“I would prefer to balance the budget with spending cuts alone,” Chief Financial Officer Mike Addison said. “However, this year we realized that we were going to have to go with a hybrid approach: a combination of spending cuts and utilization of $21 million of unassigned fund balance,”
The board will also talk about where Gov. Nathan Deal is with signing the district’s reapportionment map, hear about a proposal to reorganize the SPLOST III project list, consider naming a SPLOST director and submit evaluations of the superintendent.
Addison is recommending the district close the budget gap by cutting 350 staff positions; increasing class sizes by two students and the number of furlough days from two to five; reducing the number of work days from 180 to 175; delaying raises for half a year; eliminating 50 library positions; reducing, and eventually eliminating, funding for Project 2400; and taking $21.5 million from the $99 million in reserves.
The school board will consider approving the tentative budget tomorrow night and the final FY13 budget on May 17.
Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa hopes to cut the 350 positions through attrition, but 75 remain filled: 50 at the elementary level and 25 at the secondary level.
As for the reapportionment map, Board Chair Scott Sweeney said he’s concerned candidates for the school board won’t have enough time to campaign if the map isn’t signed soon.
“It’s important to discuss the current map status now to understand how the process moves ahead relative to candidate qualification and primary elections,” he said. “Some potential school board candidates are in a holding pattern since they do not know if they reside within a certain voting district. This effectively shortens the time they have to muster campaign resources.”
Alison Bartlett, who represents central Cobb, will be running for re-election on July 31. According to the new map, her post will move farther into northwest Cobb.
She said the district hasn’t received any direction from the state or Cobb Board of Elections about what happens if the map doesn’t get signed in time for candidate qualifying on May 23.
According to Bartlett, the governor has 60 days to sign the bill, the school board has 40 days to submit it to the Justice Department and they have 60 days to review and consider approving it. But the school board vote will be take place in less than 97 days from today, and as of Tuesday afternoon, the map still hadn’t been signed by the governor.
Bartlett, Vice Chair David Morgan, Lynnda Eagle and David Banks are up for re-election. All but Eagle have confirmed they are running.
In other business, the district’s Deputy Superintendent of Operations Chris Ragsdale will present a reorganized list of SPLOST III projects so that they can apply for additional capital outlay funds.
“Basically, we’re looking at projects that can be pushed out until the very end of SPLOST III,” he said.
There are approximately 97 individual projects left in SPLOST III, estimated to cost about $56 million. Ragsdale said all of the projects would remain on the reorganized list
Collections for the referendum began on Jan. 1, 2009, and will end Dec. 31, 2013. Ragsdale couldn’t say how much additional funding the district could bring in.
The board will also consider approving Hinojosa’s recommendation to name a SPLOST acting executive director.
Hinojosa was unavailable for comment Tuesday, but Ragsdale said the district would probably not identify the candidate until after the vote.
The executive director would help Ragsdale manage the remaining projects in SPLOST III, a duty formerly handled by Doug Shepard, who resigned in late February to become the director of real estate and development at MedQuest in the greater Atlanta area, according to his LinkedIn profile.
In other business, the board will also submit their superintendent evaluation forms. Vice Chair David Morgan said each board member received a copy of the forms a few weeks ago and that it is part of the superintendent’s contract.
“He will have at least two evaluations annually,” Morgan said.
Morgan said he focused on student achievement and finances when filling out his evaluation.
Hinojosa started with Cobb on July 1, 2011.
In other news, the board will also consider approving three construction projects:
* A $917,000 contract with SouthCore Construction of Kennesaw for playground installation and site work at eight elementary schools by July 20. The project, which is $289,520, or 45 percent, over budget, will be funded by SPLOST III and the contingency fund.
The project will include site work at Baker, Brumby, Rocky Mount and Teasley elementary schools and playground installations at Baker, Birney, Brumby, Compton, Dowell, Garrison and Teasley elementary schools.
Cablik Enterprises of Atlanta submitted the second highest bid, the only other bid, at $1.1 million.
Playground safety guidelines changed since the SPLOST III notebook was put together, driving up the cost, Ragsdale said.
* A $456,650 contract with Classic Plains Construction of Marietta to renovate Griffin Middle by Aug. 24. The project, which is $18,596, or 4 percent, over budget, will be funded by SPLOST III and the contingency fund.
The project will include fixing school restrooms, extending the loading dock outside the cafeteria, replacing auditorium seats and furnishing the media center’s casework.
The second lowest bid, $520,000, was submitted by SouthCore Construction, followed by a bid of $521,632 by Atlantic South Construction of Atlanta.
* A $299,400 contract with Classic Plains Construction to renovate Austell Primary and Austell Intermediate elementary schools by July 20. The project, which is $71,729 over budget, or 32 percent, will be funded by SPLOST III and countywide building funds.
The project will include site work at both schools, painting at Austell Intermediate and replacement of the stage floor at Austell Primary.
The second lowest bid, $353,077, was submitted by Cablik Enterprises, followed by a $356,000 bid from SouthCore Construction.
The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the boardroom at 514 Glover St. in Marietta.
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CCSD could easily cut its budget in half by cutting non-essential courses like BPE, culinary, forensics, TV/Media, etc., etc. If kids can't compose a well written letter or master the basics of mathematics, they do not need to take fluff courses.
It's amazing how many Twitter feeds I see from kids each day, as they sit in class complaining that they know more than the teacher or that the teacher is playing on their computer during the entire class period.
Bloat, bloat, bloat. Instead of sending teachers on a Florida vacation for $300K, give me $50K and I'll fix things very quick.
Teachers have no option but to accept ever increasing cuts to their pay and increasing additions to their workload.
(The general opinion apparently of CCSD and the public)
Reality and Fact:
Good teachers have LOTS of options, and they are leaving in droves.
Seniors: step up to the plate. You have more to lose than anyone. Who do you think is going to pay the taxes to fund your benefits? Lower education=lower paying jobs=lower tax revenues=lower retirement benefits
Public: defund "fishing holes" and Sonny's other outrageous extravangances and fund education as the LAW requires.
But then, if the law means nothing, it won't matter. Society is dead.
I don't understand why people choose to attack those they entrust their children to each day.
To "no more whining", your viciousness is disturbing. Many teachers do put in more than 70 hours per week of unpaid time. The massive summer vacation is not in fact a vacation. That is not time teachers are paid for. Pay is prorated over the entire schoold year, but take time off without pay & you will quickly realize this.
While teachers are not happy with paycuts & ever increasing work loads, this is much more tolerable than the venom you are spewing.
There's your clarification!
go round and round. It doesn't matter in the least
to them (and some on the school board) that the
wheels are coming off the school bus. The proposed
money savers will sink Cobb schools deeper into the
abyss. Oh, but we're saving the tax payers some
money so they'll be more than happy to go the Hell
with the schools. And the people being laid off will
lose a chunk of their tax burden as well. Not to
worry; our tax supported safety net will take up the
slack.
I am certainly glad I am exempt from the school millage!!!
If it were being spent in a responsible, businesslike manner I would have no problem in paying the the full amount of taxes.
However, as I read about the the waste and mismanagement that is taking place it makes me really mad, but I would be much more upset if I was contributing my hard earned tax dollars to this fiasco.
Democrats, liberals, Communists, and their ilk have destroyed our country. Thats a fact.
The cuts have not even come in at any level. State, local, or federal. None of that happens until after the election so when Obama loses he can whine and say oh I would have never done that.
Well taxpayers get ready to ante up again for the loafers,leaches, and do nothings of the town, the state, and the nation.
Its now just gotten too expensive to work. They cant tax no income so the whole country should just go on strike until these criminals are held to account.
BTW, my parents are in their early 70's and support these communistic social-welfare programs and I am ashamed of their support of these programs.
Yes - I think that PART of the $$$$ is coming from Grant Money. However - they can choose HOW they spend that Grant Money. Also - I KNOW it is not all Grant Money as some school PTAs are being asked to foot the bill....which is totally NOT RIGHT!
Restroom repair=health&safety issue=need.
Where is the mechanism to do ongoing evaluation to expenditure, whether it is general fund or splost or salary or grant money? There has got to be some methodology for curbing spending whether it is dealing with shortfal of projected tax revenue or cutting back because of legislative changes to playground equipment guidelines.
Better yet go over and build one as a community. Theres an idea for you. Why do the taxpayers have to pay for everyone else's kids?