The Cobb Board of Education will hear details of the Cobb County School District’s proposed fiscal year 2025 operating budget on Thursday, and hold a public forum on the matter.
According to an agenda preview, the budget presentation will be made at a 1:30 p.m. work session and at the public forum, which starts at 6:30 p.m.
The board’s monthly business meeting will take place at 7 p.m.
Also on the agenda is a recommendation to approve setting a $71.9 million maximum construction price for the replacement of the main classroom building at Sprayberry High School.
All meetings are scheduled for the board room of the Cobb school district’s central office at 514 Glover St. in Marietta. The work session, public forum and business meeting can be seen live on the district’s Boxcast streaming channel and CobbEdTV (channel 24 on Comcast cable and channel 182 on Charter cable).
You can read through the full agenda by clicking here; an executive session will take place after the work session.
An agenda item states the proposed Cobb school budget for FY 2025 is $1.85 billion in expenses, compared to the $1.448 current fiscal year 2024 budget.
No details have been released. The Cobb school district’s fiscal year begins on July 1. Current budget documents can be found by clicking here; that link eventually will include FY 2025 spending details.
Another budget forum will take place on May 16, the date the board is scheduled to finalize the budget.
Watching the Funds-Cobb, a citizens watchdog group that scrutinizes Cobb school district finances, posted a social media message Tuesday asking for an earlier release of budget details before the meeting day.
“Assuming the Board members have been given the budget docs by now, there is no reason to keep them from us so we have a few days to do our due diligence, rather than a few hours,” the message said.
“If they truly respect the taxpayers and are as concerned about our money as [current chairman] Randy Scamihorn recently stated (regarding a fee the County Commissioners are considering), then surely he and the others (especially those up for re-election) can compel the district leaders to honor our request.”
The message urged followers to write to school board members, saying “Let’s make our budget process more transparent and inclusive by giving the public the time they need to engage meaningfully.”
Last year, the Cobb school board lowered the property tax millage rate for the first time in 15 years, from 18.9 mills to 18.7 mills.
That was done in part to offset sharply-increasing property tax assessments. The FY 2024 budget called for full-time employees to receive salary increases between 7.5 percent and 12.1 percent, and the addition of 11 police officers.
The board will hear a recommendation by district staff to award a $71.9 million construction contract to Carroll Daniel Construction of Atlanta for the Sprayberry project.
It’s on the project list of the current Cobb Education SPLOST VI and work is expected to get underway this summer, with the installation of portable classrooms.
Estimated completion is July 2027.
Related:
- Former Walton educator named Bartow deputy superintendent
- East Cobb high school students named Georgia Scholars
- Wheeler students to perform at Woodruff Arts Center concert
- Cobb school board chairman blasts stormwater fee proposal
- Mt. Bethel Christian appoints theater director
- Eastside Christian hires Wheeler magnet teacher
- Student arrested after Sprayberry HS stabbing
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