Republicans Kathleen Angelucci and Bill Borden are vying to replace Dr. John Abraham, who is not seeking reelection. Barring an independent upset, the primary winner will take office, as there is no Democratic candidate.

Q. Do you favor extending Superintendent Fred Sanderson's contract past its expiration date of June 30, 2011?

Angelucci: Having been personally engaged in the education process for years now, I am alarmed by the superintendent's conduct with regard to his position and authority. The lack of transparency, violation of CCSD policies and loss of public trust are highly problematic. As a board member I would feel compelled to hold the superintendent accountable for his actions.

Borden: Not without him going though the proper re-application and re-qualification process and conducting a national search to determine if he is the best person available for the job.

Q. If the top job is open, do you think we need a national search or try to find a candidate closer to home?

Angelucci: Whether a superintendent comes from a national or local search is not as important as the qualifications of the individual. We would effectively be hiring a person who needs to be qualified to manage close to a billion-dollar budget and clearly understands they are responsible and accountable to the tax-paying citizens of Cobb County. Commitment to our students and increasing academic achievement is also of utmost importance.

Borden: Yes. A national search of the entire qualified candidate pool should be conducted to make sure we have the best person available in the position. I would not restrict the search geographically either way, to say I was going to hire local or hire national. We need the best qualified person in this job.

Q. Do you favor school starting the first week in August? Mid-August? Or after Labor Day?

Angelucci: I was a vocal opponent to the balanced calendar and favor a start date of third week of August or later. I have done extensive research on this topic for the last ten years and found nothing to show that early school start dates increase student achievement.

Borden: First, any decision that is made needs to be done well in advance. Families make plans sometime a year in advance and for a board to make a decision that affects so many people without proper and timely notice is arrogant. Having been raised on a farm, I have thought that the school calendar which allows for longer summers which was originally based on our agrarian society, provided time for family vacations, provided the ability for teachers to supplement their income with part-time jobs or to increase their education with advanced degrees acquired during the summer, was a good thing. However, studies show that a lengthy summer also allows for degradation in the education that was already provided and that the student's retention of learned knowledge over those summer breaks is low. The psychological effect of the lengthy breaks is also evidenced in teacher and student opinions such as missing their friends, missing the social network that the education provides as well as the teachers appear to favor more evenly spaced time off. With this taken into consideration, I believe a mid-August start date would be the most appropriate for CCSD. We definitely need to have a meeting of the minds of all the local school systems to coordinate calendars as they've done in the past. This would allow students, parents and employers that have to deal with multiple school systems to coordinate work schedules and vacation time.

Q. Do you think the strategic plan sets a high enough bar academically for our schools?

Angelucci: No - setting academic goals based on aspirations and classifying them as targets is subjective and therefore wholly unrealistic.

Borden: It puts in place accountability measures so that we can measure data. It is more of a road map than a destination.

Q. Do you think the Cobb system is improving, holding steady, or declining in terms of student achievement?

Angelucci: Student achievement has to be the number one priority in this district. I believe achievement is declining. What has been reported by the district with regard to progress make me skeptical when they claim academic success on a county-wide basis. I'm highly concerned that initiatives such as shifting testing years, implementation of standards based vs. achievement based report cards and the possibility of manipulation of CRCTs where failing students are still being promoted create opportunities for the district to manipulate the facts to the public. The fact that Cobb County has never been off the "needs improvement" list tells me everything I need to know about this issue.

Borden: I believe student achievement is declining based on morale issues. A student must feel good about the education they are receiving. Our students should not be worried about their teachers, their programs and their basic education. We have some of the best teachers in the country. The emotional well being of those teachers must be cared for by administration and the Board must set policies to demand that.

Q. Do you think the school board and superintendent have lost the trust and confidence of a lot of citizens? If so, what would you do to restore that trust?

Angelucci: Yes, I believe they have lost trust and confidence of the citizens of Cobb County. Restoration of that trust will take a true change of guard in every sense of the word. The district's focus must be redirected back to academics and learning instead of the never ending series of controversies and lawsuits which emphasize acquisition of educational gadgets and fads without quantifiable data to clearly demonstrate their purchase and implementation use improves student achievement. The current modus operandi must be reversed and replaced by complete openness and dedication to student achievement. This must be accomplished by engaging parents in the process and eliminating fear of retaliation when one speaks their mind.

Borden: Yes. The Board lacks cohesiveness and a single voice to put policies in place that will keep the teachers teaching and off the emotional roller coaster that they have been on recently. Teachers are the foundation of our education system and that foundation needs to be unshakable. My background is one of negotiating deals to a win-win conclusion on a daily basis and I intend to bring a consensus to the Board that reflects our teachers' and constituents' ideas. My proven servant leadership skills and my background of business, legal, financial and classroom experience will benefit the Board. With the friendships I have developed in the Cobb County business community and with other elected local and state officials, I will be able to build a model of mutual governance that has been lacking with the current Board.

Q. Do you think the school board and superintendent have lost the trust and confidence of a lot teachers? If so, what would you do to restore that trust and confidence?

Angelucci: Teachers have been made to believe that they matter last; next to our students. They clearly are not a priority or more of the budget cuts would have occurred at the top, verses in the classroom, where it affects students most. The days of living in fear of retribution must end. Flowery speeches by the school board and superintendent regarding teacher value are not followed up by proof of sincerity. Our teachers must take top priority and be given the tools and support they need to enrich our students, as opposed to rhetoric.

Borden: Yes. Teachers need enhanced job security. Our School Board has not always been debt free. Present Board's aversion to debt, which has caused the recent RIFs and almost immediate rehirings, have demonstrated a lack of loyalty to the teachers by the administration and Board. We must reconfirm to the teachers our commitment as a community to educate our children and provide our teachers with a stable work environment. I, for one, do not want the person educating my child to worry about where their next paycheck is coming from and I am committed to using my accumulated knowledge to make sure the Board accomplishes this.

Q. Do you favor allowing more than 2 or 3 minutes per person for public comment at board meetings?

Angelucci: I favor increased engagement of parents and citizens of Cobb County. I have spent a great deal of time in our schools and plan to continue that practice. I will also make myself available to my constituents through town hall meetings, phone and email. It is my goal that the Cobb County School District becomes true partners in education with the community.

Borden: Public comments should be enhanced through the use of community meetings so that Board members are intimately familiar with what their constituents feel. Public comments at the Board meeting should be categorized by topics presently on the Agenda with an equal amount of time allotted for each topic and that time further divided amongst the speakers wishing to address that topic.

Q. Does the Board agenda need to be restructured to devote more time to academic issues?

Angelucci: Yes - I have attended countless board meetings over the years, where we hear more about contracts, money and RFP's than we do about academics and student achievement. Major initiatives are being defined and implemented, while setting meaningful, results measurement is slow.

Borden: There needs to be a balance. There needs to be fiscal responsibility to be sure we spend our assets wisely but we also need to address issues that affect student performance.

Q. What would you do as a board member if you found out that the superintendent and his staff were withholding important information from the board?

Angelucci: I would conduct my own due diligence and research the issue, hopefully with support and active participation of my fellow board members. A first offense would come with severe, stipulated consequences so there would be no question as to policy expectations. I cannot and will not tolerate the obstructionist policies currently practiced by the board and central office. Any repeat offense would warrant dismissal - the buck stops with the CEO.

Borden: I would call for their heads on a platter.

Q. School boards, under Georgia law, are supposed to set policy. Do you believe the current school board does a good job of setting policy? If not, how or what would you change?

Angelucci: No - they began with good intentions, (repealing the Carver Governance Model), but it was not completely expunged from the system. Policies are worthless if they are not upheld. There are too many administrative rules and ill-defined policies.

Borden: More detailed policies need to be set and administration must be held accountable to those policies. I feel that a better job can be done making sure that the superintendent follows those detailed policies more closely and is held accountable for any failure to do so.

Q. The Superintendent has proposed cutting $123 million in the fiscal 2011 budget. If you had presented the budget, how would it have differed from the superintendent's?

Angelucci: Being completely transparent about actual losses and expenditures. The Budget Forum presented to the public included the Senior Homestead Exemption which the district has not received since the 1970's; how can this be counted as a loss? The ARRA was a one time stimulus incentive; including that in losses is deceptive. We need to stop blaming the State for doing their job and balancing the budget without taxing us to death. Compared with neighboring states; we have the highest per student spending while paying teachers the most in the Southeast. Since 2003, there has been a reduction of state revenue, hence the dreaded "austerity reductions" which was established into QBE funding as a cost savings measure. In 2007, 51% of the State's budget went to education; in 2009, 59% went to education. Battling and blaming legislators does our students and teachers a disservice by not working together cohesively.

Borden: I would look at areas such as transportation. We get 6 million from the state but spend 43million. There may be some deficiencies we can look into in transportation as well as other areas.

Q. Do you favor tax increases or budget cuts to balance the budget in years to come?

Angelucci: I favor educational interests driving the budget rather than the budget driving educational decisions. We should determine what resources are necessary to maintain current programs and which are necessary to expand and/or improve programs. Wiser spending choices and better use of revenue are what could have kept us from this sudden dire economic situation. Any new programs or improvements to current programs - backed up with sound, quantifiable data, which cannot be immediately funded, should be part of medium- to long-range planning, in order to find the funds needed to implement them.

Borden: Both. There are many budget cuts in a 5400 line item budget that could be made once it is examined in detail. The budget must be prioritized with those services that directly affect the children's education, health, safety and welfare taking priority. We need innovative ideas for alternative income streams which will help balance the budget. These should include utilization of the present infrastructure as well as public-private partnerships which I have proven most recently do work in education scenarios. As a last resort, I would raise the taxes and I feel most concerned citizens, once they understand all of the implications, would not begrudge our community the many benefits that increase would bring.

Q. Should school bus service be further curtailed, and if so, how?

Angelucci: No - the district would be putting a price tag on our children's safety. I find it unconscionable that the district is even considering reduction of bus service while being simultaneously unwilling to eliminate or reassess the vacation accrual policy. The willingness to do so speaks volumes.

Borden: Curtailing the school bus service will not be necessary if we treat the transportation department as an alternative revenue source. Free and safe transportation for students to their schools is essential. Through my many contacts with local government, we will strive to coordinate safe and efficient routes for our children's commute. Utilization of the national Safe Routes Program will further enhance and contribute to the system's ability to deliver our children to their school safely.

Q. Do you favor bidding out the school system's contract for legal services? If so, by what date?

Angelucci: I favor an end to no-bid, sweetheart contracts. It is imperative that all contracts, including those for legal services, be open to public input and scrutiny. Review of this and other contracts would be a very high priority for me.

Borden: Bidding, no. Cheapest is not always best. However the Board should request proposals and curriculum vitae's yearly from those firms interested in serving the Cobb School System and review them for the most qualified attorneys to represent the system.

Q. Several school board members have been criticized for "flip flopping" on campaign promises. Is it acceptable to disavow a campaign promise, and if so, why?

Angelucci: My integrity is very important to me and is not for sale. When I give my word, I intend to keep it. Adults must lead by example, and setting the example of keeping one's word is something I take very seriously.

Borden: While it is unacceptable to break a promise, one should not promise anything without understanding all of the ramifications or base a promise on a changing environment. However, it is perfectly acceptable for any human being to have a change of opinion when presented with new facts. One should vote for a candidate based on the candidates' ethics, intelligence, beliefs and past achievements knowing that the candidate will vote the same way as you the voter would vote when presented with the same set of facts. I, for one, would not elect a candidate who did not maintain an open mind to new ideas, new viewpoints, new methods and new solutions to any situation.

Q. Do you favor eliminating vacation rollover days for central office staff and certain other employees?

Angelucci: I favor adoption of policies that would limit the amount of accrual. The corporate world adopted "use it or lose it" policies some time ago. We simply cannot afford to provide this perk without limits.

Borden: No, I do not favor the complete elimination of the vacation rollover days. A limitation must be put in place to level the playing field between teachers, administration and staff without the drastic losses of personnel to systems with better benefit structures which would cause a reduction in the quality of education within our system. There are many factors that need to be considered, such as other systems offering higher incentive packages, the present budget crunch and job losses.

Q. Do you think CCSD should, in the future, apply for federal Race To The Top funds if they are available? Explain why or why not.

Angelucci: No - the RTTT mandate stipulates that monetary incentives will be designated to states that agree to adopt a national curriculum and standards that haven't yet been written. It would be foolish for us to commit ourselves to unknown terms and conditions. We would also sacrifice local control and decisions for government mandates that we would eventually have to fund ourselves. The cost to modify text books and instructional materials to comply with the federal government's vision for public education could cost Georgian's millions of dollars that we do not have.

Borden: Yes with a caveat. All funds come with not only strings attached but ropes! Before any funds are applied for, the teachers, parents and pertinent organizations should be polled and their opinions considered. We need to be sure that with major decisions such as this, everyone has a seat at the table.

Q. Do you favor raising taxes to the 20-mill max?

Angelucci: No - I am not in favor of raising the millage rate and am confident that the Cobb County School District can live within its means.

Borden: Yes, if necessary to achieve a quality education. As a property owner I understand that this would cause me to pay more taxes but the benefits far outweigh any detriment.

Q. Do you think Cobb will need a SPLOST 4, and if so, for what specific projects?

Angelucci: Perceived frivolous expenditures attached to the current SPLOST III may very well hinder any support for an E-SPLOST in the future. With legislation being proposed to allow SPLOST to be used for anything other than capital outlay expenditures, we open ourselves to further abuse of what was supposed to be a limited use vehicle. "Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax" infers out of the ordinary, specific usage - it has evolved into using it for the district's wants rather than our children's needs. We were promised that SPLOST dollars would eliminate the need for trailers, yet we still have more than 300 trailers in use in the county today.

Borden: Yes, however I hope that before a SPLOST 4 vote becomes necessary, we are able to come together to present a concise point of view to our state legislators to insist that they pass the ability to utilize a fractional SPLOST. That would allow us to designate a portion of the SPLOST to be restricted for classroom educational use. As a member of both Cobb County and School Board SPLOST Citizen Oversight committees, my position has demonstrated to me the attributes and liabilities of SPLOST funding. SPLOST allows us to tax transient visitors to our community, an otherwise untaxable population, however it is an unreliable revenue stream in a down economy and must be used with caution.

Q. Would you vote to return to the A, B, C type report card for primary grades, or do you prefer the Standards Based Report Card?

Angelucci: Yes, when elected, I would vote to return to the previous grading procedures. Fifty percent mastery or proficiency in anything is not indicative of actual learning or progress.

Borden: No. The 3-2-1 report card provokes conversation and encourages dialog so that the parents and teachers can address student needs. Let's look at evaluating the card in a year or two.

Q. Does the school system need a new headquarters building, as one incumbent has repeatedly suggested?

Angelucci: This suggestion defies all logic and reason, with over 300 trailers at our schools, administration should be last on the list to receive any new facilities whatsoever. Why would anyone be in favor of the board or administration deserving any better than our students and teachers at say, Pebblebrook or Osborne? Are those "working"/learning conditions up to the same standards as that at Glover and S Fairground Streets currently? If trailers are good enough for our students they should be enough for central office employees; perhaps central office might be willing to re-locate to trailers for their office space.

Borden: Not necessarily a new building but one further away from Glover Street. I would not vote to spend any money on a move at this time.