Cobb County Schools Redistricting, New Superintendent (Marietta, Smyrna: 2015, transfer, to buy)
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What's going on in Cobb County? What do you think of the new superintendent? Is he the best pick? I wonder why the school board was in such a hurry. What about the redistricting for the southern part of the county? Anyone know anything about that?
[LEFT]Dallas school superintendent Michael Hinojosa. (Jim Mahoney/The Dallas Morning News)
MARIETTA — The Cobb County School board announced Dr. Michael Hinojosa, a Dallas, Texas, superintendent, as its sole finalist for the Cobb position at its meeting Thursday night after a six-month long search.
The board voted 7-0 on a motion made by Lynnda Eagle to announce Hinojosa, the superintendent of Dallas Independent School District, as the finalist for the position.
While he was not at Thursday’s meeting, board Chairwoman Alison Bartlett said Hinojosa plans to visit the district Monday. He will take the reins from retiring Superintendent Fred Sanderson on July 1. Bartlett said his contract is still being negotiated, but that it will likely include a base salary of less than $250,000 and be for two years, as required by Georgia law. He currently makes a base salary of $328,000, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Reached by phone on Thursday night, Hinojosa said he got a phone call just two weeks ago asking if he would be interested in the position. His application for the Cobb job was received just last week, on May 12.
“I knew the district by reputation,” he said. “When (the position) was open, I really didn’t know they were doing their search and all the sudden I got a call and I started looking into a little more and I said, ‘this may be a perfect opportunity.’ … The more research I did, the more I liked it.”
Hinojosa, 54, said he did his research, watching every board meeting in the last five months, looking at district statistics and reading newspaper articles. When asked if he could deal with a divisive board and a public that has been frustrated by a calendar debate, he said: “I’ve had so much experience dealing with major issues. Some of the issues that I’ve had to deal with make those issues look tame. Those things happen, and with my experience and my ability to manage a high-profile crisis, that’s something I wouldn’t shy away from.”
While Hinojosa said he’s not coming in with an overall plan for the district, he said he does have an “entry plan” that includes meeting with the public and listening to their ideas and concerns.
“I have an entry plan, and in my entry plan, that will tell us what we’ve got to work on,” he said. “I’ve studied all the numbers and I’ve watched all the board meetings, but those are just the numbers. I’ve got to meet the people.”
When announcing Hinojosa as the finalist, Bartlett called him an “innovative leader with a proven record of success.” Each of the board members, except for David Banks, commented on Hinojosa, characterizing him as a “successful, experienced superintendent with a results-oriented skill set.”
Following the break, Banks said he didn’t have an opinion of Hinojosa because he had yet to meet him. The board interview Hinojosa on Sunday at the Galleria for two to three hours, and Banks did not attend the meeting because of work.
“I don’t know him,” Banks said. “When he comes, I’ll sit down with him and talk.”
Earlier on Thursday, Banks was quoted in the Dallas Morning News as saying Hinojosa should do some research before accepting the Cobb superintendent position.
“Once he finds out what’s really going on, he might want to rethink that,” Banks told the Dallas newspaper.
When asked about his comment, the Post 5 board member said he said that “because of the SACs situation, the calendar situation, the grand jury situation, the public’s anger. It would be good (for him) to know what kind of challenges he faces.”
Sanderson said Thursday night that he is looking forward to meeting Hinojosa and he will do whatever is necessary to help him in his transition into the Cobb superintendent job.
“I’m glad they got an experienced superintendent,” Sanderson said.
Bartlett said it was always the board’s intention to name a sole finalist for the position.
Though she would not comment much on the superintendent search, the board chair said Hinojosa was recommended to the board just a few weeks ago when it began expanding the search. However, she could not remember who recommended Hinojosa.
“He came from another source because they remembered that a few years ago he had applied for a job in Nevada, and they thought he would be interested in our position,” she said.
Last September, Hinojosa was one of two finalists to lead Las Vegas-area schools, though that district ultimately chose someone else. Just days before that vote, the Dallas school board voted, 5-4, to extend Hinojosa’s contract for five years, through 2015.
Bartlett said she is excited for Hinjosa’s arrival and that he will be a positive influence for the Cobb community.
“He is going to bring energy, experience, expertise in education, he’s an out-of-the-box thinker, and I think we will have something that Cobb hasn’t seen in a while — someone that is from out of state that just has a host of different experiences,” she said. “He is also known on the national level, as working on national things, and he’s brought in some tremendous grant programs to Dallas.”
Kathy Angelucci said she was particularly drawn to Hinojosa because he emphasized the need for the board and superintendent to work as a team.
Eagle said she was impressed with Hinojosa’s experience.
“He really understands what’s already good and wants to use what we have here to further our district,” she said.
The board is required by law to announce a superintendent finalist 14 days before voting to hire that person.
Following Thursday night’s announcement, the board held its regular meeting and voted 4-3 with Bartlett, Angelucci and Tim Stultz dissenting to declare $22 million in SPLOST II to be in excess.
This will free up the $22 million to be transferred to the general fund to be used in the fiscal year 2012 budget, which was tentatively approved by the board at its May 11 meeting.
Once the $22 million is declared as excess, the board can use the money to buy down the millage to its current rate of 18.9 mills. The FY12 budget, which begins July 1, was set at a millage rate of 20 mills, the highest allowable by law.
The board did a buy-down last year to help free up about $23 million in excess SPLOST funds to use toward this year’s budget. The district has about $49 million left in SPLOST and district Chief Financial Officer Mike Addison said in April that he intends to use excess SPLOST funds again next year to help balance the FY13 budget.
Angelucci again said she had concerns about the buy-down because not all of the projects in SPLOST II are complete yet.
“We talk all the time about the intent of SPLOST and what the voters agreed to, and I’m fairly certain that when I voted I did not agree to this,” Angelucci said.
The board voted for a personnel report in two separate votes on Thursday night. Angelucci wanted to extract two appointments from the report and vote on them separately. While the board agreed 7-0 on a majority of the report, Angelucci was the lone dissenting vote on the two appointments she disapproved of. The board did not elaborate on those appointments in public, and following the meeting Bartlett said she would not comment on them.
In the personnel report, the board named Campbell Middle School Principal Iris Denise Magee as the new principal at Campbell High. She will replace Dr. Grant Rivera, who is leaving Cobb to take a principal position in Fulton County Schools. The board also named Joshua Morreale, an assistant principal at South Cobb High, to the principal position at Osborne High School. He will be taking over for Charlotte Stowers, who has been the interim principal there since Dr. Steven Miletto left at the end of last school year.
Before the meeting on Thursday, the board held a salary hearing before its meeting for district employees to address the board regarding the budget. No employees spoke during the hearing. The next salary hearing will be held May 31 at 6:30 p.m.
MARIETTA — The Cobb County School board announced Dr. Michael Hinojosa, a Dallas, Texas, superintendent, as its sole finalist for the Cobb position at its meeting Thursday night after a six-month long search.
The board voted 7-0 on a motion made by Lynnda Eagle to announce Hinojosa, the superintendent of Dallas Independent School District, as the finalist for the position.
While he was not at Thursday’s meeting, board Chairwoman Alison Bartlett said Hinojosa plans to visit the district Monday. He will take the reins from retiring Superintendent Fred Sanderson on July 1. Bartlett said his contract is still being negotiated, but that it will likely include a base salary of less than $250,000 and be for two years, as required by Georgia law. He currently makes a base salary of $328,000, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Reached by phone on Thursday night, Hinojosa said he got a phone call just two weeks ago asking if he would be interested in the position. His application for the Cobb job was received just last week, on May 12.
“I knew the district by reputation,” he said. “When (the position) was open, I really didn’t know they were doing their search and all the sudden I got a call and I started looking into a little more and I said, ‘this may be a perfect opportunity.’ … The more research I did, the more I liked it.”
Hinojosa, 54, said he did his research, watching every board meeting in the last five months, looking at district statistics and reading newspaper articles. When asked if he could deal with a divisive board and a public that has been frustrated by a calendar debate, he said: “I’ve had so much experience dealing with major issues. Some of the issues that I’ve had to deal with make those issues look tame. Those things happen, and with my experience and my ability to manage a high-profile crisis, that’s something I wouldn’t shy away from.”
While Hinojosa said he’s not coming in with an overall plan for the district, he said he does have an “entry plan” that includes meeting with the public and listening to their ideas and concerns.
“I have an entry plan, and in my entry plan, that will tell us what we’ve got to work on,” he said. “I’ve studied all the numbers and I’ve watched all the board meetings, but those are just the numbers. I’ve got to meet the people.”
When announcing Hinojosa as the finalist, Bartlett called him an “innovative leader with a proven record of success.” Each of the board members, except for David Banks, commented on Hinojosa, characterizing him as a “successful, experienced superintendent with a results-oriented skill set.”
Following the break, Banks said he didn’t have an opinion of Hinojosa because he had yet to meet him. The board interview Hinojosa on Sunday at the Galleria for two to three hours, and Banks did not attend the meeting because of work.
“I don’t know him,” Banks said. “When he comes, I’ll sit down with him and talk.”
Earlier on Thursday, Banks was quoted in the Dallas Morning News as saying Hinojosa should do some research before accepting the Cobb superintendent position.
“Once he finds out what’s really going on, he might want to rethink that,” Banks told the Dallas newspaper.
When asked about his comment, the Post 5 board member said he said that “because of the SACs situation, the calendar situation, the grand jury situation, the public’s anger. It would be good (for him) to know what kind of challenges he faces.”
Sanderson said Thursday night that he is looking forward to meeting Hinojosa and he will do whatever is necessary to help him in his transition into the Cobb superintendent job.
“I’m glad they got an experienced superintendent,” Sanderson said.
Bartlett said it was always the board’s intention to name a sole finalist for the position.
Though she would not comment much on the superintendent search, the board chair said Hinojosa was recommended to the board just a few weeks ago when it began expanding the search. However, she could not remember who recommended Hinojosa.
“He came from another source because they remembered that a few years ago he had applied for a job in Nevada, and they thought he would be interested in our position,” she said.
Last September, Hinojosa was one of two finalists to lead Las Vegas-area schools, though that district ultimately chose someone else. Just days before that vote, the Dallas school board voted, 5-4, to extend Hinojosa’s contract for five years, through 2015.
Bartlett said she is excited for Hinjosa’s arrival and that he will be a positive influence for the Cobb community.
“He is going to bring energy, experience, expertise in education, he’s an out-of-the-box thinker, and I think we will have something that Cobb hasn’t seen in a while — someone that is from out of state that just has a host of different experiences,” she said. “He is also known on the national level, as working on national things, and he’s brought in some tremendous grant programs to Dallas.”
Kathy Angelucci said she was particularly drawn to Hinojosa because he emphasized the need for the board and superintendent to work as a team.
Eagle said she was impressed with Hinojosa’s experience.
“He really understands what’s already good and wants to use what we have here to further our district,” she said.
The board is required by law to announce a superintendent finalist 14 days before voting to hire that person.
Following Thursday night’s announcement, the board held its regular meeting and voted 4-3 with Bartlett, Angelucci and Tim Stultz dissenting to declare $22 million in SPLOST II to be in excess.
This will free up the $22 million to be transferred to the general fund to be used in the fiscal year 2012 budget, which was tentatively approved by the board at its May 11 meeting.
Once the $22 million is declared as excess, the board can use the money to buy down the millage to its current rate of 18.9 mills. The FY12 budget, which begins July 1, was set at a millage rate of 20 mills, the highest allowable by law.
The board did a buy-down last year to help free up about $23 million in excess SPLOST funds to use toward this year’s budget. The district has about $49 million left in SPLOST and district Chief Financial Officer Mike Addison said in April that he intends to use excess SPLOST funds again next year to help balance the FY13 budget.
Angelucci again said she had concerns about the buy-down because not all of the projects in SPLOST II are complete yet.
“We talk all the time about the intent of SPLOST and what the voters agreed to, and I’m fairly certain that when I voted I did not agree to this,” Angelucci said.
The board voted for a personnel report in two separate votes on Thursday night. Angelucci wanted to extract two appointments from the report and vote on them separately. While the board agreed 7-0 on a majority of the report, Angelucci was the lone dissenting vote on the two appointments she disapproved of. The board did not elaborate on those appointments in public, and following the meeting Bartlett said she would not comment on them.
In the personnel report, the board named Campbell Middle School Principal Iris Denise Magee as the new principal at Campbell High. She will replace Dr. Grant Rivera, who is leaving Cobb to take a principal position in Fulton County Schools. The board also named Joshua Morreale, an assistant principal at South Cobb High, to the principal position at Osborne High School. He will be taking over for Charlotte Stowers, who has been the interim principal there since Dr. Steven Miletto left at the end of last school year.
Before the meeting on Thursday, the board held a salary hearing before its meeting for district employees to address the board regarding the budget. No employees spoke during the hearing. The next salary hearing will be held May 31 at 6:30 p.m.
The redistricting in South Cobb is for the Primary/Elementary schools.
Overall the district is overcapacity but many of the schools are undercapacity. They are building 3 new replacement schools that will bring the total district undercapacity. This will require redrawing the districts and the closing of at least 3 schools.
Because of the inconsistency of schools in this area, it is rather interesting. Parents with children going to the better school are obviously worried they will be moved. At the same time there are many parents asking that their schools be closed.
They have had 1 of three meetings regarding redistricting. Here is the website with the details.
I wonder if people have decided to wait until they see the proposed map. Most Smyrna schools are overcapacity and one Smyrna school has to be closed. But there are schools undercapacity in the western part of South Cobb. It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out.
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