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Schools

Cobb Schools' SPLOST Reserve Runs Dry

The expansion and paving of the Sanders Road bus shop would leave only $100,000 for other overruns.

Improving infrastructure, cutting maintenance costs, increasing parking space and improving driver safety are some of the reasons the transportation department wants to spend $1.1 million to pave its Sanders Road bus shop off Powder Springs Road in Marietta.

The Board of Education discussed the paving project, set to be awarded to low bidder Baldwin Paving of Marietta, during its work session Wednesday.

The project’s cost grew by $400,000 when its scope increased to add 50 bus parking spots, which would require clearing the tree-lined lot and moving dirt to flatten the proposed back lot, said Doug Shepard, the chief administrative officer for the district’s SPLOST projects.

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If the board decides to pave only the existing gravel parking lot, the project will be $108 under budget, Shepard told Patch.

District Transportation Director Rick Grisham explained the need for the full paving project.

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“We have very few (buses) parking at school locations, and we have an increased volume of vandalism, even parking on our school lots,” Grisham said. “We feel like the more buses we get on our (secured) lots, the better the security over our equipment.”

He said the lines to fuel the buses create congestion on Sanders Road because “we just don’t have places to go with vehicles. ... It’s very important if we could increase the size of that lot to accommodate our current traffic.”

The facility’s supervisor, Terry Kerr, said the dusty lot frequently develops foot-deep holes and requires new gravel to be spread over it at least four times a year. He said buses often suck gravel and dust into the engines, costing $3,000 to replace the diesel fuel injectors.

But Shepard told board members the district’s SPLOST contingency fund has only $500,000 after the district allocated, mostly to technology-related projects, the $10 million saved in construction costs this year. Paying for the full bus shop project would leave only $100,000.

Board member Kathleen Angelucci of North Cobb’s Post 4 said that draining the contingency fund is a “huge concern” because it would eliminate the district’s flexibility if future projects came in over budget.

Board members David Banks of Northeast and East Cobb’s Post 5 and Tim Stultz of Smyrna’s Post 2 suggested tabling the project, possibly until the spring.

Lynnda Crowder-Eagle of West Cobb’s Post 1 suggested adding and paving the 50 new spaces to deal with the space problem but not paving the rest of the property, which houses 230 of the district’s 1,200 buses.

The item was moved to the discussion agenda for the board’s Oct. 27 regular meeting.

Also on the discussion agenda will be the purchase and installation of resilient athletic flooring at 15 elementary and middle schools.

Also during Wednesday’s meeting:

  • The board backed South Cobb board member David Morgan’s suggestions to require annual reporting by charter schools and governance training for their boards. The administration will go over Morgan’s initiatives and bring written policies to the Nov. 9 work session for the board to peruse.  
  • The board set legislative priorities that focus on unfunded mandates. The board plans to meet with the Cobb County legislative delegation from 8:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Nov. 14 at .
  • Chief Academic Officer Judi Jones went over short- and long-term steps for raising student achievement. Developing a results-based accountability system, exploring a school’s effectiveness and ensuring a rigorous curriculum with defined growth milestones are the top three steps.
  • Georgia School Boards Association representative Zenda Bowie talked with the board members for two hours about communication with one another and the media and about their roles and responsibilities.

The board voted unanimously to approve a personnel report that includes three key departures and four recommendations:

  • Chief Human Resources Officer Donald Dunnigan is retiring Oct. 31. He told Patch he wants to pursue some new opportunities presented to him.
  • Jan Holley is retiring as the Human Resources Support Services and Evaluation Systems director, effective Nov. 1.
  • Kevin Sherman, the human resources compensation manager, resigned effective Oct. 12.
  • Shallowford Falls Elementary School Principal Doreen Griffeth was named Area 3 assistant superintendent.
  • Debra Wilson was called out of retirement to serve as interim principal at Shallowford Falls.
  • Principal Darryl York was named director of policy development in the Office of the Chief of Staff.  
  • James Snell was called out of retirement to become interim principal at Griffin.

Banks and Stultz also filled recent vacancies on the school district’s Facilities & Technology Committee. Banks appointed Angie Delvin-Brown, and Stultz picked Curt Johnston.

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