Superintendent Hinojosa Speaking in Smyrna Thursday

New Cobb School Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa, who recently revealed that he and his wife, Kitty, have rented an apartment in Vinings, will be the guest speaker at Thursday’s Cobb-Marietta Retired Educators Association’s meeting at the Freeman Poole Multipurpose Center.

The center is located at 4025 South Hurt Road and the meeting is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. Email debbybob@comcast.net to make a reservation.

• At Tuesday night’s meeting at , parents were relieved to hear that their children could still attend the school while its construction project is completed this fall. 

“Where are we going to be on Aug. 15?” said Linda Bacon Kenney, King Springs principal. “We’re going to be home at King Springs.”

Founded in 1957, the school’s original bathrooms are being renovated. The gym is receiving a new floor and new flooring has been put in place throughout the school building. Kenney told Patch that renovations to the front of the school will make the entrance safer, while conference rooms are also being renovated.

However, Kenney explained that the renovations had not progressed as quickly as originally planned, which had alarmed some parents over the summer.

“If I had a penny for every time ya’ll drove by King Springs and thought, ‘Really?’ I’d be a millionaire,” she said.

Despite the setbacks, students will be able to attend school at King Springs with a few minor adjustments. Bus riders will have to enter the school via the media center entrance, counselors will be in a trailer in the parking lot and Smyrna Police will help direct traffic for the first few weeks of school while parents and students learn a new car pool pattern.

Kenney said construction should be completed by the end of October. Parents reacted positively to the news.

“I’m very, very happy that they’ll be meeting in their school,” said Christy Scofield. “I think that’s wonderful. I’m relieved that they’ll be meeting in their school. And I am relieved that it will not impact them. I don’t want them to fall behind.”

• They also received other good news at the meeting. Kenney announced that King Springs students had the highest CRCT scores in Area 2. In math, 92.4 percent of students met standards on the CRCT and of those 60.6 percent exceeded standards. In reading/language arts, 95.5 percent of student met standards on the CRCT, while 43.9 percent of those student exceeded standards.

King Springs Elementary will hold it’s “Sneak a Peak” Thursday, Aug. 11, at Griffin Middle School. See the school’s website for more details.

• This Friday, the Cobb School District is holding a Ride-Along for K-2 parents and students. All Cobb bus drivers will be making their routes in preparation for the first day of school next Monday. At that time, any kindergarten through 2nd grade student may catch the bus along with their parents/guardians and any school-age siblings.

Last year was the first year the CCSD offered this service and more than 3,000 students and parents rode along with their bus drivers. To learn the bus stop location and pickup time for your student, click here.

• Speaking of school buses, the district needs to hire 30 school bus drivers in time for the first day of school on Monday.

Doug Goodwin, spokesman for the district, said the additional 30 drivers are needed because of 180 additional returning district students taking advantage of the school choice option this year. The deadline for applications from returning students to attend an out-of-zone school, a school other than the child's zoned home school, was 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

The school choice option allows parents to send their children to out-of-zone schools if the zoned school has failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress targets in the same content areas for three consecutive years.

The school choice application deadline for students new to the district is Aug. 21, meaning that even more students could choose to attend out-of-zone schools.

Goodwin said the district has been hiring bus drivers throughout the summer, and the district has already budgeted for the addition of the 30 drivers.

If the district is unable to hire the 30 new drivers by Monday, Goodwin said the district would use several of its 75 standby drivers who cover open routes and absenteeism during the school year.

“We are just trying to fulfill our transportation needs and help serve our students,” Goodwin said.

Applicants for the bus driver positions must be at least 21 years of age, have a high school diploma or GED and hold a valid Georgia Commercial Driver's License with S and P endorsements. Interested applicants can find the complete job requirements and apply online at http://www.cobbk12.org/centraloffice/hr/employment.