The Cobb Board of Education will hold a special-called meeting Monday to hear from Superintendent Chris Ragsdale about a recent “communication” from its accrediting agency “regarding accreditation status.”
That’s according to a special notice issued Friday by the Cobb County School District. The meeting will take place at 12:30 p.m. Monday in the board meeting room at the CCSD central office (514 Glover St., Marietta).
The district indicated the meeting also will be live-streamed at this link, as well as shown on Comcast Cable Channel 24 and Charter Cable Channel 182).
There’s no other information about the specifics of district’s communication with Cognia, an Alpharetta-based education accreditor that conducted a special review of the Cobb school district in 2021.
In releasing its report in November, Cognia detailed what it called a “Progress Monitoring Review” that includes improvements the district must make in four areas: effective policy-making from the school board, board members adhering to a code of ethics, educational equity and financial accountability.
(You can read through the Cognia report and accompanying documents here, here and here.)
The district has until the end of the year to make those improvements before Cognia would consider whether to retain full accreditation status for Cobb schools.
In 2019, Cognia reaccredited the Cobb County School District—the second-largest in Georgia, with more than 107,000 students—through 2024.
But last March, 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 Ragsdale to discuss early literacy, educator and employee support and board governance training topics.
Since the Cognia report was released, neither the school board nor Ragsdale have discussed the findings in public.
The Democratic members have tried to get the report put on school board meeting agendas, but have not gotten a majority vote.
Some citizens speaking out at public comment periods of school board members have demanded that the district discuss the Cognia report.
The Cobb school district is considering switching accrediting agencies. The Georgia Accrediting Commission, which accredits individual schools and not school districts, has visited high schools in the Cobb school district in recent weeks.
Cobb school district officials chafed at Cognia’s special review process, saying the agency refused to specify the allegations that prompted the review.
Randy Scamihorn, the Cobb school board chairman in 2021, said when the Cognia report was released that “while I am pleased this review is unlikely to have an immediately negative effect on the District’s students, it did serve as a significant distraction for the staff.”
Public complaints to Cognia cited financial concerns, the district’s handling of COVID-19 matters and even the board’s refusal to consider requests to rename Wheeler High School.
Cobb district officials have cited a loss of accreditation in Clayton and DeKalb public schools in 2008 and 2011 respectively for their concerns about Cognia’s special review.
State Sen. Lindsey Tippins, a West Cobb Republican and former Cobb school board member, has proposed legislation that would restrict the scope of accrediting agencies.
His bill, SB 498, would remove school board relations from the purview of accreditors and would give accreditation authority for elementary and middle schools solely to the Georgia Department of Education.
Related posts:
- Sprayberry graduate announces run for Cobb school board
- Cobb schools: 98% of full-time employees returning for 2022-23
- Cobb schools to hold resource fair for students with disabilities
- Cobb students compete in Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl
- Ga. House passes Cobb GOP school board, commission maps
- Cobb schools distributes more bonuses to bus drivers
- Blackwell ES accused of eavesdropping in bathroom
- Cobb Republican legislators file school board redistricting bill
- Cobb schools update COVID cases as protocols change
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It should not be a surprise to anyone that the clown show known as the Cobb County School Board and its Ring Master Ragsdale will follow their usual procedure and unilaterally decide to switch accrediting agencies, without discussion or review with the public or their own minority members, solely because they were offended by the criticism and directives contained in the Cognia report. Changes of this magnitude should not be allowed to occur without considerable oversight, but Arrogance and Indifference rule the day with these folks!!