Last week: Is South Cobb overlooked when it comes to public school construction projects?
The Cobb County Board of Education voted this month to review what to include on the list of new school construction projects in the Ed-SPLOST V Notebook that also would include infrastructure improvements and instructional resources.
If approved by Cobb voters possibly next year, the renewal of the education special purpose local option sales tax would add an extra one percent to the county’s tax for five more years when the current Ed-SPLOST IV expires at the end of 2018.
Preparing this notebook may take a year, according to Cobb school officials, and many South Cobb residents have voiced their concerns to the school board during several meetings that they hope their area will not be overlooked.
Of particular concern to many of them is rebuilding Harmony Leland and Clay Elementary Schools in Mableton due to overcrowding and deteriorating conditions. There is $10 million in a rebuild fund for them, but $20 million more is needed.
We asked readers for their comments. Here’s what some had to say:
I have heard from folks across the county that the reason South Cobb is often overlooked is because they don't vote to support the SPLOST. That may be true about the lack of support. There are some folks here who complain about every tax; but I believe the real reason is that the louder, more connected voices advocate for East and West Cobb. Although the school board should be morally obligated to treat all areas fairly, we have seen, time and time again, they don't. They're politicians and their real concern is with the folks who vote, especially those who are loud and organized. A few, really important things is to work with your schools to make sure our projects for the notebook are complete, well done and in on time. Stay active in BOE (Board of Education) meetings, and win over the support of members besides David Morgan. And finally, as a community, we need to support the SPLOST and get folks out to vote. — Patty McSweeney Yohn, Mableton Alliance for Children and Schools
In 2013, voters in Cobb approved SPLOST IV for education in MCS (Marietta City Schools) and CCSD (Cobb County School District) and, to date, about $718 million in tax money has come in from the 1 percent tax. It is time for a status report to the public to see if or how our money was spent.
The one big item (a Career Academy) seems to have been used as a "bait and switch" from a convenient interpretation of the language approved in 2013. Rather than using the $30 million as publicized (construction), now CCSD is talking about "spreading the thirty mill around" in some fashion. Meanwhile, students who may not be on a college track are being denied the opportunity to acquire the preparation necessary to be work-ready upon graduating high school. This is of concern to the South Cobb cluster since our students need this option the most. It is a matter of trust. — Lawrence P. King, Mableton
Ask homeowners why their homes are for sale, and I think you'll find many of them have young ones approaching school age. Or they have experienced the lack of attention/funding for our schools first hand. Twenty minutes down the street, we can find some of the best schools in the state. The people in a position to change this I guess don't see the return on investment for South Cobb. — James W. Jolley
Carolyn Cunningham for the AJC
While some of the municipal elections scheduled for Nov. 3 appear to be hotly contested, many more are not. In fact, a few dozen cities in metro Atlanta won’t even allow residents to vote because all seats up for election are uncontested. Most will see the sitting candidate in place for another term. Others will have new people in place.
Municipal elections, once the darlings of electoral reformers, don’t seem to fire the passions they once did. Most cities hold municipal elections in odd-numbered years, a Progressive-era reform meant to insulate local elections from the sounding partisan trumpets of national contests.
Nearly a fourth of the cities in the largest county in the state won’t have local elections in November. In Fulton County, the races in the cities of Alpharetta, Milton and Palmetto are all uncontested. (Atlanta doesn’t have odd-year elections.)
If you’re a glass-half-full kind of person, you’ll see that cities are saving money by not conducting these off-year elections. But you may be troubled there’s a possibility that the timing and non-partisan character of these elections contribute to low voter turnout and a general lack of information about the candidates.
Of course this problem is hardly an issue faced in Georgia only – or even just in the United States.
Local election organizers in several regions of Jakarta failed to attract more than one pair of candidates to sign up to contest elections for regional heads. By law every race there must have at least three candidates. So officials are extending the qualifying period which may delay local elections until 2017.
As we see the crowded field of those vying for the highest office in the land, what do you think should be done to attract more candidates to local races? Submit comments to communitynews@ajc.com.
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