MARIETTA - The Cobb County school board will have team-building training Saturday, although the board members were vague about what would be covered in the two-hour session.

Hosted at the Marietta law firm of Brock, Clay, Calhoun and Rogers, the board's training session will be on Saturday morning from 9 to 11 and all of the board members say they plan to attend, except for Dr. John Abraham, who said Thursday he might not make it since he will be out of town. The board's new attorney, Clem Doyle of Brock Clay, will also be in attendance.

David Morgan, the organizer of the session, said he asked the board during their July meeting to get together in accordance with recommendations from SACS, when they evaluated the district last November, and to help the board to continue to work as a team.

"Continually assessing where we are as a board and what we can do to improve is a good thing, even if we hadn't gotten that recommendation from SACS," Morgan said.

Although Morgan said he requested the training, he did not say he would be leading it. Instead he said he would "facilitate" board members' conversations and offer various team-building exercises, but did not elaborate on what the exercises would entail. When asked what qualified him to lead the board training session, Morgan said he doesn't think he has any special credentials other than being a board member.

Vice-Chair Holli Cash said she would be at the training and that it was her understanding it would be a little like the team-building retreat in March with the Conflict Resolution Academy.

"We're doing what SACS wants us to do, and we're trying not to spend any money," Cash said.

Dr. John Crooks, who will be leaving the board when his term is up at the end of the year, said he is looking forward to "two phenomenal hours of team-building" on Saturday. Although Crooks is in his final months as a board member, he doesn't see it as a waste of time to do team-building activities with his fellow board members.

"I signed up for four years and I am a board member and I need to fulfill my responsibilities," he said.

Morgan said Thursday that anyone from the public would be welcome to attend the board training on Saturday at Brock Clay law offices at 49 Atlanta St. Southeast, off the Square in Marietta.