IS JESSICA COLOTL the only "Jessica Colotl" at Kennesaw State University? That is, are there any additional students enrolled there who, like Ms. Colotl, are not U.S. citizens and who are in this country illegally? And how many of them are paying the deeply discounted in-state tuition rate? It's a question readers have repeatedly asked.

AT has tried to find out, but KSU spokesman have taken a position of "No comprende!" or, perhaps more accurately, "No want to comprende!"

A recent issue of a KSU publication called "Access," which is produced by the school's media relations office, touted a $660,000 grant received from the Goizueta Foundation to improve the retention and graduation rates of Hispanic students. The item notes that 864, or about 5 percent, of the school's 22,380 students are Hispanic.

But when the MDJ tried to find out how many of those students (or students of other backgrounds) are in this country illegally, KSU officials clammed up.

On Thursday, MDJ reporter Kathryn Dobies emailed Arlethia Perry-Johnson, special assistant to President Dr. Dan Papp, and asked: How many students do not have a Social Security number on file at the school, and of those, how many are paying in-state tuition?

It's not an exact indicator, of course, but we think it's a good place to start.

Perry-Johnson, though, was out sick that day, and our question has gone unanswered. So the public will have to wait a while longer to find out how many illegal aliens, in addition to Ms. Colotl (who has been given a one-year grace period by ICE to complete her education) are enrolled at KSU.

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ON A RELATED NOTE, Papp - who, you'll recall, initially said he was "thrilled" that Colotl would be allowed to resume her studies at KSU - posted a three-page letter to faculty and students on the University's homepage on Tuesday regarding rumors that school leaders had personally driven Colotl home after she was released May 5 from federal detention.

"Upon notification by ICE that the agency intended to release Ms. Colotl, ICE asked KSU to assist with her transportation. Recognizing that she did not possess a valid driver's license nor any means of transportation, KSU agreed to do so," Papp wrote.

"An Atlanta immigration official drove Ms. Colotl from Gadsden, Ala., to Atlanta. A KSU student success administrator and a representative of Ms. Colotl's sorority picked up Ms. Colotl from the immigration office. Mr. Ted Cochran, KSU's chief of police, volunteered to drive the group in his own private vehicle for this pick up and drop off. She was transported from Atlanta to a residence in Gwinnett. Contrary to published reports, no celebration was ever discussed or planned," Papp wrote, in a shot aimed at AT, which reported Tuesday - based on private comments from a high-ranking KSU official - that leaders there, including a member of Papp's cabinet, had met and discussed parading Colotl back onto the campus in a KSU van, with her sorority sisters in tow.

The letter ends with this statement from the president: "My actions, and those of my administration, were taken in response to the specific circumstances and were aimed at addressing the welfare of a KSU student. These actions, devoid of any political agenda, were purely and simply an act of compassion that we would take on behalf of ANY student who is in good standing at this university."

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ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION activist D.A. King of the Dustin Inman Society will be guest speaker at this morning's breakfast meeting of the Madison Forum at 8 at the Rib Ranch on Canton Road.

The free event is open to the public.

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IF YOU WERE PROMOTED to the No. 2 job in one of the Southeast’s biggest school systems, you’d surely want the world to know about it. But you’d be out of luck if your bosses were the Cobb school superintendent and board.

That’s the case with Dr. Steven Constantino, who was promoted to deputy superintendent from associate superintendent courtesy of a restructuring of Superintendent Fred Sanderson’s executive cabinet.

True, Constantino got no raise as a result of the move — but he didn’t get any publicity about it, either. In fact, Sanderson and the board tried to hide it.

Constantino’s changed status was unearthed only after numerous calls and e-mails to the Glover Street school headquarters and to the district’s lawyers, who finally let the cat out of the bag when they turned over a copy of the updated organizational chart, which shows Constantino as deputy superintendent.

The personnel report was provided to reporters during the daylong meeting May 12. But the average citizen would still have no clue about what Sanderson was doing, because this is how the district characterized the changes on that report: Item 5i — “Superintendent’s Cabinet Reorganization/Realignment of Duties.”

That’s it! Not one word about creating a new title; moving Dr. Constantino into that title; what new responsibilities Constantino would have; or what his new pay would be.

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CONSTANTINO’S NEW JOB positions him to take over the system on an acting basis if Sanderson resigns or becomes incapacitated.

Board policy SD-7 states the Superintendent “will have no fewer than two other executives identified to the Board” and able “to take over with reasonable proficiency as interim successor.”

Board chairwoman Lynnda Crowder-Eagle said this week that she believed Constantino would be capable of taking over, though as to the board policy, she doesn’t know who the second executive would be.

“I guess we’d better ask Mr. Sanderson that one,” she said. “We have been so bogged down in the budget that has not really come up in our discussions.”

But — surprise! — we’re still waiting on a response from the superintendent as to who are the two executives that, per board policy, he has identified to the board as potential interim successors, and when he did so.

So is Sanderson violating board policy by not naming two potential successors? It looks that way, but LC-E doesn’t seem to care. Yet if a teacher violates policy — watch out!

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WILL SANDERSON FINISH out his current contract, which expires June 30, 2011? That’s anybody’s guess, but insiders say he is “terribly frustrated.”

Constantino was hired two years ago this week by Sanderson to be associate super at $135,000 per year (or $191,000 with fringe benefits). He’s no stranger to the spotlight: His school, Stonewall Jackson High in Manassas, Va., was named High School of the Year by Time magazine in 2001 while he was principal.

As for his latest promotion, maybe Sanderson and the board are too embarrassed to say so publicly, but let us be the first to officially tell Constantino: Congratulations!

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SHOWTIME: Gubernatorial candidate Roy Barnes of Marietta unveiled a new TV ad on Friday. The commercial is his third campaign ad for 2010, and is the first to run in the Atlanta media market. Insiders say Barnes bypassed the Atlanta market with his first ads because he is much better known here than in certain other parts of the state. The current commercial is also running in several other Georgia media markets, including Columbus, Augusta, Albany, Savannah, and Macon.

The ad focuses on Barnes’ plan to make Georgia work. Barnes pledges to restore property tax cuts that were taken away and given to big business. Teacher furloughs will be ended forever. Homes won’t be foreclosed without mandatory negotiation. Teachers will get the respect and pay they deserve. And, Barnes pledges he will scrub corruption out of the Capitol.

“He’s promising to do everything but change the flag,” quipped a wag. Barnes’ successful effort to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag was part of his undoing in his quest for a second gubernatorial term in 2002.

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U.S. SEN. JOHNNY ISAKSON (R-Ga.) will be guest speaker at Monday’s 58th annual Military Affairs Luncheon sponsored by the Atlanta Regional Military Affairs Council at the Cobb Galleria Centre. The 11:30 a.m. event is open to the public.

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COBB SUPERIOR COURT Judge Jim Bodiford received the Distinguished Alumni Award May 15 from his alma mater, John Marshall Law School in Atlanta. Bodiford has conducted numerous high-profile trials, including those of Fulton County Courthouse shooter.

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THE MARIETTA WINE MARKET will host a tasting from 2-4 this afternoon. Marietta Pedicab drivers will be dressed as clowns and will give rides around the Square from 2:30-3:30 p.m. All proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society Swordsman’s Ball on Aug. 21.