Politics & Government

Hinojosa Convinces Board, not Everyone

The 6-0 vote to hire the next Cobb school superintendent brought jeers from a group in the audience.

The Cobb County Board of Education needed less than four minutes Sunday to of as superintendent, effective July 1.

The 6-0 vote came almost a year after Superintendent Fred Sanderson announced he would retire at the end of this month, but a group of seven people in the audience said the move came too soon for , who , more than three months after the Jan. 31 deadline.

In addition to timing, the anti-Hinojosa crowd complained about past budget problems and his hiring of foreign administrators during his time running the Dallas Independent School District in Texas. Under his Cobb contract, attached as a PDF, he has two years to win over the community.

Find out what's happening in Smyrna-Viningswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

His starting salary is $237,000 per year, plus the following benefits:

  • A payment to a retirement plan equal to 8 percent of his salary, or $18,960 the first year.
  • Twenty vacation days a year, starting with 20 on Day 1, plus a bonus 10 days. The bonus days must be used in July, or they will expire. He can accrue up to 40 vacation days and will be paid for accrued vacation time when he leaves the district.
  • Forty-five sick days to start. There's no payment for unused sick days.
  • A $500,000 term life insurance policy.
  • The standard group insurance, holidays and other benefits offered to all 12-month administrative employees of the school system.
  • An annual comprehensive medical exam.
  • The full cost of packing, unpacking and moving his household from Dallas to Cobb County.
  • A housing allowance of up to $2,000 per month for six months until he finds permanent housing in the county.
  • One trip per month for six months to and from Texas.
  • A $250-per-month telecommunications allowance for a cellphone and home Internet service.
  • Reimbursement for Hinojosa to buy and, if necessary, repair a laptop computer, smartphone or similar device, and fax machine.
  • An $800-per-month automobile allowance.
  • Reimbursement for the gasoline he uses.
  • Any other travel expenses for his job duties.
  • Membership fees for all relevant professional organizations.
  • Membership in two civic organizations, as well as any additional local groups the board thinks are appropriate.
  • Payments for his contributions to the Teachers' Retirement System of Georgia, Social Security and Medicare.
  • Premiums for family health, vision, dental, disability and term life insurance coverage.

Find out what's happening in Smyrna-Viningswith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Smyrna-Vinings