South Cobbers Speak Out on Achievement Gap, Cobb BOE Members Mum on Superintendent Search

Stakeholders in the South Cobb community addressed the Cobb County Board of Education at its Thursday evening meeting about the achievement gap in South Cobb. At the April 13 school board work session, David Morgan spent two hours presenting programs and strategies to help close this gap in South Cobb and throughout the county, but none of those ideas were placed on the meeting’s agenda for a vote.

During the public comment period, Leslie Rowbottom, Terri Robinson, Valerie Testman, James Young, Andrea Young and Nathaniel Riley Jr. all addressed the board about the achievement gap in South Cobb.

“I’d like this board to make a commitment to these schools and students,” Testman said. “Please address our concerns because we want our students to achieve.”

The Cobb County Board of Education had little to say about the search for a new superintendent but plenty to talk about concerning some SPLOST-funded projects during Thursday night’s 123-minute meeting.

The lack of an announcement about superintendent finalists means the board will not meet its expressed desire to name finalists to head the Cobb County School District by the end of April.

The board met in executive session on the matter at 5 p.m. Thursday and after the regular meeting adjourned and will meet again Saturday at 9:30 a.m., and board members told Patch that the process is far from finished.

One of the 10 speakers during the public-comment period did address the search.

Pat Negron urged the board not to accept a superintendent application that missed the deadline, to choose an applicant who has different philosophies on the school calendar and grading, and or to pay the new superintendent more than the retiring Fred Sanderson now earns.

Those appeared to be references to Rockdale County Superintendent Samuel King, whom the Atlanta Journal-Constitution a week ago declared to be the sole finalist, based on anonymous sources, and who the Marietta Daily Journal this week reported may have missed the Jan. 31 deadline to apply. Among other potential issues, Rockdale County not only uses a balanced calendar, which the Cobb school system implemented and dropped this year, but also starts school in July.If King was Negron's concern, it might be moot. The MDJ, citing two anonymous sources, reported today that the Rockdale schools chief removed his name from consideration after negotiations with the Cobb board broke down.

"That is my understanding," Rockdale schools spokeswoman Cindy Ball told Patch, although she added that King had handled the matter in a confidential manner.

With all of that talking going on behind closed doors Thursday, the board still managed to talk through a couple of issues with projects funded under the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax III, including the project at .

Chief Human Resources Officer Donald Dunnigan told the board during the meeting that 10 principals are retiring, and an assistant principal has resigned, including:

• Principal Peggy Martin, effective May 31.
• Assistant Principal Nicole Anderson, effective June 30.