Cherokee Schools To Reduce Furlough Days

The Cherokee County School District will reduce its number of furlough days from eight to six, restoring two calendar days for students.

An additional two classroom instruction days will soon return to the Cherokee County School District. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Petruzielo announced during Thursday's work session that the district will restore two days to its calendar for the 2013-14 school year. Petruzielo said the district was able to perform the restoration due to the increase in the county's tax digest.  That would get the district's instructional calendar from 175 days to 177 for students. Before furlough days, the district operated on a 180 day calendar for students. The tax digest increased by 2.8 percent for school portion of tax assessments. The entire digest increased by 3 percent.   After exemptions and appeals are applied, the school district is …

• Photos (1)

Petruzielo, School Board Rebuff Common Core Committee Request

A request from Cherokee School Board member Kelly Marlow to form a citizen's committee to assess Common Core standards did not garner any support.

A request from Cherokee County School Board member Kelly Marlow for board members to form a committee to examine the Common Core standards received a cool reception, and led to a discussion on whether citizens should revisit the initiative that's already in the midst of implementation. The school board on Thursday heard a request from Marlow, who asked if each board member could appoint two members to a committee that would research Common Core and submit a full report to the school board on the initiative. Marlow said her proposal stems from her receiving numerous questions and concerns from residents in the Cherokee County community about Common Core. The issue, she stated, seems to be a "hot topic." The Cherokee County Republican Party …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Petruzielo: State Budget Numbers Given To Cherokee Chamber "Inaccurate"

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Petruzielo is questioning the accuracy of numbers State Rep. Calvin Hill provided to the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce's board of directors.

Cherokee Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Petruzielo has raised concerns about numbers distributed by State Rep. Calvin Hill (R-Hickory Flat) that say the state has increased funding to education. In a memo, Petruzielo contradicts the report Hill distributed to the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors that no reductions to Quality Basic Education funding, or QBE, were made for Georgia's fiscal year 2014 budget. Petruzielo writes in his memo that the Cherokee County School District recently learned it will have to once again swallow $24.8 million in austerity cuts for the 2013-14 school year. He also notes the county's equalization grant, which totals $500,000 has been eliminated. The superintendent goes on to say …

• Photos (1)
• Documents (1)

Kelly Marlow, Petruzielo Clash Over Cherokee School Board Policy

School board member Kelly Marlow faced off with Superintendent Dr. Frank Petruzielo on her proposed changes to policy governing when to list financial impact of agenda items.

A proposal to modify a policy regarding school board meeting agendas led to testy exchanges between School Board Member Kelly Marlow and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Petruzielo during the school board's meeting on Thursday.  At the heart of the disagreement was whether the school district should list the financial impact on an agenda request form to be considered by the school board. Marlow, who is in her first term, proposed changing School Board Policy BCBD to read, "When an agenda request form is included, the financial impact section must include a dollar amount. In cases where there is no cost to the District, the dollar amount should be listed as 0. In all other cases, a dollar amount must be listed on the form. It shall be …

•  19 Comments
• Photos (1)

Donna Broadus

10:06 am on Thursday, April 4, 2013

I agree with Becky and Terry. I've been in the county 20 years and all my children have attended Cherokee Schools. I remember when we almost lost accreditation, we were thinking about moving to Cobb County. Dr. P came in and now Cherokee is tops in the state! I'm in real estate and have people moving here for the school system alone.   more ›

Cherokee Schools Safety Committee To Assess Campus Security

The Ad Hoc Safety and Security Committee will perform safety and security assessments of all district campuses over the next month.

Cherokee Schools Safety Committee To Assess Campus Security

The Ad Hoc Safety and Security Committee will perform safety and security assessments of all district campuses over the next month.

The newly formed Ad Hoc Safety and Security Committee will take the next step in its task to help the district protect its students, faculty and staff. The committee will do safety and security checks of all district campuses over the next month, school district staff informed the Cherokee County School Board during Thursday's work session.  After the assessments are completed, the committee will meet to review the findings and possibly issue recommendations to the district.  The committee met on Tuesday of this week and reviewed documents, key events and safety measures the school district has implemented since 1998, said District Spokesperson Barbara Jacoby. A review of what the committee went over during the meeting is attached in the .…

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)
• Documents (1)

Kristal Dixon

12:18 pm on Monday, January 21, 2013

I don't think state law would allow for CCSD to use SPLOST funds to make those kinds of purchases.   more ›

Petruzielo: More Funding Needed From State

The state has lost millions of dollars it was owed by the state over the last 10 years.

Over the last 10 years, the Cherokee County School District has lost $147 million in funding it's owed by the state under the Quality Basic Education formula. And, this year, the school system is expected to lose another $26.5 million. "We're not talking about chopped liver here," Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Petruzielo said during a work session with the Board of Education on Thursday evening. "This is not small change. And, if it's $26.5 million here, you can imagine what it is state-wide." The QBE formula was created in 1985 as a way to solve the problem of inequality between rich and poor school districts following lawsuits filed in California and Texas. "You still get to supplement a kid's education with local dollars but you …

•  28 Comments
• Photos (1)

No More Bullies

2:05 pm on Wednesday, February 13, 2013

If you take a look at candidates who support charters or the amendment, and their respective elections, it is a TOTALLY different picture. Look at the photos from the bill-signing event for the amendment's legislation, held at Cherokee Charter: Chip Rogers- gone. Sean Jerguson- gone. Charlice Byrd- gone. Kim Cochran- gone. Danny Dukes- loser.   more ›

Video: Can You Work with Dr. P?

Byron Dobbs of WLJA-FM asked the candidates for school board chair if they could work effectively with Cherokee's school superintendent.

The county's divisive school choice debate fractured relationships between Cherokee County School District supporters and Cherokee Charter Academy supporters. During Monday night's debate at the Cherokee County Republican Party headquarters in Towne Lake, Byron Dobbs of WLJA-FM (101.1) asked the candidates for school board chair if they could work effectively with Cherokee's school superintendent. Watch what Danny Dukes and Janet Read had to say. Dukes is on the Cherokee Charter Academy governing board. Read is the Cherokee County Board of Education vice chairwoman. Look for more video coverage from Canton-Sixes Patch later. Related content Don’t miss any of the local news you care about. Subscribe to Canton-Sixes Patch’s free newsletter, …

•  2 Comments
• Videos (1)

Rodney Thrash

4:30 pm on Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Byron Dobbs asked Danny Dukes if he would be able to work with Dr. Petruzielo. He started the question by saying Mr. Dukes was heavily involved in Cherokee Charter Academy. Furthermore, this is not an article. It is a video clip with a short intro to provide context for readers who might not have understood why Mr. Dobbs made the connection to Cherokee Charter in his question.   more ›

The Rundown

BOE Renews Superintendent's Contract

The motion to approve the renewal passed with one board member dissenting and one abstaining.

Frank Petruzielo will continue to lead the Cherokee County School System. The Board of Education voted 5-1-1 Thursday night to extend Petruzielo’s contract after the board left the open meeting to go into executive session to discuss the item. Board member Michael Geist cast the dissenting vote, and Rob Usher abstained, citing the fact that he hadn’t seen the contract prior to the meeting. Usher, who raised concerns about not seeing the contract during the meeting, said that the contract wasn’t available during executive session and that he couldn’t in good conscience vote for something he hadn’t read. “They wanted to move forward with it, and that’s fine with me,” Usher said. “It’s nothing against the superintendent. I think he’s done a …

• Photos (1)