As a first-time candidate for public office, Shelley O’Malley said she’s running now for the Cobb Board of Education in part to give back to the East Cobb community where her children have attended school.
O’Malley said she also has been prompted to seek the Post 5 seat that’s been held for nearly 12 years by David Banks because of the incumbent.
“I’m something a term-limit person anyway,” said O’Malley, who’s one of two challengers facing Banks in the June 9 primary.
Post 5 includes the Pope and Lassiter clusters. O’Malley, a U.S. Navy veteran and Delta Air Lines pilot, has had three children in the Lassiter. Her youngest attends Lassiter now.
(Here’s O’Malley’s campaign website.)
Another first-time candidate, Matt Harper, a graduate of Walton High School, is the other Republican hopeful.
“No disrespect to Mr. Banks, but I hope voters recognize that when an incumbent is being challenged by other people there ought to be a reason for that,” O’Malley said.
(Two other first-time candidates, Tammy Andress and Julia Hurtado, are vying in the Democratic primary.)
“I just feel he’s a vulnerable candidate generally,” O’Malley said of Banks.
She said he hasn’t been responsive and doesn’t think he’s fostered productive relationships on the seven-member school board.
“I feel like I’ve got a broad perspective” in addressing current issues in the Cobb County School District (East Cobb News has extended an interview invitation to Banks).
She says at times the district tends to “get caught up shiny objects.” Her focus is to prioritize improving the classroom experience, and pointed out that for some students reduced to “distance learning” with school closures due to COVID-19, technology has been an issue.
“Some of ours students are handling it just fine, but there are some things that we need to do better,” she said.
O’Malley gives high marks to the district for its CTLS portal (Cobb Teaching & Learning System), but said that “I want to make sure parents have the resources they need to oversee online learning.
Current circumstances, she said, are bearing out some of those concerns.
“This isn’t online learning. This is crisis learning.”
She’s appreciative of Superintendent Chris Ragsdale for being “mindful of all the players” he has to contend with in a district with more than 100 schools and 112,000 students.
The district faces several fiscal issues due to the COVID-19 crisis, and O’Malley said her belief in fiscal responsibility will be vital.
The district was just starting to “get back” what it had lost financially during the recession, but could face a shortfall in state funding alone of around $80 million.
“Let’s make sure we’re putting the best resources in the classroom setting,” she said.
O’Malley said it’s not just about class size, but implementing “smart technology” that’s easy for teachers to use.
Another issue important to her is addressing the different career needs of students. “Where are we taking kids?”
There’s a strong focus on preparing them for college, “but some of the more important life skill classes are lacking.”
She mentioned the teaching of personal finance as one example, but she thinks more needs to be done to cater to students who are pursuing vocational fields.
The Cobb senior exemption from school taxes has become a subject of intense discussion in the last couple of years. O’Malley said “it’s not right to take it away” from seniors who’ve lived in Cobb for many years and have put their own kids through the school system.
“I would never take an exemption away from someone who’s earned it,” she said. “It’s immoral.”
O’Malley said her aim on the school board would be to become a consensus-builder “instead of needing to win” on certain issues.
“Some can be lightning rods, and some are good at creating good teams,” O’Malley said.
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