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Cobb county school board questionnaire
| Candidate Name | Bio Information | What should the school board do to improve test scores and graduation rates? | What qualities do you think the district needs in its next superintendent? | How should the school board ensure students receive adequate funding from the state? |
| Kenya Pierre (Dem) | Education: Spelman College, BS, Chemistry; JD, University of Cincinnati, College of Law. Family: Husband, Dennis Pierre. Daughters, Kalyn, 12; Kai 10; Kymali 8. | We should increase accountability goals for achievement and graduation rates. It is not enough to reach what constitutes minimum improvements for acceptable graduation rates and think that the status quo is achievement. Specifically, we need to improve the engagement of students and understand what structures and processes can effectively meet the learning needs of the students rather than the assumed needs of the adults. | I value a Superintendent that is a visionary, has good communication skills, good collaborative thinking skills and the ability to think outside the box. The Superintendent should have good managerial skills and has demonstrated the balance of various ideas to achieve a specific objective. | External factors outside of the classroom often impact a child’s ability to learn. Thus, it makes sense to increase funds for these students to address these needs and close the achievement gap. A more equitable allocation of funding provides a means for improving the overall equity of educational achievements. How you do this should be balanced with the needs of the individual student and the overall student population of a school combined with the autonomy school leaders need to create an effective framework for this balance. |
| Jeff Abel (Rep) | Not provided | Not provided | Not Provided | Not Provided |
| Tim Stultz (Incumbent) (Rep) | Not provided | Not provided | Not provided | Not provided |
| Susan Thayer (Rep) | Education: University of Southern Mississippi, BS, social studies and education; University of West Georgia, master's in education. Family: Husband, Ed Thayer, two step-children, Matthew Thayer, 26, Kimberly Thayer, 22. | The most important factor in school success is having a strong academic foundation in the early grades. Any student who is not on grade level in language arts and math by the end of elementary school is at greater risk of becoming a dropout. Therefore, lower pupil teacher ratios, strong curricular elements and active parental involvement are essential in the early grades. Also, teachers must continue to become skilled at delivering instruction in a variety of methods to meet the needs of individual students. | Some of the personal traits I believe to be essential for this position are integrity, commitment, transparency, communication skills, listening skills, decisiveness, and the ability to inspire and empower others. It is difficult for one person to be experienced in all facets of the educational program, but effective leaders have the ability to select people for key leadership positions, at the local school and central levels, to fill those voids and provide critical input. | As a fiscal conservative, I believe the school system must do its part by looking at all expenditures to determine if they are needs or wants, because the budget doesn’t allow for the funding of both. Further, we must advocate that the state fully fund education, and locally, we must support the efforts of the Development Authority to bring more industry to the area, thus increasing the school system’s tax base. |
| David Chastain (Rep) | Education: University of Georgia bacherlor of business administration. Family: Wife, Lori, and three children, two grandchildren. | The Board and Superintendent should work on supporting learning in the classroom that leads to better scores and graduation rates. There is a motivation component that needs to be addressed for educators and students. I am not sure how we do that, but without proper motivation, teachers and students settle for adequate instead of excellence. Also, we need fewer tests. | Any superintendent needs to have the skills of a leader, the ability to listen to all sides of an issue, the willingness to engage the community, the fortitude to make tough decisions and the foresight to anticipate the consequences and provide contingencies for those decisions. | The Legislature's QBE funding formula is hardly equitable and less than adequate. Once the local school district plans a budget…there is always the possibility that another branch of government will alter the anticipated revenue stream and force less equity and then adequate has to be redefined. |
| Bill Scott (Rep) | Education: Kent State University, BA; Georgia State University, MA. Family: Divorced, no children. | It is vital that early intervention programs are properly funded and effective. Research shows that students who are below grade level in reading and/or math at the third grade, could potentially become high school dropouts. | First and foremost a superintendent needs to ensure that all schools are safe places to learn. This individual needs to have a vision for the district and the ability to express the vision to all stakeholders. In this climate of constant change, this individual should reach out to employees and community members. Ideally, he/she would cultivate relationships through building an atmosphere of trust and respect. | As we prepare students to be competitive in the world market, they need the best learning advantages. We have to get state and local governments on the same accord and realize that a good education is the foundation of a better American society. |
| Kevin Nicholas (Rep) | Education: University of Buffalo, BS; University of Rochester, MBA. Family: Wife, Denise, three children in Cobb County schools. | I support graduation coaches like in other districts to further our kids to graduate and track. For test scores, we need to give our teachers the resources to teach, by reducing class sizes in a fiscally responsible way. | Our next superintendent needs to be vested in our community, unlike our past superintendent. They also need be a leader, and surround themselves with good people. We should not only focus on educator experience, but on experience with the full operation and functions of the school system. I support our current interim Superintendent Ragsdale and will be interested to see his progress. | Without managing the money we have now effectively we develop deficits that increase class sizes and furlough days. We need to manage our budget like a business putting resources at the levels that are most impactful - our teachers. However this needs to be done responsibly. We need to hire new teachers and take care of the ones we have. |
| Scott Sweeney (Incumbent) (Rep) | Education: UCLA, BA, economics. Family: Married with two boys in Cobb County school district schools. | The school board should see what high-performing, large, and similarly sized school systems are doing that is working to improve test scores and graduation rates. Then, they should put effective, funded plans and resources into action. We know students succeed when their parents are firmly involved in their education. We know students succeed when families are invested in their children’s education. Family’s participation in their children’s education is very strong in some areas and must be strongly encouraged throughout the entire Cobb County School District. | Great communicator – the ability to work with many groups and effectively convey the school system’s message as well as its achievements; Visionary – a clear understanding of where the system must go combined with the knowledge and experience to make it happen; Accountability – the ability to accomplish agreed goals within stated timeframes; Leadership – the ability to mold consensus, determine a course of action, and execute the plan with the right resources. | Local, State, and Federal funds are allocated based on student enrollment at each school and in accordance with grant stipulations. My budget philosophy centers on delivering a balanced budget and doing everything we can now to reduce classroom sizes, fully fund a 180 day school year, and working to restore teachers’ 2% salary reduction. |
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