The Cobb County Board of Education approved the hiring of a construction manager for its forthcoming multipurpose facility — though few details are available about the project’s final form.
The district hired Atlanta-based Winter Construction to oversee the project. The cost will be 0.8% of the entire project cost. On Thursday, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale explained the district doesn’t know exactly how much the project will cost yet, but estimates it will be $50 million. Of that number, the construction manager would get $400,000.
The board gave the project initial approval in March 2023. The district purchased a parcel of land next to the district office for $3 million in December. The plan is to build a multipurpose facility big enough to host graduations, as well as other district events and ceremonies throughout the year. The project is expected to be completed in 2026.
Board member Becky Sayler has asked repeatedly for more information about the plans, including asking on Thursday whether the district has completed a feasibility study and knows how much money the facility would save the district or how much it would cost to operate.
Each time, Ragsdale has said all available information has been made public in previous board meetings. Last year, he said the project’s return on investment is “infinity.”
Sayler and Nichelle Davis voted against the hiring of the construction manager.
Transparency was a big topic of conversation at Thursday’s meeting, which at times got heated as board members and Ragsdale debated whether proposed policy changes were justifiable, and what board members’ roles are in the process.
Sayler had taken to social media this week ahead of the board meeting to question changes to the board’s fiscal policies. Ragsdale on Thursday repeatedly called her comments and others on social media “erroneous,” and spoke at length about the dangers of discussing issues publicly before they are presented by staff. Sayler said she tried to ask him for clarity ahead of time, and was told to wait for the board’s discussion. She said she felt like she had to engage constituents ahead of Thursday’s meeting about the changes, because of the board’s practice of voting on policy updates the first time they’re discussed.
“I think the best way, if you’re frustrated with that, Mr. Ragsdale, is more information,” Sayler said. “I tried to get more information ahead of the meeting. I didn’t get it.”
Davis suggested that district staff include the rationale for policy changes with the agenda, so there’s less confusion about the intent of changes. District staff said Thursday that they regularly review policies and update them for clarity and to keep up with new laws.
And board member Leroy “Tre’” Hutchins, as well as Davis and Sayler, urged the board to keep the word “equitable” in its fiscal policies, though district staff recommended removing the word.
“As a parent of Black and brown children, when I hear something like this, it feels racist in its intent. And I know that’s not our intention here today, but that’s what it feels like,” he said. “As a parent of kids with special needs, it feels problematic.”
When Ragsdale started to defend the staff members who made the change, Hutchins raised his voice in defense of his own comments. Ragsdale did not finish his statement when Hutchins was done speaking.
The board approved the policy changes without the revisions supported by Davis, Hutchins and Sayler, who make up the board’s Democrat minority.
Hutchins proposed a revision to keep the word “equitable,” and Sayler wanted to keep a line that required the superintendent to get board approval for any budget transfers. Ragsdale and district staff said the additions and deletions throughout three policies don’t give him any more power and don’t change anything about how the district handles its finances.
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