Schools
Budget, Superintendent Search Top School Board Agenda
The Cobb Board of Education meets at 7 tonight after holding an executive session at 5.
As speculation runs high about who will be the Cobb County School Districtβs next superintendent, the Board of Education remains quiet about the situation heading into tonightβs regular meeting.
Citing a duty to keep discussions in executive sessions private, the four board members who spoke to Patch offered no specifics on the superintendent search.
"Iβm not a liberty at this time to comment until the process is complete," said board member David Morgan, whose Post 3 serves McEachern, South Cobb and Pebblebrook high schools.
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Some board members insisted that the process is far from over.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Friday night through anonymous sources that six-year Rockdale County Superintendent Samuel T. King is expected to be named the sole finalist at todayβs 7 p.m. board meeting.
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The Marietta Daily Journal reported Tuesday that Kingβs application may have missed the Jan. 31 deadline. Sixteen otherΒ candidates made the deadline.
The school board met in executive session to discuss the superintendent search Monday at 5 p.m. and will do so again at 5 p.m. today. The board has also plans to meet sometime Saturday to continue its superintendent discussions.
Board Chairwoman Alison Bartlett of Post 7, who will run after , said she isnβt aware of more scheduled executive-session meetings on the superintendent search after Saturday, βbut Iβm sure thereβll be more.β
Board member David Banks of Post 5 also said the superintendent selection process is far from over: "Once weβre at that point (where weβve made a decision), then we can go public. But weβre not anywhere near that point. ... Weβre still in deliberation. Nothing has been finalized.β
Board members Tim Stultz of Post 2, Scott Sweeney of Post 6 and Kathleen Angelucci of Post 4 could not be reached for comment for this article. Stultz graduated from Rockdale Countyβs Salem High School, according to his school board biography.
Beyond the possible superintendent talk at the meeting, the board tonight is expected to gain a more complete picture of the districtβs fiscal 2012 budget from Chief Financial Officer Mike Addison.
Addison projected a in January and as much as $50 million in March, largely through the loss of state funding, but at a board work session April 13 he outlined .
βThe loss is not as great as originally projected,β said Bartlett, whose post includes . βThe projection is based on the current economy.β
The school board also placed 13 items on the meetingβs agenda to be voted upon either as consent or discussion items that relate to Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funding. Ten of the items involve additions, modifications or preliminary work at , , , , and elementary schools, , and , and high schools.
The combined cost of the projects is $29.1 million, SPLOST Chief Administrative Officer Doug Shepard said.
βItβs important that we move ahead with our SPLOST projects which were approved by the voters in the referendum so that the work can be done during the summer when the students arenβt in school,β Post 1 board member Lynnda Crowder-Eagle said.
Early in the meeting, the board is scheduled to recognize Campus Police Officer Jerry Miller and the 32 Cobb Schools Foundation $1,000 scholarship winners. The graduating high school senior recipients are:
- Savannah Hansen and Jason Johnston, .
- Daniel O'Meara and Glenn Shrum, .
- Emily Moran and Haley Ruffin, .
- Joseph Celeste and Shannon O'Keefe, .
- Nicholas Barker and Yashar Rad, .
- Hailey Boeck and Nadia Ogene, .
- Spencer Hanson and Katherine Marchand, .
- Kathy Cheng and Henry Strmac, .
- Chang Choi and Alex Li, .
- Allison Brackin and Michelle Lee, .
- Belinda Jivapong and Connie Lu, .
- Samantha Budow and Natalie Harrell, .
- Rukhsar Machiwalla and Neda Norouzi, .
- Sara Adams and Morgan Walker, .
- Ashley Ferreira and Imari Walker-Karega, .
- Oscar Martinez and Claudia Vazquez, .
Patch will attempt to cover the meeting live. Check back tonight.