Cobb School board members have approved a tentative budget that calls for no furlough days and hiring more teachers for the next school year.
Board members also voted at a meeting Thursday evening to officially appoint Chris Ragsdale as the district's interim superintendent, replacing outgoing superintendent Michael Hinojosa.
Cobb school officials aim to decrease classroom sizes as well as increase employee pay up to 1 percent as part of the district’s nearly $890 million proposed budget.
The balanced budget includes using about $23.5 million in rainy day reserve funds and hiring up to 300 teachers. Board members are expected to take a final vote on the budget next month.
In addition to approving the budget, the board also unanimously voted in favor of making Ragsdale interim while Hinojosa’s permanent replacement is sought.
The board announced earlier this month that Ragsdale, who serves as the district’s deputy superintendent of operational support, is likely to act as interim close to a year while school board members search for a new superintendent. Hinojosa’s resignation is effective May 31.
A nearly 8-year employee with Cobb schools, Ragsdale is tasked with overseeing a significant portion of the district’s operations, including technology, SPLOST as well as construction and maintenance. He has also previously worked in the Paulding County school system.
Hinojosa announced at a school board meeting in February he was stepping down because he wants to move to Texas to assist with aging parents and is taking a consulting job. Hinojosa has led the district — Georgia’s second-largest with close to 107,000 students in about 114 schools — since July 2011.
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