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The purpose of this e-mail newsletter is to help keep the district’s stakeholders informed of education-related issues. The Board of Education appreciates your support of excellence in education and building a community with a passion for learning.
Board of Education Approves Fiscal Year 2007 Budget
The Board of Education is pleased to announce that it has adopted a Fiscal Year 2007 budget that does not increase tax rates, preserves the local salary supplement for teachers, and includes a full 3.4 percent raise for all employees (the equivalent of 4 percent on the state salary schedule). Approved June 22, the budget designates $5.2 million to create a network of Area Lead Teachers who will serve as instructional mentors for other teachers throughout the District. This program replaces the previous Instructional Lead Teacher program that was reconfigured as a result of difficult budget choices. In another difficult choice, the Board has included a furlough day for all 14,000 school District employees. This day off without pay will be delayed until late in the year in the hope that additional revenue will be realized and the furlough will not be necessary. Several factors, including state austerity cuts, an increased Local Fair Share obligation, and new legislation mandating reduced class sizes, have pushed the cost of educating Cobb County’s students beyond the budget limit. The FY2007 budget projects revenues of $832,958,536 and expenditures of $845,133,726. Options to bridge the budget gap included cutting educational programs and personnel, raising tax rates, or drawing from the District’s reserve fund. The Board took the initiative to address the two most critical issues in this year’s budget - the pay raise and the Area Lead Teacher program - by deciding to use available funds from the District’s general fund reserve. The District’s reserve fund still will increase by approximately $8 million and will represent the same percentage of the overall budget that it did in the current fiscal year. The FY2007 budget takes effect July 1, 2006. For more detailed budget information, please click here.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT:
Cobb Ranks 2nd Among States in SAT?

Sure, Cobb’s not a state, but it does quite well in a just-for-fun comparison that matches the school district against states with more than 70 percent of students taking the SAT. The SAT is used to predict a student’s potential for success in the first year of college and is required for admission to most colleges and universities. But in 2005, only 13 states plus the District of Columbia had more than 70 percent of students take the SAT.
Typically, the higher the percentage of students taking the test, the lower the average score for a district or state. That’s because more test-takers indicates a broader sample of the student body , and not just higher-performing college-bound students.
In Cobb, 81 percent of high school students took the SAT in 2005 and the average district score was 1047 out of a possible 1600. When compared to states with a similar percentage of students taking the test, Cobb tied Massachusetts for second place and trailed only New Hampshire. The state of Georgia also had more than 70 percent of students take the SAT (71%) and ranked 13th.

Chart source: Cobb County School District
Data: College Board

ATHLETICS NEWS:
Lassiter Defeats Kell for State Baseball Title in All-Cobb Championship
Two Cobb baseball teams met head-to-head for the state baseball title in late May, as Lassiter defeated Kell 10-9 and 9-5 in the two games of the state championship. Congratulations to the Trojans for their AAAAA State Title.

Walton Boys Win AAAAA Soccer Championship With Win Over Harrison
The Walton Raiders boys soccer team defeated fellow Cobb team Harrison 1-0 to win the school's third state championship. The team's playoff run included a win over Kennesaw Mountain and a 3-2 comeback victory over Chattahoochee. Walton finished with a 17-2-2 record. Congratulations!

REDISTRICTING UPDATE:
Following a Cobb Superior Court ruling in June, the Board of Education has approved the final school attendance zone for the new Hillgrove High School in west Cobb. As part of the consent order, the state Legislature will move to repeal a state law enacted in March that restricted the school board’s process of redistricting schools. Click here to view the attendance zone map for Hillgrove High School.

NEWS FROM OUR SCHOOLS:

Campbell High School students are getting hands-on experience with their science work, thanks to involvement from the Arch Chemical Company. The company has donated a 125 lb. Marine Lab Aquarium for marine biology studies, as well as a Short Range Projectile Launch and Collision Track for physics applications. Representatives from Arch have also spent time with teachers and students in the classroom, sharing real-world experience with chemistry, physics and biology. These educational resources are helping Campbell students learn through fun, unique experiments that show science in action.

Seventh graders in Toni Collie's language arts class at Palmer Middle School took top honors for the "We the People: Project Citizen" state competition in May. Students researched and examined public policy issues such as bullying and soda machines in schools, preparing an action plan to present to local authorities. The Palmer portfolios were judged by education and government officials, qualifying their work for the national Project Citizen competition.

SPLOST UPDATE:
The good news story of SPLOST continues
for Cobb County taxpayers. In April and
May 2006, the School Board:

• Approved a classroom addition and renovations at Still Elementary School. The scope of the project includes: adding 10 instructional units (6 kindergarten and 4 primary classrooms); additions and modifications to the administrative area; enclosing the walkway between existing buildings; upgrading main electrical switchgear; upgrading HVAC throughout existing buildings; installing new HVAC in physical education building; re-roofing physical education building; providing marker boards; installing additional security lighting. The $6.6 million contract was awarded to Cooper & Company General Contractor of Cumming, Ga.

• Approved a classroom addition and renovations at East Cobb Middle School. The scope of the project includes: adding 8 instructional units (2 math, 2 science, 2 language arts, 2 social studies classrooms); increasing the administration and pupil personnel areas to meet new educational specifications; modifying the existing administration area; upgrading electrical main switch gear and panel; providing air conditioning for the main gym; refinishing the canopy; replacing 7 RTU's and 2 split systems for band and choral rooms; expanding and renovating food service serving line area; installing marker boards; refinishing the canopy to gymnasium; stripping and refinishing the gymnasium floor; upgrading the clock system. The $4.3 million contract was awarded to Mooney Construction Co. of Woodstock, Ga.

All of these projects were part of the SPLOST II program approved in 2003. To view the agenda items for the projects, please click here.

Cobb County Board of Education
Dr. Teresa Plenge, Chairman • Curt Johnston, Vice Chairman
Lindsey Tippins • Kathleen Johnstone • Betty Gray • Johnny Johnson • Laura Searcy

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