Proposed Cobb school budget of $1.3 billion to be detailed Wednesday

Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale will publicly present his proposed fiscal year 2020 budget of $1.3 billion to the board of education Wednesday.

The board has a work session scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Cobb County School District main office at 514 Glover Street in Marietta.

The board also will take up more budget discussions at its monthly meeting that starts at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The first of several public forums on the budget will take place right before that, at 6:30 p.m.

Here’s a summary of the meeting agenda that includes the budget item on the last page.

Tentative approval of the budget is required now for the district to advertise it and hold additional public hearings required by law. Final approval is slated for May 16; the district’s fiscal year runs July 1-June 30.

The full budget proposal is expected to detail Ragsdale’s previously stated priorities of employee pay raises and increased teacher allotments.

Georgia teachers will be getting a $3,000 raise from the state, but Ragsdale didn’t offer specifics last month because the district was waiting for legislative funding and the county tax digest to be finalized.

For the FY 2019 budget of $1.2 billion most district employees got a 2.6 percent raise to go with 1.1-percent bonuses after the state ended austerity cuts.

At the board’s Wednesday night meeting, several East Cobb athletes will be recognized, including Kell state wrestling champion Andrew Parlato and Walton state swimming relay champions Elizabeth Isakson, Anna Heisterberg, Abby Belinski and Jasmin Hoffman.

Lynn Hamblett of Murdock Elementary School will be recognized as the recipient of a lifetime services award from the Georgia Association of Gifted Children, and STEM and STEAM certifications will be presented to McCleskey and Simpson middle schools, respectively.

The board also is expected to take action on several high-level personnel openings. One was created following the resignation of Jeffrey Castle, the principal at Timber Ridge Elementary School the last three years.

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