Saturday, May 19, 2012
Chattahoochee Tech held a reception for its new president and former Smyrna City Council representative Ron Newcomb at the Earl Smith Strand Theatre.
Ron Newcomb - the new president of Chattahoochee Technical College, former Smyrna City Council representative and still Smyrna resident- was introduced to and welcomed by members of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce at a reception Thursday evening in Marietta. The reception held at the Earl Smith Strand Theatre was the fifth of several set in each of the six counties served by the school. The last reception will be held in Canton in June. Attendees at the event included state legislators, and community and business leaders around Cobb County. Building a strong workforce for communities in Georgia is Chatt Tech's No. 1 priority, Newcomb told Acworth Patch in February, after he was named the college's new president. He had served as the interim …
Friday, May 18, 2012
Tim Stultz, Post 2 school board member, said he opposes what he called "temporary fixes" to balance the budget.
The Cobb County School Board failed to pass a balanced budget for fiscal year 2013 at its meeting Thursday, but Tim Stultz, Post 2 board member representing Smyrna schools, is already thinking ahead to 2014 and 2015. “I just can’t get past the fact of there’s a larger problem here than just trying to balance this year’s budget,” he said. “I would rather try to tackle larger problems sooner than later. I just can’t support any more temporary fixes.” In April the school board approved a preliminary budget that featured 350 fewer teachers through attrition, five furlough days for all full-time employees, 175 school days, the use of $21.2 million from reserves, school library paraprofessionals’ hours cut to 60 percent time, a half-year delay …
Tim Stultz, Smyrna's school board representative, proposed balancing the budget through personnel cuts.
The Cobb County School District has to go back to the chalkboard after the Board of Education failed to approve the fiscal 2013 budget Thursday night. The school board has until June 30 to pass a budget for the year that starts July 1, but after the extensive, often passionate debate Thursday, the path forward is unclear. A special meeting will be scheduled to search for an answer. The seven board members staked out at least four distinct positions on the proposed $841.9 million budget—none of them matching the administration's recommendation. Superintendent Michael Hinojosa and Chief Financial Officer Mike Addison entered the meeting recommending the same budget that the school board passed April 26 on a preliminary basis. It features 350…
Smyrna police arrested a 17-year-old after they say he sent lewd photos to a juvenile student at school.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Watch the video of Thursday night's Board of Education meeting to see how the budget failed, Teach for America passed and more.
We've replaced the live stream with the two-part recording of the 3½-hour school board meeting, so you can replay the parts of the meeting that interest you most. We'll have more from the meeting in the morning. In the meantime, we welcome suggestions for a budget that could win at least four votes. The Cobb County Board of Education is scheduled to vote tonight on the final fiscal 2013 budget, the school calendar that accommodates the approved furlough days, a contractor to prepare for a SPLOST IV referendum in March 2013, and the pursuit of donations and grants to support 25 Teach for America teachers in South Cobb starting in the 2013-14 school year. The board is meeting at 7 p.m. at the Cobb County School District's Central Office, 514…
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Smyrna resident Matt Owens is Whitefield's 2012 valedictorian while John Alar and James Lovas tied for salutatorian.
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Tuesday, May 15
Matt Owens, Smyrna resident and son of Bryan and Sharon Owens, has been named Whitefield Academy's 2012 Valedictorian. With a cumulative average of 99.5, Matt has demonstrated the epitome of academic excellence. Earlier this year, Matt was also named Whitefield's STAR student, having the highest SAT score at Whitefield (on a single date). In addition, he is the recipient of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Cup, which is awarded to the senior who has achieved all-around excellence and leadership in academics, athletics, the arts, and community activities. Matt is president of the senior class, a member of the National Honor Society, a peer mentor, and a member of the varsity wrestling team. He has also participated in mission trips to both …
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Woman and seven others are among the first group to get civil engineering degrees from Southern Polytechnic State University.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
The Lovett School recognizes its class of 2012 valedictorian and salutatorian.
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Thursday, May 10
Zainub Dhanani, valedictorian: If ever one was looking for the "total package," this young scholar more than fits the bill. Zainub maintains a low-key, reserved, mild-mannered confidence. She is respectful and engaging with a great deal of moral fortitude; and yet, she is always striving to be better. Zainub has an excellent work ethic and impeccable organizational skills. She is consistently prepared and focused in class, setting an example for her peers and helping to establish a productive tone during each and every lesson. Zainub is heavily committed to community service. For example, she was founder and co-president of the World Relief Club and Jamie Allen Food Distribution here at Lovett. She has also worked with a Somalian …
Honorees representing 12 Smyrna public schools were recognized before Monday's Smyrna City Council meeting.
The Mayor's Education Awards were held Monday, May 7 at City Hall. The principals from each of Smyrna's 12 public school are invited to recognize outstanding students, teachers and volunteers at a ceremony before a Smyrna City Council meeting. About 40 students, teachers and volunteers were honored. Some of this year's award recipients included a little girl who maintained a positive attitude througout her battle with cancer, a boy who couldn't speak English when he started third grade, but will graduate to middle school a fluent speaker and a high school student with a better than perfect GPA.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Watch the Cobb County Board of Education also tackle the Harrison ninth-grade center and reapportionment and start a conversation.
The Cobb County Board of Education is holding its monthly work session this morning at 8:30 at the Central Office on Glover Street, and we can't remember an agenda packed with more potential controversy. In the past that would have meant two words for Cobb County Patches: "live blog." But while we've had lots of people watching those live blogs, we haven't gotten much conversation. So we're trying something different today. You can watch the live stream of the school board's meeting right here, on Smyrna-Vinings Patch. And you can comment right away on what you're seeing and hearing. So whether you're fired up over teacher furloughs, teacher attritiion, bigger classes, Teach for America, Harrison renovations, new electoral districts, old …
Chris
9:58 pm on Sunday, May 20, 2012
Agreed Brian. It's my understanding that Georgia law allows the Cobb County School District to tax us up to 20 mils. They're currently taxing us at 18.9 mils. If District raised our property taxes to 20, then my annual school taxes would increase by $80.34 per year, or $6.70 per month. Generally, we can afford a 5.8 percent school tax increase, the cost of about one fast food meal per month. On … more ›