Demonstration Level: Harrison, Kennesaw Mountain, Lassiter, Pope, Sprayberry, Walton

Certified Level: Campbell High, North Cobb, Osborne, Wheeler

Affiliate Level: Kell

Middle School Affiliates:
Several middle schools have met the criteria required to be APCS Affiliates. Each school is working with its local high schools to prepare students for the challenge provided by honors and AP courses: Lindley, Campbell, Dickerson, Dodgen, Hightower Trail, Daniell, Palmer, Awtrey, Durham and Cooper middle schools.

Congratulations to all APCS schools. Details about the criteria for each level are available on the District's Web site.

BOARD NEWS:
Board Welcomes New Members
The Board would like to welcome new members Dr. John Abraham, Post 4; Holli Cash, Post 2; and Dr. John Crooks, Post 6. Each was sworn into office Jan. 9 and participated in the Jan. 10 work session. Board member biographies are available on the District Web site.

DISTRICT NEWS:
Lassiter's Joy Lynn Tynes Named Georgia Foreign Language Teacher of the Year
Congratulations to Joy Lynn Tynes of Lassiter High School who was recently named 2007 Foreign Language Teacher of the Year by the Foreign Language Association of Georgia (FLAG). Ms. Tynes was chosen for the honor by the FLAG board, which is comprised of teachers and administrators from throughout the state. She will be officially presented with the award at the FLAG luncheon March 3 in Atlanta. More information about FLAG is available on the organization’s web site.

Cobb Celebrates National School Counseling Week Feb. 5 - 9
The Board is proud to join in the celebration of National School Counseling Week Feb. 5 - 9. The District employs 310 guidance counselors who assist students in career exploration, connect with parents in helping students grow, and work alongside teachers to improve the learning environments within our schools.

Please take the time to tell a counselor at your local school thank you the work they do for students.

SPLOST UPDATE:
Four Cobb Schools Begin 2007 With New, Updated Facilities
With a new year comes new and much-welcomed space at Campbell Middle and LaBelle, Norton Park and Russell elementary schools in Cobb County. Major additions and renovations at the four schools were completed over the holiday break, adding 54 instructional spaces to the four schools and eliminating the need for nearly 40 portable classrooms. These improvements are part of the good news of Cobb’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), which has helped the Cobb County School District to refresh older facilities and build new ones. Nineteen of the 31 total SPLOST-funded additions and renovations are complete, with the remaining 12 under way.

DISTRICT NEWS:
Teacher of the Year Jennifer Dawson Named Finalist For Statewide Honor
Jennifer Dawson, social studies teacher at Lost Mountain Middle School and the 2006-07 Cobb County School District Teacher of the Year, was named one of 10 finalists for the 2008 Georgia Teacher of the Year.

Ms. Dawson was selected from among 147 district winners throughout Georgia that applied for the statewide honor. Her application was reviewed and chosen by an eight-member panel of educators, business leaders and staff members from the Department of Education. The Department of Education’s panel of judges will visit Lost Mountain in the coming weeks to conduct an interview with Ms. Dawson and observe her classroom.

The winner of the Georgia Teacher of the Year honor takes a one-year sabbatical from the classroom, in which he or she acts as a spokesperson for the state and conducts staff development activities for fellow educators. Click here for more information about the Georgia Teacher of the Year program. More information about Jennifer Dawson is available on the District Web site.

SPLOST UPDATE:
The good news story of SPLOST continues for Cobb County taxpayers. In December and January, the school board approved:

• Approved a contract to build a new classroom addition and complete other maintenance and renovation projects at Due West Elementary School. The scope of the project includes: A 12-classroom addition (four kindergarten classrooms, seven primary classrooms, and one computer lab); Expanding administrative and guidance offices; Modifying existing administrative area; replacing HVAC system; adding air conditioning to existing gymnasium; adding sprinkler system to existing buildings; upgrading main electrical switchgear and panels; replacing metal roofing on gymnasium; replacing roofing on portions of buildings 2260, 226A and 226D; re-grading and sodding playfield; and replacing message board sign at front entrance. The cost of the project is $4.6 million. The contract was awarded to C.P. Richards Construction Company, Inc., the lowest of four qualifying bidders.

• Approved a contract for maintenance and renovation projects on the annex building at Sope Creek Elementary School. The scope of the project includes: replacing existing gutters, downspouts and splash blocks; replacing damaged skirting at crawl space; repairing rusted wall in boy's toilet room; replacing door closers and weather stripping on one set of exterior doors; re-grading and reworking sidewalk for rainwater flow; extending the canopy in front of the school; adding a canopy at the bus load/unload area; replacing chalkboards with marker boards in classrooms. The cost of the project is $225,000. The contract was awarded to Davidson Southern, Inc., of Marietta, Ga., the lowest of two qualifying bidders.

• Approved a resolution of $120 million in construction for capital projects under the SPLOST II program. Since SPLOST I began in 1998, the Cobb County School District has adopted a financial plan to borrow funds through construction notes to meet the cash flow requirements for capital projects. The following amounts have been borrowed for previous calendar years: 1999 $75 million; 2000 $100 million; 2001 $110 million; 2002 $110 million; 2004 $110 million; 2005 $110 million; 2006 $115 million. Traditionally, the borrowing is approved by the Board of Education in January and repaid by December 31 of the same year.  For example, on Jan.11, 2006, the Board approved a borrowing of $115 million at the net interest cost of 3.251 percent.  At the time of the borrowing, the District was able to earn 4.7 percent. The District’s credit rating for these notes was MIG1 from Moodys and SP-1+ from Standard and Poors (the highest rating for short term notes).  The notes were paid Dec. 29, 2006. Financial advisor A.G. Edwards solicits bids for both the notes and the investment of proceeds. Interest earned on both the note proceeds and the sales tax collections is more than adequate to pay interest expense and issuance costs associated with the notes.

• Approved the final project closeouts for additions at North Cobb High School and Lovinggood and McClure middle schools. By certifying that all accounts for labor, materials and services for the projects’ construction have been paid in full and that there are no claims of any nature outstanding, either liquidated or disputed, the District will be eligible to receive $63,922.00 for Pebblebrook, $904,344.80 for Lovinggood, and $904,344.80 for McClure in State Capitol Outlay Funds allocated for the projects.