A Message From the Board of Education
 As chairman of the Cobb County Board of Education in 2007, I am pleased to present to you this report outlining our standing as a school district. I am especially pleased that the school board was able to make several key decisions in 2007 that I believe will help our schools continue to be successful well into the future.
Much of the change in education we see today centers around technology. Early in 2007, the school board chose to move the District’s technology services back in-house. Aside from generating substantial financial savings for taxpayers, the move will result in much greater control and oversight of the District’s widespread technology resources, and greater accountability for results.
Ten years ago, about the time Cobb County voters first approved a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, the school board at the time made the decision to appoint a committee of local businesspeople who would meet regularly and review SPLOST projects. That panel, the Facilities & Technology Review Committee, still meets today and provides the board with valuable insight on key projects.
One of those projects is the 21st Century Classroom initiative – an example of the critical role technology plays in today’s learning environment. The initiative converts ordinary classrooms into 21st Century Classrooms by installing interactive whiteboards, ceiling projectors, software, and student-response systems, among other tools. The technology opens up new worlds of opportunity for teachers and students. In 2007, the school board approved converting all classrooms in seven schools throughout the District into 21st Century Classrooms. So far, the feedback from teachers, students and parents has been overwhelmingly positive, and the F&T Committee will be evaluating the performance results later in 2008.
Another SPLOST technology initiative undertaken in 2007 involved the refreshment of the District’s outdated desktop computers. Using SPLOST funds approved by the public in 2003, nearly 33,000 computers five years or older were replaced throughout the District’s 120 facilities. In addition, 8,500 teachers received their own laptop computer to help with classroom instruction, also as a result of SPLOST.
To date, the SPLOST program has been a huge success for the school district, and a substantial value for Cobb County taxpayers. The second five-year SPLOST program will expire at the end of 2008, and the school board expects to ask the public for a renewal.
Still on the subject of SPLOST, I am especially proud of the fact that the school board was able to use $184 million in SPLOST receipts to retire bond debt leftover from a prior building campaign. In February 2007, the Cobb County School District became completely free of long-term debt, a rare accomplishment for a system with 120 facilities and more than 107,000 students.
Other projects in 2007 included a partnership with the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce to expand the availability of free SAT preparation courses for high school students. The school board also targeted better communication with its constituents by broadcasting its board meetings live on COBB edTV, and it continued the long-term process of reconstituting its board policy manual.
Overall, it was an outstanding year for the Cobb County School District and I was proud to be able to serve as the school board chairman. Thank you for the support you provide to help our schools stay great.
Sincerely,
Lindsey Tippins
2007 Board Chair, Post 1 |
