced whether she’s seeking re-election.

Henry was the leader of a group called “Let Parents Choose” (since renamed CCSD Parent Alliance) that pushed for in-person learning at the start of the 2020-21 school year.

That school year began with all-virtual learning after Superintendent Chris Ragsdale initially announced in-person classes, but switched due to high COVID-19 metrics.

Henry also spoke at school board meetings as a mask mandate continued in Cobb schools through the school year, urging the district go make masks optional.

“They need to have a normal childhood,” Henry told the school board in March. “We’re teaching them that they’re dirty. We’re creating a fearful environment that for these kids cannot be normal.”

That was right before other Cobb school parents filed a lawsuit trying to overturn the mask mandate (Henry wasn’t one of them). The suit was dropped when Ragsdale said in May that masks would be optional for 2021-22.

When contacted by East Cobb News, Henry declined to comment on why she’s running and to state her priorities, saying she wanted to wait until she makes a formal announcement at the Cobb Republican Party breakfast on Nov. 6.

She’s also involved in the revived East Cobb Cityhood effort, and has listed as her campaign chair Cindy Cooperman, who handles publicity for the current Cityhood committee.

Post 6 has traditionally been in Republican hands. In 2018, Davis, who lives in the Campbell cluster, edged two-term GOP board member Scott Sweeney, who is now the chairman of the state board of education (and also is part of the Cityhood group).

That seat is one of three up for grabs in 2022 elections, with the lines for those three posts expected to change.

Members of the Cobb legislative delegation will redraw Cobb Board of Education post boundaries after the first of the year, following Congressional and legislative reapportionment.

In Post 4 (Sprayberry and Kell clusters), three-term Republican incumbent David Chastain has said he is seeking re-election but hasn’t formally announced; the only announced Democrat is Kennesaw State University student Austin Heller (previous ECN story here).

Democrat Jaha Howard, a first-term board member from Post 2 (Campbell and Osborne clusters), recently announced his intent to run for state school superintendent.

Republicans hold a 4-3 majority on the school board. In 2020, three of the current GOP members won re-election to maintain that edge.

Davis and Howard have challenged their GOP colleagues on racial and equity initiatives and have questioned the Cobb school district’s COVID-19 protocols, often leading to contentious disputes at board meetings.

In 2019, the Republican majority passed a policy change to bar board members from making comments during public meetings, with Davis and Howard objecting, calling it censorship.

In late 2020, after the elections, the GOP members approved a policy change that allowed board members to add agenda items to public meetings only if a board majority approved.

At the October board meeting, and in a party-line vote, the Republicans approved a resolution condemning Antisemitism and racism that the Democrats said took them by surprise. Davis was absent from the meeting.

Cobb County School District’s 2021 graduation rates released

October 21, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Pope High School, Cobb SAT scores

The Cobb County School District announced Thursday its graduation rates for the Class of 2021, and three high schools in East Cobb are near the top of the list.

Pope High School had a 97.2 percent graduation rate, second only to Harrison High School, which led the district at 97.7 percent (full table below).

Lassiter and Walton tied for third at 96.1 percent; they were among the six schools in the 16-high school district at or above 96 percent, according to a release.

Also in East Cobb, Kell’s graduation rate was 88.9 percent, Wheeler’s was 87.1 percent and Sprayberry’s was 86.3.

The Cobb school district average was 87.2 percent, ahead of the statewide average of 83.7 percent.

All of those figures are calculated by the U.S. Department of Education, which covers a four-year period, including students who are enrolled for a minimum of one day over that time.

Here’s how the Cobb school district is explaining what it calls a more accurate reflection of graduation rates, and as shown in the table below:

“The federally mandated method for calculating the 4-year graduation rate includes all students expected to graduate in 2021, including those enrolled for a single day. When examining the graduation rate for students enrolled for a minimum of two years in Cobb Schools, the graduation rate for the district is 92.3%. The graduation rate climbs to 94.6% for students enrolled for three years in Cobb. Cobb’s 16 traditional high schools all have graduation rates above 91% for students who attended all four years.”

Cobb schools 2021 graduation rates

Walton, Wheeler lead Cobb schools in 2021 ACT scores

October 19, 2021October 19, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Walton High School

Students at Walton and Wheeler high schools in East Cobb had the highest composite scores in the ACT in the Cobb County School District for 2021.

The district sent out a release Tuesday morning saying that Walton students in the Class of 2021 had an ACT composite of 27.6 and Wheeler students were at 27.1.

The overall Cobb school district’s composite score was 24.3 across 16 high schools, higher than the Georgia average of 22.6 and the national average of 20.3.

The Cobb score is 1.1 percent higher than 2020. The district explained how the ACT works:

“The composite ACT score is based on curriculum-based tests in English, math, reading, and science. Cobb students scored 24.0 in English, 23.7 in math, 25.1 in reading, and 23.9 in science – all above the Georgia and national averages.”

The district statement said that Wheeler students had two-point gains in English, reading, math and science over 2020, and Sprayberry students scored 2.3 percent higher in science in 2021 from the previous year.

There were 15 students with perfect individual composite scores of 36 on the ACT. Four graduated from Wheeler, two from Lassiter and one each were from Pope and Sprayberry.

More from the district release; here are the ACT breakdowns at the six East Cobb high schools. The number in parenthesis next to the school name is the number of students at that school taking the test:

	Avg. Composite	Avg. English	Avg. Math	Avg. Reading	Avg. Science
Kell (79)	21.7	20.6	21.3	22.3	22.1
Lassiter (194))	25.5	25.2	25.2	26.3	24.8
Pope (180)	25.6	26.0	25.2	26.3	24.7
Sprayberry (52)	22.5	22.2	21.2	23.2	22.8
Walton (300)	27.6	28.1	27.0	28.0	27.0
Wheeler (107)	27.1	27.1	26.6	27.7	26.7

Cobb superintendent defends Ed-SPLOST funding distribution

October 16, 2021October 16, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Cobb Education SPLOST critics — *A Cobb school district graphic shows how SPLOST funds have been distributed by school board post.*

During a Cobb Board of Education meeting Thursday night, school superintendent Chris Ragsdale took issue with criticism of how Education SPLOST funds have been distributed across the county.

Early voting began Monday in a Cobb Education SPLOST VI referendum that would extend the one-percent sales tax for school construction, maintenance and technology from 2024-28.

That extension, if approved, would provide nearly $900 million for the Cobb County School District and Marietta City Schools.

The Education SPLOST (Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax) began in 1999 and has been extended by voters ever since. The current SPLOST V expires Dec. 31, 2023, and is expected to collect nearly $800 million.

At a SPLOST virtual town hall earlier this week held by the Mableton Improvement Coalition, there were complaints that some parts of Cobb County were being left behind in SPLOST funding.

“I truly do not understand how anyone in due conscience can propagate such a false narrative,” he said. “I need to present data to show a true and accurate picture of SPLOST. Some continue to push the idea that only certain schools or areas of Cobb get the majority of SPLOST funding.”

Ragsdale then showed a pie chart illustrating how SPLOST revenues from the first five sales tax collections have been distributed, according to school board post (above).

Although dollar figures were not provided, the chart showed that Post 2 (Smyrna/South Cobb), Post 1 (North/West Cobb), Post 6 (Part of East Cobb/Cumberland) and Post 3 (South Cobb/Mableton/Austell) have had the highest percentages.

The other two East Cobb-area posts, 4 and 5, and Post 7 (West Cobb/Powder Springs) had the lowest percentages, at around 10 percent each.

“Cobb has always provided SPLOST funds to the areas of greatest need,” Ragsdale said, reading from prepared remarks. “Those areas change over time. . . . When those needs change, that’s where the funding will be provided as well.”

Ragsdale did not respond to citizens who spoke earlier in the meeting that they were opposing SPLOST because they think the Cobb school district isn’t doing a good job handling the money.

Among the critics is Heather Tolley-Bauer, an East Cobb resident and a co-founder of Watching the Funds, a citizen watchdog group that’s been tracking Cobb school district finances since late last year.

The group (we profiled WTF in July) has been critical of district spending on COVID-19 safety measures, as well as the AlertPoint emergency system that has malfunctioned.

Her message was “No Accountability, No SPLOST.”

“In the past I’ve voted yes, but as a parent and an advocate for fiscal responsibility in our schools this year I will vote no,” Tolley-Bauer said during a public comment session. “And I am not alone.

“Because of the actions of this board, we have no confidence in you. . . . Why have you neglected your fiduciary responsibility to us?”

Later Thursday, the school district posted the pie chart on its Facebook page but faced more criticism from voters who made similar complaints.

Some wanted to know more details of how the district has been spending federal money designated for COVID-19 recovery, and the district linked to a Georgia Department of Education page with related information.

That didn’t satisfy some citizens, including one who wrote “Clean house, CCSD leadership and I, along with a large number, will happily vote for this 2024 SPLOST.”

Those responses have concerned parents who are advocating for SPLOST VI, which includes a rebuild of the main campus building at Sprayberry High School (full list of projects here).

They’re having a community meeting on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the school (2525 Sandy Plains Road) to go over the proposed rebuild, as well as newly approved projects for a new Sprayberry gym and renovations to the school’s career training facility.

Shane Spink, a leader of the Sprayberry rebuild effort, has continued to counter current criticisms by saying that the “Ed-SPLOST is not about the curriculum or school board policies. The Ed-SPLOST is not partisan. The project list for Cobb County School District reaches across party lines of the school boards and each and every Cobb County School gets improvements through this.”

Judge denies restraining order in Cobb schools mask lawsuit

October 15, 2021 by Wendy Parker

A federal judge has sided with the Cobb County School District in denying a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction sought by parents who’ve filed a lawsuit over the district’s COVID-19 policies.

They’ve alleged their medically fragile students are being denied a proper in-person education under the federal Americans With Disabilities Act because of what they claim are the district’s lacking safety protocols, including a masks-optional policy.

After a hearing Friday morning, Chief Judge Timothy Batten of the U.S. District Court for Northern Georgia in Atlanta said the plaintiffs haven’t proven differing treatment because those policies apply to all students.

“Plaintiffs essentially ask this Court to second-guess Defendants’ operational decision making and wrest from Defendants’ control the authority to decide how to best protect students’ health,” Batten wrote in his order denying them immediate relief. “The Court finds that Defendants have made an informed choice that is neither arbitrary nor unreasonable, and declines Plaintiffs’ invitation to usurp this function of the executive branch.”

(You can read the full order here.)

Batten is essentially making the same argument the district claimed earlier this week in its response to the lawsuit (our story from Thursday), which names Superintendent Chris Ragsdale and the seven members of the Cobb Board of Education as defendants.

Batten continued by saying that “plaintiffs—like all students in Cobb County—were given the option to attend virtual school in lieu of in-person classes. Plaintiffs’ attempt to allege disparate treatment by a facially neutral policy that applies to disabled and non-disabled students alike, and their argument falls well short of the high bar required for injunctive relief.”

The lawsuit, filed by two Atlanta-area attorneys and the Southern Poverty Law Center, demands that the Cobb school district follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control guidance for schools, including universal masking.

That’s the recommendation of Cobb and Douglas Public Health, which filed a declaration on behalf of the plaintiffs.

But in his order, Batten didn’t weigh in on those matters.

“While Plaintiffs may prefer a mask mandate and other stricter policies, Defendants are not required to provide Plaintiffs with their preferred accommodation,” the judge wrote. “So long as Plaintiffs are offered meaningful access to education—and the Court finds that they have been—Defendants have adequately accommodated Plaintiffs and their disabilities and thus, Plaintiffs cannot show a substantial likelihood of success on the merits.”

He concluded by saying that “because Plaintiffs cannot show a substantial likelihood of success of their disability discrimination claim, the Court need not consider the alleged irreparable injury from which they suffer, nor need it balance the equities or consider the public’s interest.”

Cobb County School District responds to federal mask lawsuit

October 14, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Cobb school district responds mask lawsuit — *John Floresta, Cobb County School District Chief Accountability and Strategy Officer*

The Cobb County School District is asking the federal courts to reject a lawsuit filed against it by parents of medically fragile students.

The district’s response, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for Northern Georgia, accuses the plaintiffs of inviting the legal system “to weigh in on matters of local politics by second-guessing the wisdom of CCSD’s COVID-19 mask policy.”

The plaintiffs also are seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to impose a mask mandate, and a hearing will take place on that matter Friday morning.

The four parents have asserted in their lawsuit that their children are not able to get an appropriate in-person education due to the district’s masks-optional policy, which Superintendent Chris Ragsdale vigorously defended in September.

They are suing under provisions of the federal Americans With Disabilities Act.

From the introduction to the district’s response (which you can read in full here):

“Though reasonable minds might disagree over whether schools should mandate masks, school districts have exclusive domain over these operational decisions. CCSD has made its safety decisions based on verified public health data, scientific guidance, and consideration of the needs of all students. It has chosen what it believes is right for Cobb County. Plaintiffs’ request for a TRO and preliminary injunction is just the latest attempt by one side of the political debate to usurp a school district’s operational autonomy over COVID-19 policy.”

Furthermore, the district said it has “reasonably accommodated” the disabilities of the affected students with “its numerous other pandemic safety measures, robust virtual offerings and individualized supports.”

The response also claims that the plaintiffs cannot show “irreparable harm because they are simply complaining about not receiving their preferred educational services—not a deprivation of access to education altogether.”

In a separate declaration, John Floresta, the district’s Chief Accountability and Strategy Officer, stressed that “the District’s position is not ‘anti-mask.’ The District strongly recommends wearing a mask. The District simply leaves the final decision on whether to wear one to the individual.”

In its reply to the district’s response, the plaintiffs contend (you can read it here) that “while the District claims that it has relied on verified public health data and scientific guidance to inform its recent decisions, it only cites a widely discredited pseudoscientist, whose opinions have been denounced by the public health and medical community.”

That’s a reference to Jay Bhattacharya, a former professor at the Stanford University medical school who currently teaches health policy there, and who is a high-profile skeptic of some COVID-19 mitigation, including masking school children.

In his declaration for the Cobb school district (you can read it here), he provided a copy of his recent report, “Scientific Evidence on COVID, Children and Mask Mandates” that concludes by saying “there is no scientific or medical reason to require masking school children.”

Cobb is one of the few school districts in metro Atlanta that does not have a mask mandate, something it had last year. Marietta City Schools announced Thursday that it was returning to a masks-optional policy, after requiring them in recent weeks.

The Cobb plaintiffs, who are being represented by two local attorneys and the Southern Poverty Law Center, have assembled documents from local and nationally known public health figures as well.

They include Dr. Janet Memark, director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health, who has urged schools to follow current U.S. Centers for Disease Control guidance for universal masking in schools.

She reiterated that guidance in her declaration, saying that “CDPH has consistently advised the Cobb County School District that the use of masks is one of the primary intervention strategies to help control the spread of COVID-19. This remains CPDH’s recommendation today.”

The Cobb school district maintains in its response that it “has developed robust COVID-19 response and intervention strategies based on guidance from public health agencies.”

The district also claims in its response that “Cobb County school-aged children had lower rates of infection than two of its mask-mandated neighboring counties during the September peak, and it often had the same or lower rates of infection than the five neighboring mask-mandated counties since the start of the 2021-2022 school year.”

The plaintiffs’ attorneys included a recent e-mail by Cobb school board member David Banks sent to his East Cobb constituents urging people not to get the COVID-19 vaccine, with a message saying that the government is “intentionally killing its citizens.”

The Cobb school district was sued in April by parents opposed to the district’s mask mandate at the time.

The suit was dropped when Superintendent Chris Ragsdale announced in May that there would be a masks-optional policy for the 2021-22 school year.

Cobb school board passes ‘Antisemitism and Racism’ resolution

October 14, 2021October 14, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Cobb schools antiSemitism antiracism resolution — *Cobb school board member Jaha Howard tried to amend the resolution to include a provision to change the names of schools named after Confederate figures, a reference to Wheeler High School.*

The Cobb Board of Education’s Republican majority approved what’s been titled an “Antisemitism and Racism” resolution Thursday despite efforts by their Democratic colleagues to delay the matter.

By a party line 4-2 vote, the board’s GOP members adopted a resolution during a Thursday afternoon work session that chairman Randy Scamihorn said would be forthcoming in September, following the discovery of swastika graffiti at Pope and Lassiter high schools.

The district has said it has brought disciplinary charges against the students involved, but has not elaborated. That didn’t satisfy some local Jewish leaders who wanted a stronger response that specifically mentioned antisemitism.

The resolution states in part that:

“These acts demonstrate that antisemitism, antiracism and other forms of hate still exist in our communities and must be addressed requiring our full commitment to actively work and continue to build an inclusive school district built on trust and respect for all.”

The resolution was added late to the board’s agenda, and a copy was not made available in advance of the meeting.

East Cobb News received a photo copy of the resolution from the district shortly after the work session (see below).

Cobb schools antisemitism racism resolution

Democratic board member Tre’ Hutchins of South Cobb tried to get the vote on the resolution delayed to November, saying that as a board member, “I prefer that we get it right the first time.

“I don’t feel like were in that place. . . . I want us to have more time to digest what has been presented to us, and make sure we get it right as a board.”

But his motion to table failed 2-4 (along the same party lines), as did a proposed amendment by Jaha Howard, also a Democrat on the school board.

He wanted the resolution to include provisions to change the names of schools named after military figures in the Confederacy—a reference to Wheeler High School—to names “that reflect the goal of inclusion.”

Howard also said that the board received the resolution only on Monday night, and that “we haven’t had time to digest it.”

His motion also failed by the same 2-4 vote. Democrat Charisse Davis, whose Post 6 includes the Wheeler and Walton clusters, was absent from the work session.

Both Howard and Hutchins said they thought the resolution would be solely regarding antisemitism.

“We are getting ready to vote on something that we have not read, that does not just include antisemitism,” Hutchins said.

Scamihorn said of the resolution that “the community helped put this together” and that it was not driven by the chairman.

A Republican from Post 1 in North Cobb, Scamihorn attended a Yom Kippur service at Temple Kol Emeth in East Cobb in the wake of the Pope and Lassiter incidents, and was asked to hold the Torah at that service, during the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.

But the reaction to the resolution was not embraced by some in the Jewish community. The Southeast Division of the Anti-Defamation League in Atlanta issued the following statement Thursday night:

“The Cobb County Schools Board of Education’s resolution in response to recent antisemitic incidents is a good first step, but unless followed by specific actions, it’s an empty gesture. Hate in all forms must be responded to with action and education, not empty value statements.

“Adding the resolution to the agenda just before today’s Board of Education work session prevented members of the Cobb County community from making their voices heard and other board members from reviewing it thoroughly.

“We can’t support this as an adequate response without a commitment to a specific plan to use education to combat antisemitism and prevent future acts of hate in Cobb County Schools. We look forward to seeing the county’s action plan.”

At the Thursday night school board voting meeting, the board heard similar complaints. Some urged the Cobb school district to reintroduce the ADL’s No Place For Hate educational program, which was eliminated earlier this year.

Herschel Greenblatt, a 100-year-old Holocaust survivor who was recognized by the school board last month, was among them.

In his remarks, he told board members “I hope you go beyond words and take action,” saying the anti-Semitic graffiti in Cobb schools “should never, ever happen again.

In 2020, the school board was unable to come to a consensus on an antiracism resolution, after partisan differences over language, including the use of the phrase “systemic racism.”

Advocates for changing the name of Wheeler High School have complained that their attempts to communicate with school board members have been ignored for months.

The issue has not been included on any school board agenda since first coming up in 2020.

3 middle schools in East Cobb earn high U.S. News rankings

October 14, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Dickerson MS

For the first time, U.S. News and World Report is ranking schools below the high school level in its annual listings.

The first K-8 listings, which were released earlier this week, include three middle schools in East Cobb that are ranked near the top in the state of Georgia.

Dickerson, Dodgen and Hightower Trail come in at 5-7 in the state middle school rankings—you can read them here.

Other middle schools in the East Cobb area are Simpson at 25, Mabry at 34, Daniell at 120, McCleskey at 151 and East Cobb at 261.

There are no East Cobb elementary schools in the Top 10 in Georgia, but Murdock ES comes in at 12, Timber Ridge is at 17 and Mountain View is at 20—you can read the list here, and Sope Creek, Tritt and Mt. Bethel ES are in the 30s.

U.S. News explains its methodology here, and has a search tool by grade level and school name.

The database also includes preschools, but they’re not ranked (an example of what’s contained for each school is included here, of Bells Ferry ES).

U.S. News isn’t doing national rankings at the elementary school and middle school levels, unlike high schools. Currently, Walton is ranked No. 4 in Georgia and No. 197 nationally, the highest in the Cobb County School District.

Lassiter is 10/336, Pope is 20/369, Wheeler is 45/1,935, Kell is 74/3,187 and Sprayberry is 89/3,692.

Cobb school board to consider Sprayberry, Sope Creek projects

October 12, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Sprayberry High School, Cobb Education SPLOST

A construction bid for a new gymnasium and the renovation of an existing career training center at Sprayberry High School will be presented to the Cobb Board of Education Thursday.

The board also will be asked to consider a construction bid for a new physical education building at Sope Creek Elementary School and the purchase of 12 air-conditioned school buses.

Those measures will be introduced at a work session that starts at 1:30 p.m. and be presented for voting action at a business meeting at 7 p.m.

Both meetings will take place at the Cobb County School District central office (514 Glover St., Marietta), and you can read through the agendas by clicking here.

The meetings also will be live-streamed on the district’s BoxCast channel and on CobbEdTV, Comcast Channel 24.

An executive session will take place between the two public meetings.

The joint Sprayberry projects total nearly $23 million in current Cobb Education SPLOST V funds. The Cobb County School District is recommending the bid go to Balfour Beatty Construction of Atlanta, with completion anticipated by March 2023.

Those projects have been on the wish list of those in the Sprayberry area for some time. Advocates for a rebuild of the school’s main classroom building are holding an open house Oct. 19 that also will include more details on the gym/CTAE projects.

The rebuild is included in the project list for a proposed SPLOST VI collection period that’s on the November ballot (early voting started Tuesday; see above link for details). If approved by voters, that extension of the one-percent sales tax for school construction, maintenance and technology projects would take place from 2024-29.

SPLOST IV funds have been earmarked for a replacement for the physical education building at Sope Creek Elementary. The district is recommending a bid of $2.8 million by Swofford Construction Inc. of Austell, with completion tentatively set for June 2022.

The district is also asking for $512,000 in SPLOST V funds to help purchase 12 new school buses from Yancey Bus Sales and Service. The total cost is $1.4 million, with $926,640 coming in state school bus bond funds.

At the school board work session, there will be presentations by Superintendent Chris Ragsdale and his staff on mathematics curriculum, hiring and compensation issues, a monthly financial status and a general fund report as of June 30, the end of fiscal year 2021.

There are no board business items included on the current agenda for the work session.

At the evening meeting, the board will hold recognitions for National School Bus Safety Week and the disrict’s Bus Driver Appreciation Week.

At both meetings there will be public comment sessions. Individuals must sign up online in advance at this link, which will be activated at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Cobb Ed SPLOST headlines 2021 ballot; early voting to start

October 9, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Sprayberry High School, Cobb Education SPLOST

Cobb County voters can cast in-person ballots as soon as Tuesday as early voting starts for the 2021 elections, which culminate on Nov. 2.

Advance voting will conclude on Oct. 29 and will include two Saturdays, Oct. 16 and 23.

The only advance voting location in the East Cobb area is The Art Place (3330 Sandy Plains Road); for more on locations, dates and times, click here.

While citizens in Cobb’s six cities will be voting in municipal elections, voters across the county will be asked if they want to extend the one-percent sales tax to fund construction, maintenance and technology projects for the Cobb County School District.

It’s called Cobb Education SPLOST VI, and it would raise $894 million from 2024-29 (our summary story from May; full project notebook here).

Among the major projects on the project list approved by the Cobb Board of Education is a reconstruction of the main Sprayberry High School classroom building. Also slated for new classroom additions are Kincaid, Mt. Bethel, Murdock, Sope Creek and Tritt elementary schools in East Cobb.

Sprayberry rebuild supporters have been publicly advocating for several months for extending the SPLOST, noting that the 50-year-old building at Sandy Plains Road and Piedmont Road is wearing down while other high schools in the East Cobb area have had major renovations and rebuilds (Walton, Wheeler).

They’re holding an Oct. 19 open house to provide more information, where details of the new Sprayberry gymnasium and CTAE facility also will be available.

“We’re excited about being on [the ballot],” Sprayberry parent Shane Spink said.

In recent weeks some citizens have expressed concerns about renewing the SPLOST amid turbulence on the Cobb Board of Education. A reader wrote on the East Cobb News Facebook page this week saying that’s why she’s voting against a SPLOST for the first time.

“I have little confidence in some of the current Cobb County School District Board members and its Superintendent,” Melissa O’Brien wrote. “In a year and a half full of COVID-related chaos, one would expect the 25th largest school district in the country to step up to the challenge.”

She said she thinks the Cobb school district hasn’t wisely spent federal CARES Act funding and implemented stronger COVID-19 safety protocols, and was upset at board member David Banks sending an e-mail from his official address discouraging the vaccines.

Spink said he understands the concerns but said the SPLOST isn’t a partisan issue and has broad countywide impact.

“Every school benefits from this,” he said. “We shouldn’t be cutting off our noses to spite our faces. This is about our kids, the teachers and our community.”

As we noted previously, you can request an absentee ballot just as you did last year; the deadline for that is Oct. 22; absentee ballots will start going out in the mail on Monday for those who’ve already signed up.

Cobb Elections must receive your absentee ballot by 7 p.m. on Nov. 2, election day, either by mail or at an early voting location during voting hours. There won’t be the outdoor dropboxes that were available in 2020.

Voters who elect to go to the polls on Nov. 2 will cast ballots at their normal precincts between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

For questions and for more information, visit cobbcounty.org/elections email [email protected], or call 770-528-2581.

Cobb schools report continuing drop in COVID-19 cases

October 9, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Reported COVID-19 case rates in the Cobb County School District are continuing to fall after the fall break.

The district reported on Friday that there are 262 active cases in the 112-school system, the lowest single-week tally since 185 cases the first week of the current 2021-22 school year.

Only four schools are reporting double-figures in active cases, including 11 at Tritt Elementary School in East Cobb. The others are Dowell ES (12), Teasley ES (21) and Osborne HS (11).

There are nine cases each at Eastvalley ES and Simpson MS.

A number of schools have no active cases, including Bells Ferry ES, Garrison Mill ES, Kincaid ES, Nicholson ES, Powers Ferry ES, Daniell MS, Dodgen MS and McCleskey MS in East Cobb.

Friday was the first reporting date since the fall break the last week of September. On Sept. 24, there were 394 cases.

The district’s figures are staff and students combined and do not include individuals under quarantine.

Since the start of the school year, reported cases rose sharply in Cobb, to 1,033 the week of Aug. 27.

The entire fifth grade at East Side Elementary School was sent home to learn remotely for nearly two weeks due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

Parents demanding Cobb schools mandate masks were met by counter protestors. But Superintendent Chris Ragsdale didn’t budge from maintaining a masks-optional policy, even after the Cobb Board of Health—of which he is a member—issued a position statement in favor of a mandate.

But in September, those numbers began falling nearly as rapidly.

At the September Cobb Board of Education meeting, Ragsdale defended the masks-optional policy further, even as nearby districts maintained their mandate.

Four Cobb school parents filed a federal lawsuit against the district last week, saying its COVID-19 protocols, including a masks-optional policy, are preventing their medically fragile children from getting a proper education.

The district is facing a deadline to respond next week to a motion from the plaintiffs seeking a temporary injunction to require masks.

A Fulton County judge this week sided with the Fulton County School System after parents challenged its mask mandate.

Wheeler Name Change group to hold virtual town hall

October 9, 2021October 7, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Submitted information from Zoe Shepard of the Wheeler Name Change Initiative:

“We will be having our second virtual town hall on Monday October 11 at 6:00pm where we will be recounting our initiative, giving updates, and opening the floor to questions.

“We are continuing to reach out to the board and attend board meetings, though we are still unable to elicit a response. Over the summer, we attended the June board meeting then launched an email campaign sending emails three times a week throughout the month of July.”

More specifically:

“Each board member received 22 emails from students within the initiative, but majority of the Board failed to respond even once.

“If the Board cannot adequately address the concerns of the community, they cannot properly represent said community. The sole obligation of the Board members is being willfully neglected, and we deserve better.”

There are two ways to sign up to watch the town hall: GoTo Webinar and Linktree.

Previous ECN coverage can be found here.

Cobb school board member to run for state school superintendent

October 7, 2021October 6, 2021 by Wendy Parker

First-term Cobb Board of Education member Jaha Howard has filed paperwork run for Georgia Superintendent of Schools in 2022. Cobb school board COVID safety letter

Howard, a Democrat from Post 2 (Campbell and Osborne clusters) registered his campaign committee with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission on Sunday.

In late June, he filed a Declaration of Intent form with the same agency but didn’t specify which office he was seeking.

Official qualifying begins early next year for the May 2022 primaries.

A pediatric dentist from Vinings, Howard has been a controversial figure in his nearly three-year tenure on the school board, pressing for action on racial and diversity issues and challenging the Cobb County School District’s COVID-19 policies.

When he attempted to question Superintendent Chris Ragsdale about those protocols at the September board meeting, he was cut off by chairman Randy Scamihorn.

He and fellow board Democrats Charisse Davis and Tre’ Hutchins then walked out of the meeting room in protest.

That was the latest of several instances of party conflict on the Cobb school board since 2019.

Earlier this year, the three Democrats requested a special review by Cognia, the Cobb school district’s accrediting agency, that is expected to be released soon.

Howard is one of three school board members up for re-election in 2022.

Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters in Post 6, has not announced whether she’s seeking a second term.

Also in East Cobb’s Post 4, Republican David Chastain has said he will be running again. Kennesaw State University student Austin Heller is an announced candidate as a Democrat for that post, which includes the Kell and Sprayberry clusters.

No candidates have yet announced for Post 2. That was one of two school board seats that swung from GOP to Democrat in 2018 (along with Post 6), reducing Republican majority to 4-3.

Howard unsuccessfully ran in a special election for a State Senate seat in 2017, losing to Jen Jordan. She has announced she’s running for Georgia Attorney General next year.

Cobb schools online learning lottery opens for spring semester

October 6, 2021October 6, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Submitted information:

As Superintendent Chris Ragsdale announced during the August Cobb Board of Education meeting, Cobb families will once again have an opportunity to choose the learning environment that best supports the needs of their student(s).

The District is offering all students (PK-12th grade) the option to enter a lottery for seats in the Elementary Virtual Program (EVP) or Cobb Online Learning Academy (COLA) at Cobb Horizon starting in January 2022.

Elementary lottery winners will remain enrolled in their current schools but will receive all instruction virtually from a certified EVP teacher starting in January. Middle and high school lottery winners will be withdrawn from their current schools and enrolled in COLA for the spring semester.

Enrolling adults may enter the lottery for full-time online learning between October 6th and October 19th, 2021.

Starting on October 6th, enrolling adults may enter the online learning lottery through ParentVue. Once logged in to ParentVue, enrolling adults should click Online Learning Lottery in the menu on the left and then click again at the top of the page. Select your choice for each of your students and click submit. You will receive an email confirmation regarding your lottery entry after the lottery window closes.

Lottery results will be emailed in early November.

Cobb school board member’s e-mail discourages COVID vaccines

October 5, 2021October 5, 2021 by Wendy Parker

David Banks, Cobb school board member — *David Banks taking the oath of office at the start of his fourth term in January. Photo: Cobb County School District*

Cobb Board of Education member David Banks has sent an e-mail to constituents that strongly discourages them from getting the COVID-19 vaccine and accuses the government of “intentionally killing its citizens.”

Banks, who is in his fourth term representing Post 5 (Pope and Lassiter clusters), sent the e-email Sunday afternoon via his official school board e-mail address, that cited figures about adverse effects of the vaccine from a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

The body of the message is as follows:

“It just gets worse and worse. The CDC has now published the Adverse effects of Covid Shots through September 24, 2021. (see item 8 of the attached.) The number of deaths resulting directly from Covid shots in the US alone are at a minimum of 122,592 based on the CDC September 24 report. Serious permanent injury from the shots has happened to more than 100,000 people. That is unacceptable. The government is intentionally killing its citizens. The Governments at all levels in America continue to take actions to force people to take the shots. There is no medical reason supporting those actions. Covid shots were proven NOT TO WORK almost two years ago in the governments own mandated trials performed by Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J. See item 2 of the attachment. My advice. Do not take the shots if you have not already done so. Contact your state and federal legislators and share the attachment with them.”

The attachment referred to, entitled “Things to Know About Covid19,” can be found by clicking here.

The source is from Macht Im Wissen Inc. of Georgia, and its CEO is Emery Leonard.

The phrase is German for “Knowledge is Power” and Leonard is an Atlanta resident and retired benefits professional.

At the bottom of the attachment, Leonard explained that he started an e-mail list to send “confirmed facts about current issues. My intention is to provide only true facts, show how they may interplay, or even affect you personally. Any factual information I may cite will not come from the media, as the media is not a reliable and trustworthy source.”

The attachment is broken down into several subjects, including the effectiveness of masks (“masks don’t work”), the COVID-19 vaccines, presidential COVID-19 advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci and alternative treatments.

Leonard claims the the COVID-19 virus was created in a lab in China “and does not exist in nature,” and advocates for the use of substances such as Ivermectin and Hyrdoxycloroquine, which have been controversial subjects..

He also alleges that “there is no valid test for Covid19” and “there is NO valid test for any variation of the Covid virus.”

East Cobb News has left Banks a message seeking comment.

A constituent who forwarded his e-mail and attachment to East Cobb News said that she found it “very disturbing that this information is being circulated from an elected official and makes me despair over the decisions being made for the safety of my three children in Cobb County schools.”

Banks is the board’s current vice chairman and is part of a four-member Republican majority. Most of those members have not worn masks during in-person board meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic (along with Superintendent Chris Ragsdale).

Banks has said previously he doesn’t wear a mask because he thinks they don’t work.

Last August, he included an item in his “Grapevine” e-mail newsletter to constituents making reference to COVID-19 as the “China Virus,” upsetting some constituents.

He didn’t reply to an East Cobb News story for comment, and later responded that he got few negative replies to that e-mail and that “these people are racists and you carried their water.”

The Cobb County School District is one of the few in metro Atlanta with a masks-optional policy for the 2021-22 school year, after requiring masks last school year.

Before school board meetings in August and September, there have been pro-mask mandate rallies met by counter-demonstrators arguing that mask use should not be a parental and student choice.

On Friday, Cobb schools were sued by the parents of four medically fragile students who said the district’s COVID-19 policies, including masks-optional, make it impossible for their children to have an in-person education.

On Tuesday, the non-profit news organization Pro Publica published a lengthy piece interviewing parents of Cobb school district students concerned about high COVID-19 case numbers at the start of the school year.

They included East Cobb parents and a family with students at East Side Elementary School affected by the decision for fifth graders to learn remotely for more than two weeks.

The story was written by Nicole Carr, an Atlanta journalist who has pulled her own children from Cobb schools because of the masks-optional policy.

Cobb school board to hold special called meeting Thursday

October 4, 2021 by Wendy Parker

The Cobb Board of Education will hold a special called meeting on Thursday to discuss legal matters, according to a notice posted on by the Cobb County School District website Monday.

The notice says the meeting will begin at 1 p.m. in the board room of the CCD central office (514 Glover St., Marietta) and then the board will convene to an executive session.

Elected bodies can discuss land, legal and personnel matters in executive sessions.

The district message didn’t elaborate what specific legal issues will be discussed.

On Friday, four parents with students in the Cobb school district filed a federal lawsuit, claiming COVID-19 protocols are preventing their medically fragile children from getting a proper education under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Cobb schools is one of the few districts in metro Atlanta with a masks-optional policy, which the lawsuit cites, along with other distancing and safety measures the plaintiffs have alleged are not adequate.

In response to a request from East Cobb News for comment about the lawsuit, a district spokeswoman said this on Monday:

“As is the case with any issue, individual student needs are supported on a student-by-student basis and we actively encourage any student or family to discuss their needs with their local school. We cannot comment on pending lawsuits but appreciate the support of Nelson Mullins on all legal matters concerning the school district.”

The Cobb school district also is awaiting a report from its accrediting agency, which conducted a special review in August after getting complaints from three board members and 50 community members about governance, equity and academic performance issues.

Cobb school district sued by parents over COVID-19 protocols

October 1, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Cobb schools sued COVID-19 protocols — *The middle school son of East Cobb resident Sara Cavorley has been learning at home due to a rare form of cancer.*

Four parents of Cobb County School District students with disabilities or illnesses have filed a federal lawsuit against the district, saying its COVID-19 protocols aren’t protecting the students’ safety.

One of the parents is Sara Cavorley, whom East Cobb News profiled in August after she pulled four of her children out of schools in the Sprayberry High School attendance zone.

She did so, she said at the time, to protect her homebound son, a 13-year-old enrolled at Simpson Middle School but who suffers from acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a rare form of cancer.

Cavorley said she was unaware of the district’s masks-optional policy when the 2021-22 school year arrived and was upset that parents could not switch from in-person to virtual learning, as they could do during the previous school year.

In their lawsuit (you can read it here), filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta by local attorneys working with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Cavorley and the other three Cobb schools parents allege that the Cobb school district’s “current COVID-19 response jeopardizes the health and safety of more than 110,000 individuals in the District, approximately 15,000 of whom are students with disabilities, like Plaintiffs, as well as the District’s employees and the entire Cobb County community.”

As a result, the lawsuit contends, their children can no longer attend classes in person, and they are being deprived of an appropriate education.

According to the lawsuit, the Cobb school district has “acted with deliberate indifference to Plaintiffs’ rights to inclusion, health, and education” and are seeking “relief from this Court to ensure they receive the educational services, programs, and benefits to which they are legally entitled” under the federal Americans With Disabilities Act.

Ragsdale and each of the seven members of the Cobb Board of Education are listed as defendants.

The defendants are asking the court to require the Cobb school district to develop COVID-19 protocols that follow existing CDC guidelines for schools and to “maintain consistency with CDC guidelines in the event of subsequent changes.”

Earlier this spring, parents opposed to the district’s mask mandate at the time filed a federal lawsuit, but their attempt for a temporary injunction was denied. They dropped their suit when Ragsdale announced that a masks-optional policy would be in place for the 2021-22 school year.

In the August East Cobb News profile, Cavorley said she kept her children at home in the Cobb school district’s virtual option last school year to protect her son Leland, who needs regular blood transfusions.

He also was not old enough at the time to get the COVID-19 vaccine, which is available to people ages 12 and older.

But she wanted her children to return to in-person learning for this school year, and said they were upset when they returned to classes to be around staff and other students who weren’t wearing masks.

The lawsuit said her son has been vaccinated and his doctors approved him returning to in-person classes “so long as the 2020-2021 safety protocols were in place, namely universal masking, plexiglass between students, and social distancing. [Her son’s] doctors advised against him attending school in-person if the District discontinued those safety protocols.”

Cavorley withdrew her son from in-school instruction and requested hospital/homebound (HHB) services for him, according to the suit, which further claims that “HHB is not an appropriate placement for a child who could attend school in-person with reasonable modifications.”

The lawsuit continues that he gets only five hours of instruction a week and is isolated from his peers, as are the children of the other parents in the lawsuit.

According to the suit, the Cobb school district threatened to disenroll Cavorley’s other children, and her homebound son’s siblings “now attend school fearful of bringing COVID-19 home” while he is “being denied access to in-person education opportunities because of his disability.”

The lawsuit also details Cobb school board discussions about masking and COVID-19 protocols, noting the partisan divisions on the board, and also how Ragsdale abstained from voting for a Cobb Board of Health statement in September calling for universal masking in schools.

That’s following guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the American Association of Pediatricians, as well as Cobb and Douglas Public Health.

At the Cobb school board’s September meetings, Ragsdale adamantly defended the district’s masks-optional policy, citing dropping COVID-19 case rates and saying its metrics weren’t much different from nearby school districts that mandated masks.

“This district will not be anti-mask,” Ragsdale said, emphasizing that mask use is “strongly encouraged” among students and staff.

After being refused a request to question Ragsdale, the three Democrats on the school board walked out of the meeting.

“Because of Defendants’ actions, Plaintiffs are being denied critical educational opportunities, including the social, emotional, and academic advantages of being in the classroom with their peers,” the lawsuit states.

Cobb schools awaiting accreditor’s special review report

October 1, 2021October 1, 2021 by Wendy Parker

Cobb school district

The Cobb County School District is still awaiting a report from its accrediting agency, several weeks after a special review process was conducted.

Alpharetta-based Cognia interviewed district officials and Cobb Board of Education members over several days in August, following complaints from three board members and 50 others in the community on a range of board governance matters and concerns over equitable opportunities and student performance.

Mariama Tyler, Cognia’s vice president of public relations, said Thursday in an e-mail response to East Cobb News that “I do not have a timeline for the release of the report. It will be released to the Cobb Board of Education once completed.”

East Cobb News has left a message with the Cobb school district seeking comment. Cobb schools have been on fall break this week.

The district announced in April that Cognia would be conducting the review, expressing concern that “determinations made through a Special Review Team can negatively impact college acceptance rates, college scholarships, enrollment, funding, and educator recruitment and retention . . . Impacts can also negatively affect a county’s economy, property values, and bond credit ratings.”

In 2019, Cognia reaccredited the Cobb County School District—the second-largest in Georgia, with more than 107,000 students—through 2024.

But Democratic board members Charisse Davis, Jaha Howard and Tre’ Hutchins went to Cognia after saying they were being ignored by the board’s Republican majority and Superintendent Chris Ragsdale to discuss early literacy, educator and employee support and board governance training topics.

They sent a letter to Cognia in January outlining their issues and that the district released to the public when announcing the special review:

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

They asked for third-party assistance in to help the board “navigate our differences,” specific agenda items for COVID-related staff support and safety improvements and additional agenda items “related to the study and expansion of targeted literacy interventions.”

Ragsdale responded in late March to Cognia, defending Cobb’s record on all three matters.

In addition, community members lodged complaints citing financial concerns, the district’s handling of COVID-19 matters and even the board’s refusal to consider requests to rename Wheeler High School.

Depending on the findings, a special review—which is a rare occurrence—typically affords districts time to make recommended changes before a possible loss of accreditation.

At the time Cognia undertook the Cobb process, it also was conducting a special review of Gwinnett County Public Schools, the largest system in the state.

In mid-September, Cognia announced that Gwinnett would retain full accreditation.

The Gwinnett review evaluated that school district based on six performance standards. Cognia found that Gwinnett schools exceeded one of those standards, met three others, and recommended improvements for two other standards, both relating to governing authority issues.

In the months leading up to the special review, the Cobb school district openly expressed frustration that Cognia would not disclose specifics of the 50 community complaints.

But WSB-TV reported in June that it had obtained a copy of a report detailing those complaints, something the district has said it had not been able to see.

A number of them apparently focus on allegations that the Cobb school board—with an all-white four-member Republican majority and a minority of three black Democrats—has not adequately responded to community concerns.

“We are only aware of specific complaints to COGNIA through reporting from select media outlets,” a district spokeswoman told East Cobb News in August, just as the review was set to begin.

The MDJ also reported it has been rebuffed in its efforts to see the complaints after unsuccessfully filing open records requests. The newspaper, which appealed to the Georgia Attorney General’s office for assistance but was denied, also reported that Cobb school officials demanded unredacted copies of the 50 complaints, but to no avail.

For more than a year, students, parents and others associated with Wheeler High School have been speaking at school board meetings about a desire to change the school name, and to get a response.

Wheeler, named after a Confederate Civil War general, is among the most racially and ethnically diverse schools in the Cobb district. Students in favor of a name change have said publicly they’re embarrassed and ashamed their school is named after someone they say doesn’t reflect what their school is about.

But they have said that only Davis, who represents the Walton and Wheeler clusters, has responded in favor of their concerns—she signed an online petition supporting a Wheeler name change.

The issue hasn’t made a school board agenda because items can be added by members only with majority support, or unilaterally by the chairman or superintendent, none of which have happened.

On its Facebook page Thursday, the Wheeler Name Change group said that over the summer:

“We sent weekly emails yet only got a limited number of responses. We need to continue to increase public pressure on the Board so they can no longer ignore our efforts.”

Before the special review began, Cognia head Mark Elgart told the AJC that Cobb’s accreditation would not immediately be threatened by the special review.

Cobb district officials have cited a loss of accreditation in Clayton and DeKalb public schools in 2008 and 2011 respectively for their concerns about the process.

Shortly after the review was announced, the Cobb school district fired its longtime Marietta law firm and hired the Atlanta law firm of Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough.

At the same time, a Facebook group formed demanding a recall for the three board members who asked for the special review.

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related content:

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this:

Related stories

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Share this post:

Like this: