Cobb School Calendar Ignites Debate

It was the issue that refused to go away, because the heated emotions it engendered took months to cool down.

When the deeply divided Cobb Board of Education  to revert from a "balanced" to a "traditional" academic calendar, the decision set a lingering wave of anger from factions of parents on either side of the matter who didn't back down. 

East Cobb's two elected representatives also came down on either side of the calendar issue, and like many parties in this story, did not waver in their views.

Comments from parents poured in to East Cobb Patch and other news outlets for weeks after the vote, and they contine today. 

David Banks, who represents the Pope, Lassiter and Sprayberry High School districts, vowed to revive the balanced calendar, saying it reflects the majority will.

But Scott Sweeney, whose district covers the Walton and Wheeler districts and who campaigned last year on a move back to the traditional calendar, said he believed that option would produce better academic performance.

Parents upset with the abandonment of the balanced calendar as Banks became their vocal champion. 

In a Q & A with Patch education correspondent Ethan Fowler in April, Banks said that some parents the controversy because the "community has lost its trust and respect for this board."

He was accused of keeping the calendar issue alive " but remained undeterred. His proposal in March failed.

In June, Banks made a last-ditch effort the start of the 2011-12 school year to Aug. 8, but his proposal went nowhere. 

Banks' four-year term expires at the end of 2012. 

The matter has lingered enough for superintendent Michael Hinojosa, who started in July, to attempt to appoint a citizens' committee . 

The board's inability to work together on the calendar and other issues raised enough concerns with some parents that the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools was asked to conduct an inquiry. 

Earlier this month, SACS after replies from the board satisfied its concerns it was making progress on resolving some of its differences.

Several days before Christmas, an Acworth parent wrote a " 'Twas Almost the Night Before Christmas" letter to Patch,  along the lines of the familiar holiday poem. 

Not surprisingly, readers continue to comment as a new calendar year -- Gregorian, not school-related -- approaches.