The Cobb County Board of Education voted 7-0 Thursday to petition the state to return $565,636,709 to the county of austerity cuts made since 2003 “as a result of an improving state economy.”

Board member David Banks said, “That’s our money from county taxpayers. The public needs to let legislators know: ‘We want our money, and we want it in Cobb County classrooms.’”

Also, the board wants the state to cap Cobb’s participation in the state’s Quality Basic Education funding program at $100 million instead of the current $132.2 million, reducing the amount that is subtracted from the Cobb County School District’s state funding.

Another concern on the board’s list of legislative priorities is for the state to require a fiscal impact statement for all legislation that impacts a school district’s revenues or expenditures.

The board also wants the state to decrease the amount of student assessment requirements and the number of state-mandated assessments and surveys requiring computing devices.

Information: cobbk12.org.

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Atlanta art and antiques appraiser and auctioneer Allan Baitcher (right) takes bids during a 2020 auction. Baitcher and his company, Peachtree Antiques, are being sued by a Florida multimillionaire who says he paid them $20 million for fakes. (AJC 2020)

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