David Banks, Vicki Griffin, Darryl Wilson and Al Meyer are seeking the Republican nomination for Cobb School Board Post 5, the seat being vacated by Johnnie Johnson, and responded to a series of questions from the Marietta Daily Journal. Two Democrats are vying for that party's nomination. The July 15 primary winners will face off in the general election on Nov. 4.
Q. Superintendent Fred Sanderson says when determining what kind of schedule Cobb's high schools should be on, be it block, traditional or a hybrid, the decision should be made by the principals and him. Do you agree, or do you think this is a policy issue that should be decided by the school board based on the superintendent's recommendation?
Banks: I think the School Board should establish the policy and apply it throughout the entire district. We cannot afford experimentation with the susceptibility to bias. The district should have a standard schedule policy no matter which school you attend.
Griffin: What concerns me most with respect to block scheduling is the difference in the amount of classroom time students on block scheduling receive, as it is significantly less than their counterparts participating in the traditional semester schedule. Also the issue of length of class: 90 minutes/block, ~50/traditional and given that you only have anyone's attention for ~50 minutes, students on traditional not only get this quality time, but it is also spread out over more days, and it is this difference that is paramount. However, there are courses that lend themselves well to block: science labs, computer labs, fine arts, consumer sciences, career tech and PE classes. A hybrid version embracing the strengths of both would best serve students' long term retention and learning. Frequently, the very families and teachers affected have had virtually no say in what schedule the schools their students attend observe. Given this previous disconnect, I think those who are directly accountable to the people they purport to represent, should ultimately decide. Of course, these decisions should be based on factual information & input from the community, Superintendent Sanderson and each school, including the teachers and administrators. There needs to be more sunshine, positive action and inclusion of opinions of the families and within the schools each board member serves.
Wilson: The superintendent should make recommendations to the board and be able to support positions on scheduling with data collected from staff and other sources. The board should put itself in a knowledgeable position to ask
questions to test those positions and also reflect the will of the families, seniors and other stakeholders in
approving or disapproving of the those recommendations.
Meyer: Being a proponent of local control I believe that the individual school should determine what the best kind of schedule is for the students. The decision the principals make should be based on serious consideration of inputs from the parents, students and teachers.
Q. Do you favor a school start date between Aug. 1 and 15; between Aug. 16 and 30; or on the day after Labor Day?
Banks: I would prefer the school year for students begin the day after Labor Day and end the last Friday in May or if the 180 required days can not be met, then end the school year no later than the second Friday in June. The present practice of determining the school schedule every two years causes continued dissatisfaction of all parties. The policy should be defined so that all parties can plan accordingly.
Griffin: I'm personally in favor of a later start date for the school year, preferring a date right after Labor Day, certainly no earlier than sometime during the last week of August. Beyond family enrichment and quality of life factors are the environmental and health issues that make a later start date more compelling. Our typical August weather begs to have our children fully enjoying the recreation that can only be had in the hottest summer month: our neighborhood pools, lakes and rivers. There is also our economy as we lose too much revenue, forcing summer recreation venues to reduce to weekend only hours long before summer is over. And it is more than our state and local communities wallets, because our students and children also lose out as the time they may work and save money for college and the upcoming school year is reduced by those weeks. It's better for students to work when school's not in session, so that once school begins, their main job can be their education. In my opinion, the entire month of August should again be part of our children's summer vacation equation. But having said that, I intend to represent the voices of those who elect me, and to that end, I will support whatever start date they want.
Wilson: A traditional school calendar is a subject that deserves another look. We will benchmark student performance from past calendars, and consider that current seniors and future retirees are counting on the senior tax exemption. The increasing tax exemption, decreases revenue and may affect decisions regarding a school calendar. I want to keep that exemption and increase student performance. Therefore, to offset the loss of revenue that keeps property taxes low, recommendations for initiatives (like SPLOST, traditional school calendars,
etc.), will have a specific reference to the Education return on investment (EROI). More directly, I will ask for the superintendent to include impact data regarding start dates and how they will affect student achievement.
Meyer: A later school start date would have many benefits from both an economic and health aspect for the students. Last year was the hottest August on record. Both the fuel efficiency of the school busses and the student's health suffer because of the high temperature and extreme ozone conditions which peak toward August. The high temperatures also put excessive strain on the air conditioning facilities of the school system. For this reason, a start date after Labor Day would be ideal.
Q. Do you plan on voting for the constitutional amendment this November that would allow school revenues to be diverted to pay for redevelopment projects through Tax Allocation District (TAD) financing?
Banks: No. I do not believe taxpayers should be subsidizing developers. If the project is not viable financially on its own, then it should not be done. TAD is just another name for OPM (Other Peoples Money).
Griffin: I am uncertain of the prudence of changing our Constitution to accommodate the financial interests of select communities, Tax Allocation Districts (TADs), using school revenue. I understand that when redeveloping a community, the school district serving that area will require new resources to properly serve the redeveloped area, but I fear diverting our school funds directly to the developers. This is the financial equivalent of taxation without representation as our local school board will relinquish their accountability and fiduciary responsibility to those their constituents have not elected to properly steward their trust. I think the courts have already properly decided this issue and before I would vote for a Constitutional amendment changing this I would need to see safeguards and restrictions tight and narrow enough to prohibit unsavory or unwise usage of school funds. Changing our Constitution opens a huge door that will be loathe to shut if opened imprudently.
Wilson: I don't believe that TAD financing is a viable option to consider at this point. Going forward, property owners and developers will have to provide a transparent and workable plan that has proven impact to the bottom line of higher student achievement.
Meyer: I will vote against this amendment in November. When the voters of Cobb County give their consent for revenues to be targeted for schools and education, those revenues should not be diverted for redevelopment projects. If the voter believes that school monies may be diverted for redevelopment, any future streams of revenue may have difficulty being approved.
Q. If the constitutional amendment passed, would you, as a school board member, ever vote to put school-tax revenues toward a TAD project?
Banks: I cannot visualize a case where I would vote to subsidize a developer. If, however, there were clear evidence and a high probability that the taxpayers would benefit directly, then I may reconsider.
Griffin: Again, I question the prudence of taking accountability away from an entity elected to represent the educational interests of our students. Any layer that further removes revenue from those elected to properly and thoroughly steward it is in all likelihood, at minimum, unwise. However, with tight and narrow restrictions and the support of the people I'd represent, I would vote as my constituents request me to vote. If the people of my post and their best interests were behind a redevelopment project that depended on school tax revenues to support it, it is their tax dollars and I would vote accordingly. It is the duty and obligation of any school board member to represent the people who elected them and to spend, or not, their tax dollars as their constituents require and demand.
Wilson: Assuming TADs are later approved, it is still my belief that they do not have a sustained record of providing long-term benefit to the education system. New ideas on changes to TAD applications and algorithms may provide a more favorable response in the future. We should focus on return on investment and public awareness initiatives. If an objective test cannot be made in TAD presentations by applicants, then it should not come before the school board for decision and/or it would not get a favorable vote.
Meyer: It would be irresponsible to make an absolute statement on how I would vote in a hypothetical situation. It would be highly unlikely that I would ever endorse using school tax revenues toward a TAD project.
Q. Do you think school boards spend too much time dealing with things such as buying air conditioners, school buses and deep-fat fryers, and not enough time focusing on academic matters?
Banks: Yes. The approval threshold set by the School Board is too low and should be raised. When the budget is finalized, there should be enough confidence that department heads and above will spend budget money appropriately. Each level of spending authority should have a spending threshold and above that would require a higher-level approval. Of course proper reporting and auditing are essential and would ensure compliance.
Griffin: Just as a family
must deal with their budget and determine how to best utilize their finances for purchases, vehicle maintenance, appliance replacement and utility costs, so must a properly grounded school district. Then delegate to the guidance of accountants and financial advisers who engage the procurement process and secure purchases, but it is ultimately the school board who answers to those who have elected them oversee what is actually spent and on what. The failed Carver Governance Model tried to usurp this accountability and divert the responsibility and power away from the elected body whose duty it is to perform these functions and oversee these expenditures. Certainly academic matters are the overwhelming reason there is a school district, but again, we delegate to teachers and local administrators the art and science of teaching our students as they know best how to serve our neighborhood schools and students. But it's the school board's duty and obligation to oversee this process and insure that our neighborhood schools and teachers are performing their best and given the tools & resources they need to fully serve our students and community. Buying the air conditioners, school buses and appliances so that our schools have the physical resources conducive to learning is part of a school board's duty and obligation to the community we serve.
Wilson: Our school has instituted a citizen oversight entity in the Facilities and Technology committee. The F&T committee does the hard work of focusing in detail on those matters for the community. The board should take the F&T report in consideration with staff reporting in making its decision. With the cost of petroleum based products hitting new highs every week, I don't think it is a waste of time. As far as academic matters go, I would be equally intense and inquisitive about matters that affect the academic education of your children and my own in Cobb K-12 schools. Since we have the best schools in our district, any changes that I would make to balancing priorities would be vetted through the interaction with student data, parents and administrators.
Meyer: No. An important role of the school board is to act as good stewards of the citizen's money. The school board is able to use economies of scale that individual schools cannot. They are also directly answerable to the people, where a district employee is not. It is the responsibility of the school board to execute both their financial and their academic responsibilities in a timely and efficient matter which best benefits the academic achievement of the students and the prudent use of the taxpayers' money.
Q. Do you think it's true that there are too many high-salaried administrators at the District's headquarters? Would you work to reassign them, or do without them entirely?
Banks: Unfortunately we saw some abuse from previous administrations when
hiring district administrators. There needs to be accountability and using approved budgets is a good gauge. Each superintendent will have their own style of management so the district organizational structure is not always static. With a percentage of the Budget established for administration, the superintendent will have flexibility, but within specific budgetary parameters.
Griffin: Most businesses and organizations have too many high-salaried upper-level managers and I'm sure our school district is no exception. Our job should be to weed out the superfluous, to pare down to the necessary. We need to ask the important questions: Do these positions and the people in them provide a worthwhile service & valuable liaison between our neighborhood schools and their needs, or do they simply add distance and another bureaucratic layer to the chain? We need to be suspicious and proactive when sacrifices are asked of those actually performing the important work. In our schools, this would equate to money, personnel and resources being reduced at the classroom & neighborhood school level to accommodate another layer near the top. The more money, personnel and resources put directly into each classroom and neighborhood school, the better our entire district is served. That is common sense and the fair and right thing to do for our students, our children. Our school district is, after all, only as strong as our neighborhood schools, and our schools, only as strong as each classroom.
Wilson: There is, and should be, a look at staffing in any efficiency review and certainly now with the state of our economy. But, with over 105,000 students, and thousands of teachers and parents, we may need to look away from monetizing quality of life and more towards providing a higher quality of life. Again, this function is the responsibility of our superintendent and is why we hire him or her to provide that leadership. I suspect these are already conversations on the table. When elected, I will consult privately with the superintendent and publicly to the public to deliver more information on teacher-pay relationships and what other areas we can adjust besides pay.
Meyer: There is certainly a wide salary margin between the classroom teacher and the professional administrator. This is one reason for the current attrition rate of teachers from the classroom. It is also true that for Cobb to attract the best professionals, it must offer competitive salaries to both its teachers and administrators.
The entire administrative organization must be continually reviewed to look for new cost savings.
Q. Do you think Cobb teachers are "teaching to the test" when it comes to the CRCTs, SATs, etc.?
Banks: No, but I do believe there is a disconnect between the Cobb school system and state administrators. Cobb far exceeds what the state requires. Cobb has traditionally taught "above" the test - which is why Cobb continually beat the state scores.
Griffin: The CRCTs are the state mandated minimal competency tests covering the standard material that is supposed to be taught, so if a teacher is "teaching to the CRCT" then they are teaching the very material they supposed to be teaching. Because the CRCT stands all by itself it holds teachers accountable. However, even when the best teachers teach all of the materials properly & thoroughly, there will always be some students who fail. This needs to be recognized & acknowledged. Other tests administered are the ITBS and the CoGAT which are national tests that help teachers determine if students are working up to their potential, working beyond expectations, displaying signs of giftedness or indicating red flags for learning disabilities. These tests should be seen and used as the valuable tools they can be. With them, comparisons can be made which will enable teachers to identify specific areas & students who can then be better served by using this information to work with other teachers to strategize solutions. The SAT is a national test, a college entrance exam, which helps gauge how much of the material a student could have learned over the course of their entire education has actually been learned, retained. It also gives states insight as to how well their students compare with other students across the country. What many people fail to realize is that the number of students who take the SAT varies from state to state, city to city, & even within school districts. To our credit, many more of our students take the SAT than in most states. This wrongly deflates our standing in how we compare nationally. In many states only their best & brightest students, those headed to college, take the SAT, here, the door is wide open and most students take the SAT. What is a waste of valuable teaching time are the NCLB requirements, as teachers feel forced to have their students display unrealistic or unattainable gains in order for their schools to meet NCLB. Even high performing schools are pressured to have their students surpass their previous high results, which is stress-inducing for administrators, teachers and students and wasteful as this energy could be better spent working with students who have been identified as in need of special services.
Wilson: Yes in Cobb County, NO in Post 5. Unfortunately, the think tank in New York rolled out No Child Left Behind. I have some ideas and have been in consultation with students and administrators on this and will be consulting with legislators on how to improve the quality of education in our school system.
Meyer: Based upon the latest CRCT scores for math and social studies it appears that Cobb's curriculum and the CRCT tests are not properly aligned. The curriculum should align in general concept and covered material with the test. I do not lay this failure on the teachers. I feel most of the responsibility lies with the State Department of Education for not aligning the curriculum with the tests.
Q. What would you do to lower Cobb's dropout rate?
Banks: First, we need to get to the true dropout rate by excluding transient illegals from the count. Second, community expectations toward education play a major role in attitudes with respect to education and success. We must do a better job of emphasizing the value of a high school education and connecting that diploma to future employment and success in the workplace. Where we have at risk students they need to be identified as early as possible to provide the maximum opportunity to divert them from dropping out. Parent(s) are a key element and must be fully committed and involved in any diversion program. Third, it is important that the teacher and student connect. There are two aspects to a relationship; respect and caring. A Teacher must earn respect, but caring must be given. Parents need to feel that their child is loved and their development is as important to the teacher as it is for the parent.
Griffin: The effort to reduce Cobb's drop-out rate needs to begin in middle school. For whatever reason, we lack the resources to deliver even gifted programs for all the students who were previously recognized and served throughout elementary school. Lack of resources and teachers to accommodate all of those previously served becomes a problem that is "solved" by weeding out students suddenly deemed unworthy of receiving services in all academic areas. This elimination tells middle school students that already the expectations of what they are capable of is lessened from that of elementary school. This elimination hurts them in high school because the higher math they may lack is used in the science classes they'll be taking. In high school, for average and under-performing students, the new math & science standards required for graduation, although well-intentioned, may prove to be a push over the edge rather than the academic lift it was intended to be. The elimination of the career/tech diploma and it's unique requirements may also serve to penalize students who, although bright and having potential for great success, will be forced to take all of the course work required of college-bound students. Again, well-intentioned but perhaps short-sighted, non-constructive, unwise and potentially harmful. Many students frustrated by a few difficult classes needed to graduate may just give up and drop-out. Also frustrating is the lack of forgiveness when a course has been failed because even if the student repeats the course and does well, the original failing grade stays with them and their GPA. This gives students no opportunity to mature or make mistakes. It needs to be recognized and accommodated that not all students are able or inclined to do the same level, depth or caliber of course work. Every student has their gift, the trick is to recognize, encourage and enable it, whatever it may be. Creativity and imagination need to be accounted for just as much as the ability to solve complex math equations or write deep insightful analysis.
Wilson: Again, this would be an opportunity to talk up the chain as well as hear from other stakeholders, but my initial advocacy would be to ask legislators to raise the age of emancipation so that 16 yr olds can't make that decision for themselves. Within the district we can learn best practices for increasing parental involvement and make those recommendations for all clusters. Other factors we need to consider relate to working with community organizations. I would ask these organizations to present their experiences to the board in a forum and invite parents and chambers of commerce to the table to see how they can best utilize these resources and what we can do to support them. We have great schools in Post 5. I will listen to the experts and provide guidance for others on how to do what we do; but will not upset the algorithm of success that we now enjoy in East Cobb.
Meyer: The dropout rate is the result of many factors including demographics, socio-economic factors, and a culture of acceptability for dropping out of school. The culture needs to be changed among peers and parents and education needs to be elevated to a position of status our society reserves for wealth and celebrity. Students need to be made aware at an earlier age the factors which lead to academic success. Students need to know how life style choices made during adolescence will impact not only their academic success, but also their ability to achieve the things they want out of life. I would encourage the use of graduation coaches, master teachers, virtual schools for the rural areas, and student mentors for the middle and high schools.
Q. Are "portable classrooms," i.e., trailers, a necessary evil that we'll never be entirely without, as Superintendent Fred Sanderson contends, or do you think the goal should be to get rid of every last one?
Banks: The goal should be "ZERO Tolerance for Trailers". If it is determined that student over capacity requires a trailer and it is projected that the over capacity is to last three or more years, then an expansion program should be started and completed within the three years. I also believe better planning for expansion in the initial design of a school would help relieve the need for long-term trailer placements.
Griffin: Our goal should certainly be to eliminate every "portable classroom." If a school consistently has more students than it's physical building can accommodate & it is not a temporary issue of waiting for a new school to be built or a product of an unusually large couple of grades that will move out & be greatly reduced in just a few years, then something more permanent than the temporary "portable classrooms" needs to be done. Redistricting, always a hot-button topic, may be one of the solutions to help eliminate the current need for "portable classrooms". The very first SPLOST that I voted for, far too many years ago, was supposed to eliminate the need for "portable classrooms"... obviously that didn't happen. I understand that miscalculations are made and that more people may move to certain areas where the neighborhood schools are already at the top of their physical student population limits, but when some schools have the oxymoron of permanent "portable classrooms", those that have been in their school yards for over a decade, something is wrong.
Wilson: I think the Superintendent is right on principle, and the board has taken prudent action to vote to eliminate all single-wide trailers and ensure that the remaining portable classrooms are brought up to standard. Standard in the next 4 years will mean 21st Century classrooms, and setting a higher standard for academic achievement. Portables allow for flexibility in enrollment. Using cost and census data and other demographic projections, we can ensure that these are kept to a minimum. At no time, however, should any classroom -portable or fixed addition- be below "standard classroom." We will continue the tradition of high quality education in East Cobb.
Meyer: It may be unlikely that portable classrooms will be eliminated in the near future, because they are a solution to extreme fluctuations in student populations, but the goal should still be to eliminate them. Businesses do not achieve excellence by accepting the status quo and neither should the Cobb County school district. If elimination of the portable classrooms becomes a high enough priority with the voters of Cobb County, I am confident it will happen. I will work to make it a high priority and will support the efforts of others in the community to do so.
Q. SPLOST III calls for about $35 million for new whiteboards, overhead projectors and sound systems. Do you think this new technology that was introduced into a few Cobb schools in January has been properly tested and evaluated? Has it proved itself as a tool to advance student achievement?
Banks: The question is not has it been tested. The fact is it has been proven to be effective by school systems much more technologically advanced than Cobb County. The question should be, are the users prepared to effectively use the new technology tools?
Integration of technology into the classroom cannot be random. It involves proper planning and implementation. I believe it is common sense that with better tools the learning process will be enhanced, but only if there are trained and effective instructors. As a school system we must determine not only the "Right things to do but ensure those Right things are done Right". We must never lose sight of the fact that an excellent school system adds tremendous value to the community it serves.
Griffin: I have had the extreme pleasure of seeing these interactive smart white boards and overhead projectors being fully utilized many times by teachers and their students, as well as having used them myself. The advantage for teachers is having virtually any internet accessible resource available to them & the ability to fully share it with their class. During the several classes at different schools that this technology was utilized I saw engaged and attentive students who were eager to share their skills with their classmates via this interactive technology. During several math classes where the boards were being utilized to solve graphing equations students actually volunteered to show their work in front of the class. It is a wonderful interactive tool for teachers and an enriching means that allows students to actively participate in their education. I can't decide who enjoyed using them more, the students or their teachers. And for someone like me, who is, according to my sons, "technologically Amish", I found them to be easy to navigate, user-friendly, very helpful and fun. This is money well spent, and if you asked the students who were using them, I think they'd agree. The only glitch I encountered was not having the software to have this technology up and running in each classroom. Many teachers "float" during their day which requires re-calibration, etc with each classroom's white board. How much simpler & less time consuming the set-up would be if the stationary desktop computer in each classroom was also set up & ready to run that classroom's whiteboard & projector. Although each teacher has their own laptop to work with the whiteboards, it requires time and effort to re-calibrate and get it set it up & working for the students. This time-consuming waste could be eliminated with the proper software, fully & properly placed.
Wilson: New technology provides more tools in the toolbox for our teachers. The objective of advancing student achievement will rely largely on how well we train our teachers to use these tools to gain a better understanding of concepts. These tools have been proven to improve learning in schools outside of Cobb who have more experience with them; and schools within our district are raising funds through foundations and bake sales to acquire more. Travelling across this state with the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, I have seen how education tools like these do indeed advance student achievement and I will call for the Superintendent to provide leadership in regard to learning delivery techniques, so that we maximize the benefit more quickly for our students.
Meyer: The 21st Century Project is a forward looking initiative for integrating technology in the classrooms, but the fact of the matter is that not enough metrics have been collected to make a realistic evaluation on whether the return on investment is there as far as student achievement is concerned. Being a software engineer by profession working in a field of advanced technology, I am a strong proponent of integrating technology into the classrooms, but there needs to be a quantifiable increase in student achievement in order to justify the large expenditures for the equipment. When new technology is introduced to the classrooms, it would be better to phase it in, in order to allow the program to be adjusted and incorporate earlier lessons learned.
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Excellent and informative! Thanks.