Furloughs Proposed for Cobb Schools

Teacher layoffs have not been recommended as the projected budget deficit for fiscal year 2014 has increased to $86.4 million.

The chief financial officer for the Cobb County School District is proposing five furlough days, hundreds of school-level staff reductions, borrowing from reserve funds and cancelling an employee cost-of-living increase to help balance a fiscal year 2014 budget deficit that has grown to an estimated $86.4 million. The proposed cuts do not include a recommendation for teacher layoffs, but savings through attrition. In a special budget presentation to the Cobb Board of Education, chief financial officer Brad Johnson said his estimates were revised up from nearly $80 million earlier this year, largely due to rising insurance costs for district employees. He is now projecting $894 million in expenses against $807.6 million in anticipated …

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Leo Smith

5:58 pm on Friday, March 22, 2013

Fund the Teachers 1st! Together we can create better legislation for local education funding. Fund the Educators 1st. LIKE the developing FACEBOOK effort at https://www.facebook.com/EducationFundingPetition -Decrease Teacher Furloughs -Fund Learning Objectives over Buildings -Engage Citizens with a November Ballot on SPLOST Votes -Prioritize Projects Based on Community Needs -Hold the System …   more ›

Hinojosa's Contract Extended Through 2014

The Cobb school superintendent's contract was due to expire on June 30.

With no discussion, the Cobb Board of Education voted Thursday night to extend the contract of Superintendent Michael Hinojosa through the end of calendar year 2014. By a 5-2 vote, the board approved an extension -- which is not a renewal -- for Hinojosa, whose initial two-year contract was to have ended on June 30 of this year. Board member Kathleen Angelucci tried inserting an amendment to delay the decision pending the results of surveys from staff, teachers and parents, but her motion gained the support of only one other colleague, David Banks. They voted against the extension, with board chairman Randy Scamihorn, vice chairman Brad Wheeler and members Scott Sweeney, David Morgan and Tim Stultz voting in favor. "I'm excited about it," …

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Hinojosa, Lembeck at Alternative Ed Conference

The Cobb and Marietta school superintendents are panelists at today's National Alternative Education Association gathering.

From a press release issued by the Cobb County School District: Dr. Michael Hinojosa, Superintendent for the Cobb County School District, will serve as one of several guest speakers in a panel discussion of public school leaders at the National Alternative Education Association (NAEA) Annual Conference Feb. 6-8 in Atlanta. Dr. Hinojosa will be joined on the Superintendent’s Panel by Marietta City Schools Superintendent Dr. Emily Lembeck; Richard Storm, principal of Union Alternative School in Oklahoma; Susie Bunch, Director of Schools for Lexington, Tennessee City School system and Anthony Pack, Superintendent of Monroe County Schools in Forsyth County, Georgia. The NAEA is a support and advocacy organization for educators who work with …

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A Message from Superintendent Hinojosa

The Cobb schools chief's open letter on the Newtown shootings and school security.

Earlier this week Patch published an article about the response of Cobb school officials to the Connecticut school shootings. The following is a statement issued by Cobb County School District Superintendent Michael Hinojosa about the same topic. Dear Cobb County Schools Community, We all are in shock and disbelief at the tragic event that occurred last Friday and our hearts pour out to the community of Newtown, Connecticut. As a result of this terrible, senseless act, many concerns about safety have carried over to our own community. I want to reassure parents that Cobb County schools are as safe an environment for your children as you will find anywhere. We have state-of-the-art security resources available, including: In addition, all …

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Charter School Amendment Forum at Lassiter

Cobb school superintendent Michael Hinojosa and State Rep. Ed Setzler will appear at a PTSA-sponsored event next Monday.

Charter School Amendment Forum at Lassiter

Cobb school superintendent Michael Hinojosa and State Rep. Ed Setzler will appear at a PTSA-sponsored event next Monday.

Lassiter High School will be the venue next week for a public forum on HR 1162, a proposed charter school amendment to the Georgia Constitution appearing on the Nov. 6 general election ballot. The Lassiter PTSA and the Mountain View Elementary School PTA are sponsoring the forum, which begins next Monday, Oct. 29, at 7:30 p.m. in the Lassiter Theater. Lassiter is located at 2601 Shallowford Road in Northeast Cobb.  State Rep. Ed Setzler (R-North Cobb), the head of the Cobb legislative delegation, will speak in favor of the amendment. It would allow the Georgia Department of Education to create a committee to approve charter school applications without the authorization of local school boards. Michael Hinojosa, the Cobb County School …

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Cobb School Board Cuts Furlough Day

A new principal also was appointed on Thursday for Sprayberry High School.

One of three staff furlough days imposed by the Cobb Board of Education for the 2012-13 school year has been eliminated. By a 5-2 vote, the board granted on Thursday a paid workday to teachers and support staff that will cost the Cobb County School District an estimated $3 million, to come from reserve funds.  Voting against the measure were Tim Stultz, of Post 2 in the Smyrna area, and Kathleen Angelucci, of Post 4 in North Cobb.  They objected because of another significant deficit anticipated for the 2013-14 school year. Superintendent Michael Hinojosa said no detailed analysis has been done, but estimated the hole will be "at least" $40 million. In May, the board approved the three furlough days in closing a $62 million gap to balance …

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Charter School Petition on Cobb Board Agenda

Superintendent Michael Hinojosa is recommending denial of a start-up school in Smyrna, despite strong community support for the plan.

The Cobb Board of Education is expected to vote Thursday on a petition to create a charter school in Smyrna.  Many parents and residents there want it, and since last week's board work session have provided school officials with additional information about a possible location. But superintendent Michael Hinojosa continues to recommend against granting the charter status for financial, facilities and academic reasons.  That issue figures to be the major item of business when the board meets at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Cobb County School District office board room, located at 514 Glover Street in Marietta.  An executive session has been called for 6 p.m.  Supporters of the proposed Smyrna Academy of Excellence throughout Cobb County are upset…

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Cobb School Board Fails on Budget

The Board of Education has until June 30 to find a compromise that at least four members can support for fiscal 2013.

The Cobb County School District has to go back to the chalkboard after the Board of Education failed to approve the fiscal 2013 budget Thursday night. The school board has until June 30 to pass a budget for the year that starts July 1, but after the extensive, often passionate debate Thursday, the path forward is unclear. A special meeting will be scheduled to search for an answer. The seven board members staked out at least four distinct positions on the proposed $841.9 million budget—none of them matching the administration's recommendation. Superintendent Michael Hinojosa and Chief Financial Officer Mike Addison entered the meeting recommending the same budget that the school board passed April 26 on a preliminary basis. It features 350…

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Final Cobb Budget to Tweak Calendar

The Cobb County Board of Education will set the 2012-13 calendar after choosing three or five furlough days at its meeting tonight.

The Cobb County Board of Education will take up the budget, the next SPLOST and Teach for America at its regular meeting tonight. Aside from a couple of Northeast Cobb items, the biggest issue on the agenda is final passage of the $841.9 million fiscal 2013 budget, which runs from July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2013. Once the board approves a budget, it will have to agree on a school calendar to implement the furlough says. The budget recommendation from Chief Financial Officer Mike Addison and Superintendent Michael Hinojosa has not changed: five furlough days for all full-time employees; 175 school days; an increase of two students in the average class size; a decrease of 350 teachers across the system, most if not all by attritition; a half-…

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