MARIETTA - With two children at West Side Elementary, Randy Weiner, 42, the new chairman of the Marietta school board, has a personal interest in seeing Marietta's school system thrive.

"I want our system to succeed academically and grow academically. It's important because it's my community and my kids are growing up in the school system," said Weiner, on why he serves on the school board.

The school district, Weiner said, is the city's backbone because of its ability to attract families while maintaining the property values of existing residents.

The job of a school board chairman in one of the worst economic downturns ever is not easy. Last year, the system cut 75 employees. Designing the fiscal year 2010 budget was the most difficult budget Marietta Schools Superintendent Dr. Emily Lembeck said she's ever been a part of. That budget, originally at $80.8 million, is now projected to end at $77.8 million, Weiner said. His board is eyeing budget cuts of between 8 to 12 percent depending on what the Legislature does this season. They will know more in March. If revenues from the third special purpose local option education sales tax voters approved don't come in as projected, the system will pay off less of its debt. SPLOST III was expected to pay off all but $500,000 of the system's $34 million debt, he said.

"Next year's going to be a challenge, no doubt about it," he said.

But for this 1985 graduate of Marietta High School, a tough budget time does not mean taking his eyes off academic achievement. The district must continue to meet adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind this year as it did last year, even though the bar is being raised in math by 8.1 percent.

Increasing the number of students who exceed standards on the Criterion Referenced Competency Test is another goal. Marietta saw across-the-board increases on the math and reading CRCTs in grades one to eight last year. Second grade math scores, for instance, rose from 19 percent of students exceeding standards to 46 percent, he said.

"We saw a big increase last year, and we want to continue that," he said.

Another goal is to increase the system's graduation rate from 83.7 percent to 87. Weiner believes such an increase is achievable, given that the system's graduation rate six years ago was at 64 percent. The Performance Learning Center, a program for students to recover academic credits, has helped raise the graduation rate.

Georgia Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox's new math curriculum hasn't been favorably received by all, but Weiner is a supporter of the switch from the Quality Core Curriculum to Georgia Performance Standards. From his conversations with teachers and his experience with his own children, Weiner said the new math is more rigorous, with an emphasis on word problems.

He does not think much of the General Assembly's efforts in allowing state funding to follow a student to private school. In 2007, then Sen. Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) passed the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship legislation, which allows parents of special needs children to use scholarships to educate children in a public or private school. Calling that bill highly successful, Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) this month introduced legislation to provide scholarships for foster care children and children of parents in active military service. Weiner believes public funds should only be used for public schools, though.

"Private schools accept who they want to accept. I don't see the logic behind it," he said of the legislation.

Becoming one of the first charter systems in Georgia in 2008 has made a positive difference for Marietta City Schools, Weiner said. Charter status has increased the system's flexibility while raising its accountability. Before going to a charter system, Marietta was financially penalized by $122,000 for breaking out the Sixth Grade Academy from the rest of Marietta Middle School. Its charter status has allowed it to receive that funding again.

Weiner also believes parents have more say over what goes on at a school through the school governance teams. School governance teams set their own dress codes, have input over the school budget, and work on the school's academic improvement plan.

Changing a less than positive community perception of Marietta Sixth Grade Academy and Marietta Middle School is another goal of Weiner's.

"People have a negative perception and it's starting to change," he said, attributing it to the age of the students.

"Discipline is down at all of our schools. We're tracking repeat offenders. We have Ombudsman (an alternative education program) for those who can't deal in regular classes. There are great things going on at those two schools," he said.

When it comes to when the first day of school should start, Weiner would rather it start in mid August than earlier. In December, the board voted 7-0 to approve a 2010-11 school calendar that begins school on Aug. 12, even though a number of teachers wanted to start on Aug. 2.

"If I don't think students will be well served by starting in early August, I can't in good conscious start school then," he said.

The new board chairman sends out a newsletter to his constituents and walks the neighborhoods in his Ward 3. Although a number of his constituents don't have children in the school system, he wants them to be informed of what goes on. Weiner expects the superintendent to be accessible to the community and media and said Lembeck is doing an excellent job.

"Anything we ask, she gets back with us. I think the community loves her. I don't hear many negative things about her," he said.

Weiner represents the school system by also serving on the city's Marietta Redevelopment Corporation. He hailed the City Council's decision last week to purchase the 200-unit Preston Chase apartment complex on Franklin Road near Delk Road, in order to bulldoze the complex and create a 13.19-acre public park. Of the 7,800 students in Marietta City Schools, 1,143 live on the dilapidated Franklin Road.

"It will help redevelop a crime ridden area and provide green space," he said.

The board added three new members this year, with the elections of Tom Cheater, Logan Weber and Stuart Fleming.

"Board members, we are all different, but we get along very well. It's going to be a great four years. We have high standards for Dr. Lembeck and she knows it and she lives up to it. Bottom line: all of us truly love our system. We all want it to perform the best it can," he said.

Marietta, which employees about 600 teachers, has a student demographic breakdown that is 44.9 percent black, 29.9 percent Hispanic, 19.2 percent white, with the remainder a mix of American Indian, Asian and multiracial.

The system holds about $14 million in reserve funds, which equates to about two months of operating expenses.

Weiner, who was first elected to the board in 2006, holds a degree in finance from Kennesaw State University, and he is also a licensed real-estate agent. He and his wife, Kelley, own a window-cleaning business. He is a member of Marietta First Baptist Church.