EDUCATION Sales tax projects bring new and improved facilities to Cobb, Marietta schools

By Hunter Riggall hriggall@mdjonline.com

Cobb’s reputation for well-performing schools has made it a popular choice for Georgians looking to start a family. In 2022, those trends continued, even as political fights in education made headlines.

With 106,703 students, the Cobb County School District is Georgia’s second largest. About 14% of all Cobb residents are children enrolled in CCSD. The district is also Cobb’s top employer, with more than 17,000 workers.

The smaller Marietta City Schools educates the public-school attending children of the city of Marietta, with 8,711 students and approximately 1,200 employees.

A chunk of the funding for local schools comes from the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. Cobb voters have approved six of these taxes, the most recent in November 2021.

Ed-SPLOST V is the tax cycle still running its course. Approved by voters in 2017, it collects a 1% sales tax to fund schools through the end of 2023.

In the Cobb school system, several projects are scheduled to be completed in 2023 — the replacement of Eastvalley Elementary; new gyms for Pebblebrook High and Sprayberry High; classroom additions at Pebblebrook, Hillgrove High and Lovinggood Middle; and new tennis courts and a baseball field for Walton High.

A slew of Cobb construction projects are also set to commence this year, including classroom additions at Dickerson Middle, Dodgen Middle and Nickajack Elementary.

The Lindley Middle School attendance zone will be split in two this year with the creation of the new Betty Gray Middle School. Classroom additions and renovations will start at Betty Gray Middle this year.

Also breaking ground in 2023 are a new gym for South Cobb High; classroom upgrades and renovations at Wheeler High; theater renovations at Lassiter High; career, technical and agricultural education (CTAE) renovations at North Cobb High; and numerous renovations to schools’ restrooms, HVAC systems, roofs, flooring, electrical and plumbing across the district.

SPLOST projects in progress in Marietta schools include the installation of synthetic turf at Marietta High’s baseball and softball fields, and a new cafeteria at West Side Elementary.

In addition, the Marietta Board of Education will be asked to move forward on a SPLOST-funded renovation of Hickory Hills Elementary in the new year.

New programs in Marietta schools include the Community Conversations parent education series, the Home Depot STEM Lab at Marietta Sixth Grade Academy, Apto Solutions employment placements for neurodiverse students, and the Raising Highly Capable Kids parenting program.

Enrollment in both systems remains below pre-pandemic levels as of October 2022, and it isn’t clear when, or if, the numbers will grow again.

At the beginning of the 2019-20 school year, Cobb schools had 112,097 students, about 4.8% more than the district does now.

To start the 2019-20 school year, Marietta City Schools counted 8,877 students, about 1.9% higher than current levels.

Cobb schools saw a slight bump in its graduation rate in 2022, while Marietta High School’s dipped by a percentage point.

Cobb’s 2022 graduation rate sat at 87.4% while Marietta’s was 85.7%. In 2021, Cobb’s rate was 87.2%, while Marietta’s was 86.7%.

Cobb and Marietta continued to outperform the state at large. The statewide average increased by about half a point to 84.1% in 2022.

Both school districts saw declines across the board in the latest College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) report, released in November.

The districts’ results were incomplete, due to a federal waiver, in the first reporting year since 2019, but point to the ongoing educational losses of the pandemic. Performance declined in every category in Cobb and Marietta, except for high school graduation rates. Those categories measured “content mastery” and “readiness” at the elementary, middle and high school levels.