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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.

BUDGET UPDATE: School Tax Rate Unchanged

The Board of Education has approved a Fiscal Year 2007 millage rate of 19 mills for the general fund budget and .90 mills for the debt-service budget, the same rate as in Fiscal Year 2006. As a result, school property taxes will not change except for properties that have been reassessed. The debt-service millage is used to pay off debt incurred by the District as a result of prior bond issues. The last Cobb school bond was in 1995, prior to the arrival of the SPLOST program. A portion of the current SPLOST revenue is being used to pay down the previous bond debt. As a result, in the spring of 2007, Cobb will become one of the few districts nationwide to be completely debt free.

The millage rate will provide for the FY2007 school district budget approved June 22, 2006. This budget 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).
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. Even though the reserve fund was used to balance the budget as a result of the funding issues mentioned previously, 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 took effect July 1, 2006. For more detailed budget information, please click here.

Five Year History of Cobb Millage Rates and Exemptions
Since FY2002, the Cobb County School District has lowered the total district millage rate from 20.05 Mills to 19.90 Mills. The FY2007 total millage rate is 19.90 Mills which continues the same rate as FY2006. For the FY2008 school district budget, the school district will be “DEBT FREE” and will no longer be required to make debt service payments on prior bond issues. The following chart displays a five year history of school district millage rates and exemptions:

Fiscal Year	General Fund Millage	Debt Service Millage	Total Millage	Exemptions Granted
FY2002	19.00	1.05	20.05	$64,744,128
FY2003	19.00	0.90	19.90	$71,005,865
FY2004	19.00	0.90	19.90	$76,082,153
FY2005	19.00	0.90	19.90	$85,064,261
FY2006	19.00	0.90	19.90	$93,697,677
FY2007	19.00	0.90	19.90	$100,798,755

Metro Atlanta County School District Property Tax Comparison
Cobb County School District taxes are low compared to other county school districts in the Metro Atlanta area. The average home in Cobb County is approximately $165,000 for comparative purposes.

School District	General Fund Millage	Debt Service Millage	Taxes on a $165,000 Home
Cobb	19.000	.900	$1,123
Fulton	17.825	.282	$1,159
Dekalb	22.980	.000	$1,229
Gwinnett	19.250	1.300	$1,279

Cobb County School District Tax Exemptions
Cobb County School District tax exemptions are among the most generous in the State of Georgia. Two of the most popular exemptions are the Age 62 Exemption and the Homestead Exemption. Cobb County qualified homeowners who are Age 62 as of January 1 are entitled to a full exemption in the school general and school bond tax categories. Qualified homeowners are entitled to a $10,000 Homestead Exemption in the school general tax category. FY2007 tax exemptions will total more than $100 Million.

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

• Authorized the extension of a contract for digital video surveillance systems to Network Digital Security from Aug. 1, 2006 through July 31, 2007. The digital video surveillance systems will increase the safety and security of school campuses. The contract is not to exceed $950,000 and includes cameras, monitors and recorders for video surveillance at middle and high schools. The systems will have the necessary components to provide for the storage and retrieval of digital video images. The installations planned include Daniell, East Cobb, Lost Mountain, and Smitha middle schools, and Harrison, Kennesaw Mountain, McEachern, Oakwood, Pebblebrook, Walton, Wheeler, Central Alternative, Campbell, Kell, Lassiter, Pope, South Cobb, Sprayberry, and Allatoona high schools.

• Approved a contract to construct a fine arts addition and renovation at Pine Mountain Middle School. The $2.2 million project includes new band, choral and orchestra rooms and conversion of former fine arts rooms into standard classrooms. Other renovations at Pine Mountain include providing air conditioning for the main gym, making upgrades to electrical switchgear and landscaping the drive entrance to the school.

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.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT:
Cobb Subgroups Show Improvement
on AYP; District Remains on Needs Improvement List

Recently released Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) data shows Cobb County students made significant improvements over 2005, especially in subgroups of students that caused the District to miss AYP in previous years. The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (OSA) released the 2006 AYP determinations for all schools and districts in the state of Georgia.

Despite the progress made by most of Cobb’s students, the District remains on a list of school districts in Georgia identified as not making “Adequate Yearly Progress”. Districts and schools that do not make AYP for two consecutive years are deemed “Needs Improvement”. Cobb is on the Needs Improvement list for the second year.

As in 2005, the academic performance of subgroups resulted in the District not making Adequate Yearly Progress. In 2005, the subgroups were English Language Learners, Hispanic Students, and Students With Disabilities who did not meet standards in multiple subject areas at multiple levels. In 2006, the subgroups were Black students and Students With Disabilities in only one subject area, mathematics, and at only one level, the Georgia High School Graduation Test.

This year the state raised the bar for high school mathematics, increasing the required percentage of students needing to meet or exceed academic standards. While the two subgroups showed progress from 2005 to 2006, the gain was not enough to push the District to the required higher standard in math.

Overall, the subgroups identified in 2005 as not meeting standards made significant improvements. Following last year’s report, the District developed a comprehensive School System Improvement Plan to address the areas of need. The plan appears to have been effective. English Language Learners, Hispanic students, and Students with Disabilities met the required standards in English/Language Arts and were removed from the list. English Language Learners and Hispanic students also were removed from the list in mathematics.

At the school level, 83 Cobb County schools (79.8 percent) met all AYP requirements in 2006, which means that 21 schools did not. That compares to 84 schools (84 percent) that met AYP requirements in 2005, and 16 that did not. This year, three schools were removed completely from Needs Improvement status, McEachern High School, Garrett Middle School, and Sanders Elementary School. Just one school (Norton Park Elementary) was added to Needs Improvement status.

Individual school results and additional information about the District's AYP status are available on the District's Web site.

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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