SPLOST Loans, Public Comment Changes On Cobb School Board Agenda

COBB COUNTY, GA — The Cobb County Board of Education will consider changes to its public comment method, attendance zones tweaks and loan approval for Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax construction projects at Thursday's board meeting.

The school board changed its method of signing up for public comment seven months ago, allowing residents to sign up online to speak in person during the public comment portion of board meetings.

But on Thursday, the board will consider going back to its previous method of signing up in person on a physical sign-up sheet, which would become available 30 minutes before each board meeting. Board Chair David Chastain said online sign-ups created problems like people signing up and not showing up, the Marietta Daily Journal reported.

If the board returns to in-person registration, residents will speak on a first-come, first-served basis.

Board members will also consider approving up to $100 million in a "bridge loan" for various SPLOST construction projects in between SPLOST sales tax cycles. The loan keeps projects moving forward until the county's new sales tax, Ed-SPLOST VI, starts generating revenue in 2023, which will be used to repay the loan.

Among the major construction projects in 2022 is the reconstruction of Eastvalley Elementary School at the former site of East Cobb Middle School, East Cobb News reported.

Attendance zone tweaks for north Cobb's Pitner Elementary School on Wade Road are also up for consideration, the MDJ reported. The school feeds into nearby Palmer Middle School, and some Palmer students move to Kell High School while others go to North Cobb High School. The proposed change would feed all of Pitner and Palmer students into KHS.

The board meets at 2 p.m. for a work session, followed by an executive session and an official board meeting at 7 p.m.