A few months ago, an accreditation agency instructed the Cobb County Board of Education to change the way it conducts business after a special review.
But district leaders have yet to publicly address the directives from Cognia, the school system’s accrediting agency. Most of Georgia’s public school systems are accredited by Cognia.
“It’s been over 90 days and we have yet to discuss it in public,” board member Jaha Howard said at Thursday’s meeting. He made a motion to add the report to the board’s agenda, which was not approved.
This week, consultants from another agency — the Georgia Accrediting Commission — visited each of the district’s high schools, according to Phillip Murphy, the organization’s executive director.
In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he said the district has been in contact with his agency “for several months.” The commission accredits individual schools, not entire school systems. At this time, it’s focusing on Cobb’s high schools, Murphy said.
Board Chair David Chastain said he wasn’t aware of any accreditation visits when reached by phone on Tuesday. Last month, after being elected board chair, Chastain told the AJC the Cognia report was on his list of things to do.
A district spokeswoman did not confirm or deny the visits by the Georgia Accrediting Commission when contacted by the AJC via email earlier this week.
“Our staff is constantly evaluating all issues which affect students, including accreditation, and we will continue to focus on giving our students and families a world-class education,” she said.
Parents at the Thursday meeting accused the board of “intentionally ignoring” Cognia’s instructions and seeking different accreditation options instead.
“I’m here to sound the alarm,” Shannon Deisen, one of the parents, told the board. “Stop ignoring the Cognia directives and start taking steps to comply with them immediately.”
The school district remained fully accredited after last year’s special investigation by Cognia, which had the power to downgrade its status.
The investigation launched after three Democrats on the seven-member board complained in a letter to Cognia that the four Republicans were silencing them in meetings and ignoring their attempts to put items on agendas. The Democrats are Black and the Republicans are white. Teachers and Cobb residents also complained to Cognia about student inequities and spending.
The review identified areas for improvement and directed the board to adhere to its code of ethics, get an external expert’s assessment of its governance and use the findings to improve effectiveness and trust. The directives also included not rushing into making policy changes; obtaining an external assessment of its governance and using data to make decisions.
Randy Scamihorn, then board chair, was critical of the review when it came out, calling it a “significant distraction for the staff.”
Cognia requires the board to undergo a progress review in December 2022 to ensure the district is improving.
Georgia districts are not required by law to be accredited, but Murphy said colleges essentially require that students graduate from accredited high schools.
The Georgia Accrediting Commission accredits over 80 school districts in the state, Murphy said. He estimates that all of them are dual-accredited.
Staff writer Alia Malik contributed to this report.
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