School Calendar Committee Reaches Agreement

The panel has hammered out a calendar for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years.

The 21-member group tasked with creating a school calendar for the next two school years has reached an agreement on the divisive issue and produced calendars for the next two school years. According to the Marietta Daily Journal, the 2013-14 school year would start on Aug. 1, with a fall break in late September. An additional winter break would be held between Feb. 14-17.  The next task of the group, which includes Kell High School's new principal Dr. Ed Wagner, is to narrow their two calendars down to one in order to present it to School Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa. Hinojosa expects the Cobb County School Board to vote on the new calendar some time in October.

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Cobb School Board Member Wants Colleague Censured

Kathleen Angelucci claims David Banks violated board ethics by contacting school employees about his political opponents.

Cobb Board of Education member Kathleen Angelucci has publicly accused one of her colleagues of unethical behavior and has asked for him to be censured.  At the end of the board's long business meeting Thursday night, Angelucci claimed that David Banks "compromised school board ethics" by seeking to obtain information about a political opponent through Cobb County School District employees.  Banks is in a difficult re-election battle in the July 31 Republican primary for the Post 5 seat, which includes the Lassiter and Pope high school districts of East Cobb. Angelucci, who represents Northeast Cobb's Post 4 (Kell, Sprayberry and North Cobb high schools), said Banks "attempted to influence the election" by admitting in his own e-mail …

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Banks Blasts Teachers' Endorsement

The incumbent East Cobb school board member said he "will not be held hostage" by the Cobb County Association of Educators, which supports his opponent.

A week after his primary opponent was endorsed by the leading teachers' group in the county, Cobb Board of Education member David Banks has lashed out at both.  Banks, who is seeking a second term to the Post 5 seat in East and Northeast Cobb, was highly critical of the Cobb County Association Association of Educators for its support of Lisa Hanson in the July 31 Republican primary.  "The one thing that is very apparent and should be of utmost concern to all Post 5 voters is the fact that teacher union support is totally predicated on absolute adherence to their agenda," Banks said in his e-mail newsletter distributed on Monday. "I support and have strongly supported Cobb teachers when that support was in the best interest of student …

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Banks Opposes School Board Post Reapportionment Map

David Banks: "This map will have a very negative impact on traditional communities of interest with regard to attendance zones and clusters and, when viewed closely, has the potential, in future elections, of no school board member residing in East Cobb."

Every 10 years, after the decennial Census, all legislative and school board districts are reapportioned to bring about the Constitutional requirement of equal representation. The Cobb County School District has grown considerably over the past ten years and to meet proportional representation the school board post boundaries have to be redrawn. Last week, school board members received a proposed Cobb County School Board Post Reapportionment map drawn by State Representatives Ed Setzler and Rich Golick that has been promoted by Rep. Matt Dollar. The map outlines their view of how the new school board post boundaries should be configured. Under the proposed map, David Banks' Post 5, which covers Pope, Lassiter and Sprayberry high schools, …

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Jack S

8:57 am on Tuesday, February 28, 2012

I didn't say I thought the reapportionment map was fair, I just get tired of hearing Banks whine and cry "it's not fair". If you notice, David Banks is the only Board member being vocal about the Map. Banks is not and never will be happy about any map that wasn't drawn by his hands or includes Walton in his Post. Remember his version of the map, which he worked on independently of the Board and …   more ›

PatchCast

Brunn Will Enter 'Not Guilty' Plea, Animal Control 'Christmas Kitties'

A video round-up of your regional headlines Friday, Dec. 9.

Click on the links below to read more about articles featured in today's PatchCast: Parents Skeptical of School Board's Openness Brunn Will Enter Not Guilty Plea Cobb County Animal Control Offers 'Christmas Kitties'

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Calendar, Open Meetings on Cobb School Board Agenda

Also expected to be approved tonight is a $2.2 million renovation modifications for Walton High School.

It took almost six months to receive a response, but parent Tricia Knor will get it in a roundabout way when Georgia Senior Assistant Attorney General Stefan Ritter discusses open meetings and open records with the Cobb County Board of Education at 5 p.m. today in the Central Office boardroom at 514 Glover St. Knor filed a complaint June 27 with Attorney General Sam Olens regarding email messages sent using private accounts among board Chairwoman Alison Bartlett of Post 7, located south and west of Marietta; Vice Chairman Scott Sweeney of East Cobb’s Post 6; and members Kathleen Angelucci of North Cobb’s Post 4 and Tim Stultz of Smyrna’s Post 2. Senior Assistant Attorney General Russell Willard forwarded Knor’s 67-page complaint to the …

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Mableton Charter School Fight Stirs Emotions

The Cobb County School Board will vote tonight on whether to renew the charter of Imagine International Academy of Mableton.

If the approximately 250 people that attended a recent town hall-style meeting were any indication, the Cobb County Board of Education meeting at 7 p.m. tonight could feature a spirited discussion. Superintendent Michael Hinojosa’s recommendation to the School Board is not to renew Imagine International Academy of Mableton's charter request to extend its charter two more years instead of the usual five years. “I think there will be quite a few people there,” said School Board member David Morgan, who held the town hall meeting Sept. 15. “They will be making the case to have the renewal petition move forward. What I’ve tried to do the whole time is be very clear why I have the position that I have and to reinforce and back up my position …

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Hinojosa: Calendar Comments to Count

The Cobb County superintendent laid out his plan for setting the next two-year schedule for the school system.

The Cobb County School District has a plan in the works to set the next calendar, Superintendent Michael Hinojosa told a town-hall meeting Tuesday night in Kennesaw. Hinojosa said he intends to form a calendar committee in August and seek community input before bringing a proposal to the Board of Education for the 2013-14 school year. The school board voted 4-3 in February to switch from a balanced calendar starting Aug. 1 to a more traditional calendar starting Aug. 15 this school year. It’s an ongoing controversy Hinojosa inherited when he was sworn in as the system’s superintendent in July. The previous administration under Superintendent Fred Sanderson did not take sides on the calendar, but Hinojosa said he will make a recommendation …

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Wheeler Project Gets Final Approval

The Cobb school board voted unanimously Thursday to sign off on the $20 million reconstruction of the main school building.

Although the Wheeler High School construction project jumped $3.1 million from its base budget, the Cobb County Board of Education voted 6-0 Thursday night to spend $20.1 million for improvements at the 47-year-old East Cobb school. The audience, which included some wearing black Wheeler T-shirts, greeted the unanimous vote by heartily clapping. “I’m delighted that we’re able to deliver this long-awaited project to the Wheeler community,” said board Vice Chairman Scott Sweeney of East Cobb’s Post 6, whose area includes the 2,000-student high school. Board member David Banks of Northeast and East Cobb’s Post 5 was also happy about the vote, which came without Kathleen Angelucci of North Cobb’s Post 4, who missed the meeting. “It’s a big go…

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Cobb School Board Passes Voting Map

The Board of Education takes time during a fast work session to shoot down David Banks' proposals.

The Cobb County Board of Education approved a reapportionment map presented by Chairwoman Alison Bartlett on a 5-1 vote at Wednesday morning’s work session. David Banks of Northeast and East Cobb’s Post 5, who presented two different maps to board members the past two weeks, cast the dissenting vote. Lynnda Crowder-Eagle of West Cobb’s Post 1 didn't attend the meeting. Banks said he emailed board members his two reapportionment designs and worked with Crowder-Eagle on his first map. He also said Wednesday that because he did not hear from any board members about his maps, he assumed they had no questions. “I’m greatly concerned that Mr. Banks has made no effort in working with the board as a whole,” Kathleen Angelucci of North Cobb’s Post …

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