By Rebecca Gaunt

The Cobb County Board of Education voted 7-0 to approve the 2026 $1.86 million budget Thursday, which Superintendent Chris Ragsdale described as “tighter than usual.”

The millage rate is unchanged at 18.7 mills.

Prior to the vote, board member Becky Sayler asked Ragsdale to confirm that the issues the fleet maintenance crew brought to light at the April meeting, regarding equipment and safety concerns, were sufficiently addressed by the budget. They oversee the care of 1,000 buses and hundreds of other county vehicles.

Read more here: Fleet maintenance crew takes Cobb superintendent, school board to task over safety, wages – Cobb Courier

The initial budget proposal did not make adjustments regarding the problems raised by the fleet staff; however, Ragsdale said he was confident those needs were covered.

He said, “Yes, the information that was brought to light has resulted in a full investigation that we’re conducting now. So it’s really pretty restrictive as to what can be discussed publicly until that investigation has concluded. At which time we will bring forth information publicly, just as we did with previous investigations. But at this time I can tell you, as I referred to this afternoon, that yes, the budget is absolutely sufficient to provide everything needed for the transportation department, and our buses are in safe operating conditions.”

Although the forecasted 2% property tax digest growth was not enough to give raises across the board, Ragsdale said he was pleased to be able to provide a full step raise of up to 4.6% to eligible employees.

The budget also allotted nearly $1 million in additional funds to the district’s marketing department, which Sayler questioned given the current budget constraints.

“It’s always been said that we need to do a better job of telling our own story and this is kind of the first step in that process,” Ragsdale said. 

The money will go toward new materials and additional staff.

Board member John Cristadoro asked John Floresta, the chief accountability officer who oversees the marketing and media department, if he considered it underfunded.

“I think this is a big step toward making that right,” Floresta said.

Heather Tolley-Bauer, co-founder of the financial watchdog group Watching the Funds-Cobb, asked if there was a better way to spend that money.

“Earlier today, during the demographic study presentation, the superintendent also said that families come to Cobb ‘because of the schools.’ Not the marketing. The schools. So if our quality speaks for itself, and 98% of teachers already renewed their contracts, what story are we spending nearly $1 million more to tell?” she said.

Sayler also asked for details on the district’s plans to compensate for the loss of interventionist positions in the 2026 budget.

Though no employees are being laid off, some positions are eliminated through attrition or reassignment.

Catherine Mallanda, the chief academic officer, said some of the schools that lost learning interventionists received additional general education teachers, which will give principals flexibility to provide student support as needed.

“I greatly appreciate the support of the board, and like I said, I speak on behalf of 19,000 employees,” Ragsdale said in closing.