They will not meet at all on Saturday.
Today's session with Nancy Broner, a consultant with the Texas-based Center for Reform of School Systems, will still be all about team-building, she said. Broner's fee for the day is $4,500.
Board member Dr. John Crooks - who said he would not attend the retreat in Amicalola Falls because of the out-of-town expense - still refuses to attend, this time because of the speaker's expense.
"It's inappropriate for this time. We need to be a friend to the taxpayer and not spend the taxpayer money on this type of issue," he said. "We need to have good judgment. There's a lot of qualified people in our community who could do team-building with us. It's not rocket science."
He also said he raised that issue when the board first met Broner, during a specialcalled meeting on Jan. 6. Dr. John Abraham was the only board member who did not attend that meeting.
"I raised this whole issue to the board. I asked, 'Does anyone have any political downside concerns to spending this money?' And not one person said anything," Crooks said.
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The point of having this retreat is to perform some obviously much needed team building and we have people cheering on John Crooks for not attending - when the retreat is taking place in his own backyard? Yeah, not impressed.
Sorry - this whole thing might be a spoof. I'm not sure I even believe the district would have hired a speaker to come and talk to them unless it was at the direction of SACS or some other agency deeming it necessary or at least strongly suggesting it. They are way past the point of fixing it themselves.
John Crooks not attending is just one more nail in the coffin.
What face? Whereever it's held, it's still a kabuki dance, meaning a formalized function to no real purpose and with an inevitable non-result except to reward a token cheerleader/consultant. Where are the adults? $4,500.00 will not buy this board any integrity or judgment or perspective and that is what is missing.
And Sanderson's "Oh by the way, since you asked, the Grand Jury is going to investigate the system's much criticized bus system." is, alone, grounds for dismissal for dereliction. If it weren't so scary and grim, this Cobb School Board history could be a trashed screen play from "Petticoat Junction". Trashed because it is entirely too moronic.
Clean house. Clean house. Clean house.