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Schools

Superintendent Charges Denied by Sweeney, Bartlett

Cobb School board members, Scott Sweeney and Alison Bartlett, deny rumors that they held meeting with superintendent candidate.

Before unsuccessfully continuing the calendar debate this morning during a Cobb County Board of Education work session, board member David Banks this week leveled allegations against some of his colleagues that could have perhaps surpassed the calendar issue.

Banks, whose Post 5 includes Pope,  and  high schools, told Patch late Monday that four board members—Chairwoman Alison Bartlett and new members Vice Chairman Scott Sweeney, Kathleen Angelucci and Scott Stultz—had met with one of the superintendent candidates from a nearby school district.

Post 3 Board Member David Morgan, representing and high schools, told South Cobb Patch on Wednesday evening, "At this point in time, there are a lot of accusations and rumors. I have the utmost faith in Bartlett and Sweeney. Any superintendent candidate that we might engage would be done as a collective and not just two or three of us."

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The Cobb County School District  to replace Superintendent Fred Sanderson, who is retiring at the end of June.

“Last year they met with this candidate and already predetermined who they would want to select. I mean, it is a circus,” Banks said of the four members who formed the winning majority on the  and this morning, when the issue was tabled on a familiar 4-3 vote after more discussion.

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“The superintendent collusion is probably more serious than the calendar," he added. "This is going to be a land mine when it’s done.”

But Bartlett and Sweeney attempted to defuse that land mine Tuesday night.

Bartlett adamantly rejected Banks’ allegation of improper conduct.

She said she did speak to "people interested in possibly being interim superintendent or a superintendent for Cobb County. This is prior to them applying for any job; this is just them having questions and thoughts involved. I consider it networking."

She continued: “Some of the people that have applied for the job have done their homework. I have not spoken with anyone once they applied for the superintendent job, nor has any other board member that I am aware of.”

Bartlett, whose Post 7 includes , said "people need to check their facts and the source before responding.”

Still, a letter citing the allegation about the superintendent search being a sham is circulating, thanks to an anonymous website called Restore the Trust, which says it represents “the parents, students, teachers, district staff and community at-large.”

The website encourages visitors to personalize a prepared letter and e-mail it to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the accrediting agency for the school district.

The letter lists several allegations against Bartlett and the three new board members and requests that SACS send “a Special Review Team to investigate the Cobb County Board of Education's compliance with AdvancED standards and the Cobb County Board of Education's own policies and procedures.”

The allegations against the four board members say they:

  • “Colluded to meet with at least one candidate in the Cobb County Superintendent Search, individually and/or as a group–excluding their colleagues.”
  • “Colluded to call a special meeting on Sunday, January 9, 2011, at 3 p.m. and willfully failed to consult with the remaining three board members regarding their availability.”
  • “Colluded to remain substantially silent during the discussions on the school calendar at the February 17, 2011, meeting–where the Caucus of Four all failed to report the e-mails, town hall meeting feedback, and phone calls they received on the school calendar. The failure of the Caucus of Four to report the public reaction to board policies is a breach of the requirements of the Code of Ethics.”

Jennifer Oliver, vice president for communications for SACS, confirmed the receipt of e-mail messages from Cobb County residents. SACS is an 11-state regional accreditation agency.

“The communications would be reviewed by the accreditation team to determine if any more steps need to be taken,” Oliver said.

School board member Lynnda Crowder-Eagle called the situation “unfortunate.”

“I assume SACS will look because of all those (e-mailed letters) coming in,” said Crowder-Eagle, whose Post 1 includes , ,  and  high schools. “It’s unfortunate for the district. It throws out a question of trust with the school board.”

Trust also is an issue among school board members. In addition to echoing Bartlett’s dismissal of the allegations Banks raised, Sweeney said matters discussed in executive session should never become public.

“Every action taken by me during my tenure as a board member, in reference to the superintendent search, has been done within the confines of executive session,” said Sweeney, whose Post 6 includes  and  high schools. “Consistent with board policy, it is incumbent upon all board members to maintain the confidentiality of all discussions and other matters pertaining to the board and the school system during executive sessions of the board.”

Jan. 31 was the deadline to apply for superintendent. The board had its first discussion of the results in an executive session Feb. 9. That meeting, which was closed to the public because it addressed a personnel issue, lasted about four hours.

The Georgia School Boards Association conducted the national search for the district and completed its involvement for the contracted rate of $5,500, GSBA consultant Don Rooks said Tuesday.  

Stultz, whose post covers  High; and the board's attorney, Clem Doyle, couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday. The voice mail for Angelucci, whose district includes  and  high schools, was too full to accept messages.

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