Eight candidates seek 3 Cobb school board seats

With Cobb’s school system at a crossroads, three of the seven seats on the Board of Education are on the ballot for the upcoming primary.

School board members will be tasked with finding a new superintendent to lead the state’s second-largest school district, while also trying to rebuild the financially strapped system after years of budget cuts.

Eight candidates are competing for the three available seats on the school board, with the primary election May 20.

Incumbent Tim Stultz and challengers Jeff Abel and Susan Thayer – all Republicans — are running for the Post 2 Cobb School Board seat. Democrat Kenya Pierre will run against the winner in the fall.

Two Republicans are vying for the Post 4 school board seat being vacated by board chairwoman Kathy Angelucci — David Chastain and Bill Scott. There are no Democrats running.

Two Republicans are competing for the Post 6 school board seat — incumbent Scott Sweeney and Kevin Nicholas. There is no Democrat running.

Newcomer candidate Thayer has nearly 36 years of education experience, serving as a principal at Pebblebrook High School in Cobb County as well as director of leadership management for the school system from 2003-09. She currently is senior vice president of the consulting group Education Planners LLC.

Thayer says the next superintendent needs to have “integrity” and “the ability to inspire and empower others.”

“My expectation is that our superintendent provide the leadership needed for Cobb to become the premier school system in the state,” Thayer said in an emailed statement. “We have the raw materials needed to accomplish this, and a dynamic leader can provide the motivation and vision to reach this goal.”

Cobb school board members serve four-year terms. Annual pay is budgeted at $19,000 for board members and $22,800 for the board chairman.

Superintendent Michael 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 —which has close to 107,000 students in about 114 schools — since July 2011.

Cobb school board members recently named high-ranking district leader Chris Ragsdale as interim superintendent to replace Hinojosa, whose resignation is effective May 31. Ragsdale’s service begins this month and goes through May 2015.

As for finding a new permanent superintendent, Angelucci has noted the three school board positions coming up for a vote and that a new board will ultimately decide who will be the district’s next superintendent.

In the midst of seeking a new leader, school board members are also trying to recover from years of budget cuts brought on by a reduction in state funds and property tax revenue.

Cobb School board members recently approved a tentative budget for the next school year that calls for no furlough days and hiring up to 300 teachers for the next school year. 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 district was previously facing a nearly $79 million deficit, but closed that gap after receiving more money from the state and an uptick in property tax revenue. The balanced budget includes using about $23.5 million in rainy day reserve funds.

Another candidate newcomer and longtime Cobb County educator, Scott, said school board members need to make sure state legislators are kept aware of the importance of funding education.