This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

Banks and Bartlett Spar Over School Calendar

The Cobb Board of Education chairwoman refuses to discuss changing the school year starting in three months.

Cobb County Board of Education Chairwoman Alison Bartlett’s back stiffened, and she put up her right hand several times to try to keep Post 5 board member David Banks from discussing at Wednesday’s board meeting why his new “modified” 2011-12 calendar proposal should be put on the June agenda.

Banks has tried at different board meetings to revive the calendar issue since the to revert to a traditional calendar for the 2011-12 school year with a start date of Aug. 15.

The Feb. 17 vote, supported by Bartlett, Vice Chairman Scott Sweeney of East Cobb’s Post 6, Kathleen Angelucci of North Cobb’s Post 4 and Tim Stultz of Smyrna’s Post 2, divided the community. Banks of Northeast and East Cobb, Lynnda Crowder-Eagle of West Cobb’s Post 1 and David Morgan of South Cobb’s Post 3 voted against the traditional calendar and favored a balanced calendar starting Aug. 1 with more weeklong breaks throughout the year.

Find out what's happening in Northeast Cobbwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Banks' new proposal would start the school year Aug. 8.

In March, after the board indefinitely, Banks told Patch he would drop the calendar issue.

Find out what's happening in Northeast Cobbwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“Mr. Banks, you asked something regarding the calendar, and the last time we had a vote on the calendar (in March), it was appealed and everything, and it was agreed upon by this board by consensus that someone would have to change their vote,” said Bartlett, whose Post 7 includes . “Have any of the four that voted against that proposal changed their vote?”

“I haven’t asked, and I think the modified proposed calendar is an appropriate item to be on the agenda,” said Banks, who represents , and high schools.

“I disagree because, well, the calendar discussions were done for next year,” Bartlett said as she held up her right hand in a stop motion. “If you want to look at that for the following year, that is fine, but at this time, unless we have a board member who’s going to change their position, this board agreed 6-1 that we were going to stay where we were and continue on.”

“That is not the proper protocol for this discussion,” Banks responded. “This is an item that I have asked to be put on the agenda, and it should have a proper vote.”

“You’ve already had your proper vote, Mr. Banks,” she said.

“No, I haven’t,” Banks said.

“No, you had your fill. We’re done with the conversation,” Bartlett said as she waved him off.

“This is a discussion that should be on the agenda,” Banks said. “It’s a different calendar, and it should be on the agenda, and it should be voted on. You don’t know. Do you know that nobody has changed their mind?”

“At this time, you may ask them,” she said. “If someone changes their mind, you can get back to me.”

Banks continued, “You don’t know if someone has changed their mind.”

“From what I’ve heard, no one has changed their mind,” Bartlett said.

“You don’t know,” he said.

“We’re done, Mr. Banks,” Bartlett said. “We are going to recess now.”

Later, Banks told Patch he pursued getting his modified calendar on the agenda after reading Stultz’s comments in a Marietta Daily Journal story last Friday. But the only quote attributed to Stultz regarding the calendar doesn’t indicate any change.

“I would say that the calendar vote was taken correctly," the newspaper quoted him as saying. "I’m sure there could have been some more communication, but I think that’s the only thing that I would have changed. … I don’t think we have done anything wrong. Everything that we have done has been legal and open at our meetings.”

Banks read things differently.

“From what I read, one board member may decide to change their vote, but we won’t know until we take a vote,” he said during a meeting break Wednesday. “But she won’t do that.”

After the meeting, Stultz said he didn’t know which statement led Banks to think Stultz might change his calendar vote.

“That’s the first I’ve heard of it,” Stultz said. “I’m not sure where he got that idea from.”   

The exchange between Banks and Bartlett highlighted the divisiveness that has plagued the board since the new board members arrived in January.

The clashes have led to questions from the and the and to spirited public comments criticizing the board.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Northeast Cobb