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.
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