School board report card: Cherokee County

Oct 10, 2010

Current school board members

Stephen Bentley*

Post 1, central Cherokee County around Canton

Education: B.S. in computer information systems
Occupation: Owner of Quote Burst, an insurance marketing software development company
Years served: 8 (term ends Dec. 2010) Relatives working for system: None
Children in Cherokee schools: Two are graduates
Two-year meeting attendance record: 69% of 29 meetings
Ethics complaints or recall attempts: None
School board-related training: Georgia School Boards Association training (twice)
How he voted on three key issues: 2010-11 budget, in favor; June 2010 county charter school application, against; superintendent's contract renewal in August 2010, absent.
Issue most known for championing: State funding for state mandates

Mike Chapman

Post 2, mid-east Cherokee County

Education: Bachelor's degree in business; two master's degrees in management
Occupation: Plant manager, Morrison Products
Years served: 8 (current term ends Dec. 31, 2012)
Relatives working for system: Wife, Mary, is a middle school family and consumer science teacher
Children in Cherokee schools: Two are graduates
Two-year meeting attendance record: 97% of 29 meetings
Ethics complaints or recall attempts: None
School board-related training: State and national School Boards Association meetings
How he voted on three key issues: 2010-11 budget, against; June 2010 county charter school application, against; superintendent's contract renewal in August 2010, in favor.
Issues most known for championing: Cooperation between school boards and legislative lobbying

Gary Puckett***

Post 3, southeast Cherokee County

Education: Did not respond
Occupation: Executive director, Council on Occupational Education
Years served: 8 (current term ends Dec. 31, 2010)
Relatives working for system: Did not respond
Children in Cherokee schools: Did not respond
Two-year meeting attendance record: 83% of 29 meetings
Ethics complaints or recall attempts: Did not respond
School board-related training: Did not respond
How he voted on three key issues: 2010-11 budget, in favor; June 2010 county charter school application, absent; superintendent's contract renewal in August 2010, in favor.
Issue most known for championing: Did not respond

Janet Read

Post 4, west central Cherokee County near Lake Allatoona

Education: B.S. in business administration
Occupation: Former banking supervisor
Years served: 6 (current term ends Dec. 31, 2012)
Relatives working for system: No
Children in Cherokee schools: Two sons are graduates
Two-year meeting attendance record: 97% of 29 meetings
Ethics complaints or recall attempts: None
School board-related training: Federal Relations Network (FRN), Georgia School Boards Association meetings, National School Boards Association meetings, Georgia Educational Technology Conference.
How she voted on three key issues: 2010-11 budget, in favor; June 2010 county charter school application, against; superintendent's contract renewal in August 2010, in favor.
Issues most known for championing: Increasing student achievement; focusing on compensation for teachers.

Robert Recksteiner, a.k.a. Rick Steiner**

Post 5, southwest Cherokee County

Education: B.A. in education
Occupation: Real estate sales, investment
Years served: 5 (appointed 2005, elected 2006; current term ends Dec. 31, 2010)
Relatives working for system: Did not respond
Children in Cherokee schools: Did not respond
Two-year meeting attendance record: 100% of 29 meetings
Ethics complaints or recall attempts: None
School board-related training: Did not respond
How he voted on three key issues: 2010-11 budget, in favor; June 2010 county charter school application, against; superintendent's contract renewal in August 2010, in favor.
Issue most known for championing: Did not respond

Debi Radcliff***, chairwoman

Post 6, Woodstock

Education: Associate degree in secretarial science from Stark Technical College
Occupation: Former businesswoman
Years served: 6 (current term expires Dec. 31, 2010)
Relatives working for system: Son
Children in Cherokee schools: Three are graduates
Two-year meeting attendance record: 90% of 29 meetings
Ethics complaints or recall attempts: None
School board-related training: Georgia School Boards Conference and Training; Georgia School Boards workshops, Dublin, Ga., 2006; National bus sales workshop on multifunction buses in 2008; National School Boards Association conference in 2007, ' 08, '09; annual recurrent training as required by GSBA.
How she voted on three key issues: 2010-11 budget, in favor; June 2010 county charter school application, against; superintendent's contract renewal in August 2010, in favor.
Issue most known for championing: Pushed to establish a dedicated career technical high school

Kim Cochran

Post 7, north Cherokee County

Education: B.A. English/writing, M.A. English
Occupation: Former teacher in Cherokee schools
Years served: 1 year, 9 months (current term expires Dec. 31, 2012)
Relatives working for system: None
Children in Cherokee schools: Children too young for school
20-month meeting attendance record: 92% of 25 meetings
Ethics complaints or recall attempts: None
School board-related training: Two-day new board member conference and training sessions on policy making, charter schools and the establishment clause in public education.
How she voted on three key issues: 2010-11 budget, against; June 2010 county charter school application, absent; superintendent's contract renewal in August 2010, in favor.
Issue most known for championing: Stabilizing revenue