Cobb School Board Brings Back Debate on 'Equitable'

Cobb Board of Education Chairman Randy Scamihorn defended the proposed 2024-2025 school year budget he said has fallen victim to “political fodder” in another one of his “Just the Facts” blog posts to the district’s website Friday, leading board Democrats to question his framing of how funds are distributed within the district.

In the post, the Republican chairman touted the fact that 94% of the proposed budget goes directly to educators, including raises for all district staff. But he also took aim at unnamed actors who he said are uninterested in keeping Cobb kids safe and properly educated. He also listed which districts — by their board members’ names — receive the most funding, raising the issue of equity in budgeting once again.

“Like many other things these days, budgets are now targets for political fodder from the same few voices who are interested in turning over the Board and Superintendent — not keeping your children’s school safe, academically successful, at one of the lowest costs in the state,” Scamihorn wrote.

The board voted 4-3 along party lines to strike the word “equitable” from district policy about budget allocation in March, raising concern about how money would be distributed fairly throughout Cobb schools.

Scamihorn seemed to target that debate in his post, listing in order how much money each post — starting with the board’s three Democrats — receives per student in a challenge to the idea that money would not be spent equitably.

“A larger percentage of Cobb’s funding goes to students and schools with more needs than other areas. Factually, schools in Mr. (Leroy Tre’) Hutchins’ post receive the most money per student, followed by Ms. (Becky) Sayler’s, Ms. (Nichelle) Davis’s, Mr. Scamihorn’s, Mr. (David) Chastain’s, Mr. (Brad) Wheeler’s, and Mr. (David) Banks’s. Some try to score political points by saying otherwise, but facts really do matter. In Cobb, every child has the same opportunity to succeed,” Scamihorn wrote.

Hutchins, a Democrat, told the MDJ that it’s not up to district how federal funds meant for Title I schools are distributed.

“We don’t have an option, it’s not like you can choose not to support students with special needs. That money belongs to that child. If you have more students that have federal funding attached to them in one concentrated area of the county, of course the area will have more money than anywhere else,” Hutchins said. “My question is never money, because you can always throw money at a problem ... You have to know what the return on investment was. Did we spend the money wisely?”

Hutchins said parents in his post would like to see more district funding addressing the issue of safety and that students are not just put in danger by weapons but also racism, antisemitism and other forms of hatred.

Sayler, a Democrat who represents several school in south Cobb, said she was “disappointed” by Scamihorn’s framing of how different areas receive money.

“If he was worried about a conversation about equity, then maybe they shouldn’t have taken ‘equity’ out of the financial policy,” Sayler said. “... Mr. Scamihorn refers to ‘the board majority’ which, in this case, must mean everyone except Mr. Banks since he is the only one who has voted against the budget that I’m aware of.”

Sayler is referencing the passage of the 2023-2024 school year budget in May 2023, when Banks, a Republican, abstained and the budget passed 6-0.

Scamihorn also touted the fact that Cobb’s cost per student is lower than many of its neighboring districts, including Marietta City Schools.

The board will vote on its final approval of the budget at its May 16 meeting. Watching the Funds-Cobb, a group of parents which advocates for financial transparency in the district, will hold an information session about the budget via Zoom on May 7. Sayler and fellow Democrat Nichelle Davis will serve as panelists at the forum. According to Heather Tolley-Bauer, co-founder of the group, all board members were invited to participate.

“As chair of the Board, I proudly support this budget, the Superintendent who directed it, the staff who guided it, and most importantly, the value this budget and our schools bring to every parent, grandparent, homeowner, and taxpayer in Cobb County,” Scamihorn wrote. “And if anyone tries to tell you otherwise, maybe they have values that are not in line with the parents of Cobb County, the best place to live and learn.”

For more information about the forum, visit the group’s Facebook page.