Schools

Millage Rate on Cobb School Board Agenda

Thursday's meeting also includes the likely appointment of a new Kell High School principal.

The Cobb Board of Education is expected to vote Thursday night on a reduction in its school property tax millage rate for the fiscal year 2013 that began on July 1. 

The board, which meets at 7 p.m. at the main office at 514 Glover Street in Marietta, also may approve a new principal for and vote on a measure to spend $775,000 in SPLOST funds over the remainder of the summer calendar (see accompanying PDF for full agenda).

The millage rate proposal calls for a cut from the present rate of 19.90 mills to 18.90 mills because the school system declared $20 million in excess proceeds from SPLOST II collections. 

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In another SPLOST-related move, the proposed $775,000 in SPLOST III funding would keep construction and maintenance projects on schedule, Cobb deputy superintendent Chris Ragsdale told The Marietta Daily Journal. 

The principal vacancy at Kell, in Northeast Cobb, came in early June, when Trudie Donovan, a 34-year teaching and administrative veteran of the Cobb system, retired abruptly. She later was charged for an allegation of child abuse after a student came to her with a complaint.

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Kell social studies teacher James Chadwick Brigham with battery and sexual battery following complaints by two students. 

A board executive session has been called for 6 p.m. to discuss personnel and legal matters. 

Other personnel items on the agenda are the appointment of an assistant superintendent for Area 1, making up the Pebblebrook and South Cobb high school districts, and the system's director of audit services. 

The school board also will take up a recommendation for approving a section of the school system's Strategic Plan. The document is an outline to guide the district's work for the next five years, with an emphasis on four core areas: 

  • Vary learning experiences to increase success in career paths.
  • Differentiate resources for areas/schools based on needs.
  • Develop stakeholder involvement to promote student success.
  • Recruit, hire, support, and retain employees for the highest levels of excellence.

Other items on the agenda include the following: 

  • A recommendation to approve a $368,600 contract with Beatty Construction Co., using existing SPLOST funds, for renovations and modifications to .
  • A recommendation to approve a $350,000 contract with the Beltmann Group to provide moving services.
  • A proposal to use retired adminstrators to serve on teacher tribunals. 
  • A proposed update on the criteria the board uses to evaluate Superintendent Michael Hinojosa.
  • A presentation on the recent district- and school-level Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) results by Dr. Judi Jones, the school system's chief academic officer.

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