Hello, and welcome back to “Just the Facts!”
I want to let you in on a bit of a secret. I get a lot of feedback from our time together, especially in person. You ask questions about what you've read and give me ideas for what to write about next.
This year, parents have asked me more about the proposed M-SPLOST tax than anything else. We discussed it a bit earlier this year and why the proposed 30-year tax would negatively impact our schools.
To save you the click, among other financial reasons, the movement of students from one school to another is really bad for students and schools. The more students leave one school and enter another, the worse they do.
Which really makes sense when you read it. What child does better the more they are moved from one teacher and set of friends to another?
This month, news has spread across Cobb County that the same governing body that has proposed the unaccountable 30-year tax is also proposing a very broad zoning change. The proposed amendment would allow “accessory dwelling units”—housing no larger than 850 square feet—to be placed in backyards around the county.
Now, I'm not a real estate expert, but I am a career educator, and I do know kids. Kids and families aren’t going to live in a small shipping container for long. Enrollment could balloon in specific schools to the point where desks overflow into the hallways, and full-day schedules turn into half-days to accommodate unpredictable moves by students and their families. Maybe ADUs (what these temporary housing units are apparently called) are a good way to solve the affordable housing problem. It doesn't sound like it to me, but I'll leave the real estate planning to the real estate experts.
I do know this: there aren't many families who are going to stay in 850 sqft, with up to three adults and six children, for long. Talk about children moving from school to school! How long is a child and their family going to live in someone's backyard in 850 sq feet?! Children need stability and consistency to learn well, not more housing options, which could see more children moving more often. Similar to the unaccountable 30-year tax on you, your children, and their children, if County Commissioners approve this "crash pad" proposal, it could also increase transience in our schools. I mentioned earlier the more students move to and from schools, the worse academic performance and discipline rates are.
Studies from MIT, the National Academic Press, and Science Direct all say the same thing: transience is terrible for children.
And before anyone goes complaining about politics in education, this is a great example of how who makes policy decisions affects your day-to-day life. Both Democrats and Republicans agree student transience is a big problem facing schools today. Why should anyone support dramatic changes to Cobb County that make that problem even worse?
As I listen to you day in and day out, I hear you saying you want to keep good schools and a bright future for the children and families of Cobb County. The work to keep your child's schools great isn't easy, and, all too often, it means defending our schools from policy ideas that aren't good for kids. Policy matters and who is on the Board to make policy matters. That's our role as a Board and I'm proud to tell you it's a big reason your child's schools are as successful as they are. As always, if you see me out and about, please stop me and tell me about your kids, our schools, and your experience. Thank you for spending a little bit of time together; listening and learning are how we make our schools even better.
Board Chair Randy Scamihorn
