REPLAY: School Board Passes Budget

Updated 3 p.m.

We covered the furlough days—the debate and the outcome—in the live blog and the comments, but let's lay it all out here as well.

Superintendent Michael Hinojosa's recommendation for the three-furlough-day budget included a calendar placing the furlough days Dec. 21, Feb. 15 and May 30.

The logic of those days:

• Dec. 21 extends winter break and gives district employees and school families an extra day to prepare for the holidays, travel, shop and so forth.
• Feb. 15 is the Friday before Presidents Day and turns that into a four-day weekend.
• May 30 is a teacher workday and sets the student school year up to end on the Thursday before Memorial Day, keeping this year's setup of graduations Thursday through Saturday, May 23 to 25.

David Banks, who represents East and Northeast Cobb, first proposed switching all the furlough days to Feb. 20 to 22, then cutting a day off the end of winter break and moving that vacation day to Feb. 19, creating a weeklong February break just like the former balanced calendar.

After a break in the meeting for the staff to work out the alternatives, Banks adjusted his proposal to use two of the furlough days in February, on the 14th and 15th, and to move one vacation day from the end of the winter holiday to Feb. 19, creating a six-day February break with the weekend.

Hinojosa did not recommend Banks' plan but said he could live with it.

It failed on a 4-3 vote, getting support from Banks, Eagle and Morgan voting yes. The original administration proposal then passed, 6-1, with Banks opposed.

Connie Jackson, the president of the Cobb County Association of Educators, sent out an email message this afternoon praising the budget and calendar votes.

"CCAE had advocated for a middle ground budget with only 3 furlough days and restoring the elementary media para-pros to full time. This is exactly what the board passed and CCAE considers it a major victory!" Jackson's message reads. "The School Board also consulted CCAE publicly when deciding where to place the 3 furlough days on the calendar for next year. CCAE has worked hard on this issue and is very pleased with the advocacy and the response by the school board."

Updated 9 a.m.

The Cobb school board has passed an $841.9 million budget on a 4-3 vote.

The board enacted Alternative C, the same budget it rejected on a 4-3 vote Thursday night. It uses three furlough days and a 177-day school year instead of the five furlough days the school district proposed.

The new fiscal 2013 budget also restore elementary school library paraprofessionals to full-time status.

Voting for the budget were Lynnda Eagle, David Banks, David Morgan and Scott Sweeney. Alison Bartlett, Tim Stultz and Kathleen Angelucci voted no.

On Thursday night, Banks and Morgan voted against the same budget, and Angelucci voted for it.

Original Report

The Cobb County Board of Education is meeting at 8:25 a.m. at the Central Office on Glover Street to discuss the fiscal 2013 budget, which the at its meeting Thursday despite bouncing around five different versions.

Watch the live stream of the meeting and add your comments in the CoverItLive blog above or in the comment space below.