Another eventful year for the Cobb County School District got rolling in March when the district’s accrediting agency abruptly reversed findings of a special review it had issued in late 2021.
Dr. Mark Elgart of Cognia went before the Cobb Board of Education in a special-called meeting to say that most of his agency’s special review findings were being overturned because they were “inconsistent with evidence” the Cobb school district brought to Cognia’s attention.
The review was conducted after the board’s three Democrats and others in the Cobb school community issued complaints in a number of areas, including school board governance and fiscal and procurement issues.
Before the reversal, the Cobb school board had been told it had until late 2022 to show improvements in areas designated by the review team.
Elgart did say that Cognia special review findings of board relations and governance remain valid.
“The evidence remains that this is a divided school board,” Elgar told the board members.
A bill was introduced in the Georgia legislature later in the 2022 session by former State Sen. Lindsey Tippins, a former Cobb school board member, to remove political concerns from academic reviews, but it did not pass.
In May, the school board approved a $1.4 billion fiscal year 2023 budget that included raises between 8.5 and 13.10 percent, in what Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said were “historic” pay increases.
Two major school construction projects in East Cobb got underway in 2022.
The $36.7 million rebuild of Eastvalley Elementary School is taking place on the former campus of East Cobb Middle School, across the street from Wheeler High School on Holt Road.
Construction is expected to be completed for the start of the 2023-24 school year in August.
A $6.738 million athletic complex is being built for Walton High School on land the school board purchased last year along Pine Road and Providence Road.
The facility will house Walton’s varsity tennis and baseball teams, beginning with the 2023-24 school year.
School board elections in November left the party makeup unchanged, with Republicans holding a 4-3 lead.
GOP chairman David Chastain of Post 4 in Northeast Cobb was re-elected to a third term in what became a bitter campaign with Democratic newcomer Catherine Pozniak.
Democrats were elected to posts in South Cobb to succeed outgoing first-term Democrats Charisse Davis and Jaha Howard. They were at the center of a number of partisan battles on the school board but did not seek second terms.
Howard lost in the Democratic primary for Georgia School Superintendent. Davis, whose Post 6 included the Walton and Wheeler clusters, never publicly explained her decision not to run again.
Her successor will be former teacher Nichelle Davis (no relation), and Becky Sayler is succeeding Howard in Post 2.
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