MARIETTA - An incredulous Cobb School Board member is demanding to know why the superintendent, former board chair and vice chair knew about a Cobb grand jury inquiry into the board's secretive policies while other board members were kept in the dark.

In a terse, one-paragraph e-mail addressed to Cobb school board Chairwoman Lynnda Crowder-Eagle and also sent to Superintendent Fred Sanderson and other board members, irate board member Alison Bartlett asks that an "immediate explanation" be given for why her colleagues were not told about a Dec. 1 grand jury inquiry and the scathing presentments from the inquiry that were delivered Jan. 7. Bartlett also recommends that a retreat planned for Amicalola Falls at the end of the month be postponed and replaced by a special called meeting at the school district headquarters on Glover Street in lieu of the retreat. At that time, she says succinctly, she would like for Crowder-Eagle, Abraham and Sanderson to explain how such a highly unusual inquiry by a grand jury into the procedures of a school board be kept from most school board members.

"The integrity of the school system and credible governance of this Board depends on an immediate explanation as to why all board members were not promptly notified of the Grand Jury Inquiry," Bartlett wrote Wednesday night.

Crowder-Eagle did not return a message left late Thursday by the Journal seeking a response to Bartlett's request.

The Journal reported Wednesday that then-school board Chairman Dr. John Abraham, then-Vice Chairwoman Crowder-Eagle, Sanderson and board attorney Glenn Brock appeared before a sub-committee of the grand jury on Dec. 1. However, board members not in attendance say they first learned of the inquiry by reading the Journal report. They were kept uninformed about the grand jury's presentments, which were delivered Jan. 7.

Board member David Morgan also wants to know why he was not informed.

"I didn't know there had been an inquiry," Morgan said. "That totally took me by surprise. I will be eager to hear how things transpired and why I was not told about it."

Morgan does, however, think the issue could be addressed at the board retreat.

Bartlett said board member John Crooks also did not know about the inquiry. When asked when board member David Banks found out about the inquiry, he told a Journal editor Wednesday that he had not "had an opportunity to read this document" and declined further comment until doing so.

Board member Holli Cash also confirmed to the Journal that she did not know about the inquiry or its presentments, but said she was "not concerned about it."

Cash - whose been a staunch supporter of Sanderson - said board chairs are, from time to time, called to appear before a grand jury, adding,d "I'm sure at our next meeting they will update us on the information."

"It was the first time John and Lynnda had been involved in one and they handled how they handled it," she said.

When read the summary of presentments that were printed in the legals section of the Journal on Jan. 15 that claimed the board was reluctant to entertain public opinion, Cash said, "I appreciate the grand jury findings, but we are operating in a more open way than has ever been done. We've done more than they have done in the past, so I'm not really sure what more we can do."

In its presentments, the county's last grand jury issued a scathing report that blasted the school board for "operating in a manner that severely limits the open and public debate of school policy decisions prior to vote and implementation." The grand jurors also recommended a stern follow-up measure for the board, saying it should be formally reviewed by future grand juries "no less than 4 times per year."

According to the presentments, the discussions focused in part on the new balanced calendar that starts school on the first Monday of August. Board members approved the three-year calendar just weeks earlier, on Nov. 12, after dozens of parents protested the plan at the board meeting.

The grand jurors also reviewed minutes and videos of board meetings, and surveyed public reporting on recent board activities.

"The Grand Jury would respectively remind the Board that as an elected body, they have an implied obligation to operate in an open forum environment. This would include allowing a full and open debate of all pending board decisions where the public can freely express opinions on both sides of the issues," wrote the grand jury, which was headed by foreperson Tommy Perkins Jr.

"Based on this Grand Jury's review, the current Board is operating in a manner that hinders the expression of opposing views and/or makes policy decisions in non-public forums."

Bartlett said a special meeting in lieu of the board's retreat "gives us an opportunity to look into how we handled the inquiry."

For an estimated cost of about $5,800, the Cobb school board is scheduled to have a team building retreat on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30 at Amicalola Falls State Park Lodge, where consultant Nancy Broner is scheduled to give team building training.

"The purpose of retreat is team building - and to be a team, we need open communication," Bartlett said of why a meeting should be called in lieu of the retreat. "I just think we need to have an open discussion and look at how we did this and how we can improve communication."

Cobb County convenes a 25-member grand jury every other month, for a total of six in a year. Members meet periodically over an eight-week period, investigating criminal and civil matters and reviewing government agencies.