May 15, 2025—The Cobb Schools Board of Education met for its May meeting to approve the FY2026 Budget. The BOE also heard two presentations about county demographic projections and a two-year recap of the groundbreaking Georgia's BEST program. In addition, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale congratulated the 8,200+ students who will be graduating next week and the Walton Girls soccer team for winning a GHSA state championship just minutes before the meeting began.

The Board learned that the District’s 2025 demographic study shows an alarming trend of multi-family housing developments being approved without concern for Cobb’s schools. Despite repeated warnings from District representatives, Cobb County has approved more multi-family housing permits since 2006 than any other metro Atlanta county. In fact, Powder Springs issued 300+ multi-family building permits in 2024 alone. District officials expressed grave concern that county and city zoning decisions continue to ignore school capacity limits and the harms of transiency on school communities. Click here to read more.

Now in its second year, Cobb's one-of-a-kind partnership with the University of West Georgia—Georgia's BEST—is already making a lasting difference in Cobb classrooms. At a time when Georgia’s educator workforce faces rising turnover and persistent vacancies, the success of Georgia's BEST is undeniable. "We are the only district in the country that can say we have solved the teacher recruitment and retention problem," said Superintendent Chris Ragsdale. "Through Georgia’s BEST, every Cobb teacher has the opportunity for a higher ed degree that gives a one-million-dollar benefit, at no cost to them." What makes Georgia’s BEST unique is that the District decides which advanced degree options will be offered based on Cobb's most critical needs. The program has already been transformative and life-changing for more than 600 students. Click here to read more.

The BOE also approved the following 10 Principal Reassignments/New Appointments:

Principal Reassignments:

Paul Gillihan Reassignment to Principal at Campbell High School from Principal at Wheeler High School
Sara Fetterman Reassignment to Principal at Wheeler High School from Principal at Sprayberry High School
Dr. David Church Reassignment to Principal at Sprayberry High School from Principal at Simpson Middle School
Cory Stanley Reassignment to Principal at Simpson Middle School from Principal at McClure Middle School
Vanessa Watkins Reassignment to Principal at Betty Gray Middle School from Principal at Campbell High School

New Appointments:

Meghan Smith Appointment to Principal at Compton Elementary School from Assistant Principal at Ford Elementary School
Dr. Tiffany Hourigan Appointment to Principal at Acworth Elementary School from Assistant Principal at Frey Elementary School
Karen Osterhoudt Appointment to Principal at Still Elementary School from Assistant Principal at Still Elementary School
Michelle Gillham Appointment to Principal at Mount Bethel Elementary School from Assistant Principal at Addison Elementary School
David Bell Appointment to Principal at North Cobb High School from Assistant Principal at North Cobb High School 

Board Recognitions:

•    2025 International Championship of High School A Cappella (ICHSA), First Place A Cappella Group Sonic Edge – Pebblebrook High School

•    Cobb Arts Integration Certification – Mableton Elementary School 

•    GA DOE Creative School Arts Integration School of Excellence – Compton Elementary School

•    2024-2025 Regional Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DDHH) Team Math Competition First Place Winners – Logan Volker, Lost Mountain Middle School, Gabrielle Graham, Lovinggood Middle School, and Larenzo Parker, Pine Mountain Middle School

•    2024-2025 Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DDHH) Oratorical Contest, Oral First Place Regional Winner – Chloe Parker, Kennesaw Mountain High School 

•    2024-2025 Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DDHH) Oratorical Contest, American Sign Language First Place Regional & State Winner – Regina Richmond, Kennesaw Mountain High School 

•    2024-2025 GHSA Class 4A Literary State Quartet Champions –Brandon Elijah, Carter Sapp, Bryan Jenkins, Jeremiah Harris, Allatoona High School 

•    2024-2025 GHSA Class 6A Literary State Trio Champions – Ava Stein, Camilla Craig, and Meg Franklin, Harrison High School

•    2024-2025 GHSA Class 4A State Gymnastics Beam Champion – Alyssa Strain, Allatoona High School (not in attendance)

•    2024-2025 College Board Advanced Placement Art and Design Exam Exemplar, First Place – Natalie Keszthelyi, Student, and Tanya Turner, Teacher, Harrison High School

•    2024-2025 Winter Guard International World Championships, Scholastic A Classification Competition & Scholastic A World Champions – Pope High School

•    Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) State Competition, First Place Website Design – Aaryan Indla, Sagar Shrestha, and Jayla Rembert, Wheeler High School 

•    Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl Competition, State of Georgia Reading Competition State Champions – Ritvik Ranjan, Moksha Baghel, Rachel Thomas, Jennifer Saysombath, Rohan Raj, Shyla Singal, Seetha Gutta, and Anusha Singh, Wheeler High School 

•    Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA), Principles of Business Management and Administration Competition, First Place, Principles of Business Management and Administration – Ben Phan, Wheeler High School 

•    Acknowledgment of Special Guests: 2024-2025 Aspiring Leaders Academy