East Cobb School Consolidation Recommended

Cobb Board of Education member David Banks on Wednesday recommended the consolidation of two aging East Cobb elementary schools.

Banks wants to combine Powers Ferry Elementary School and Eastvalley Elementary School and build a new replacement facility at an unspecified location.

His proposal came during a work session discussion about two elementary schools the board must select for replacement buildings in the upcoming Cobb Education SPLOST IV collection period. 

Banks, who represents a portion of the Powers Ferry and Eastvalley school communities, also is proposing a rebuild of Mountain View Elementary School in Northeast Cobb. 

The board will take up further discussion of possible replacement elementary schools next month. Cobb school superintendent Michael Hinojosa said as many as six to eight "legitimate candidates" will be identified, with needs detailed.

Powers Ferry and Eastvalley are among the oldest schools in East Cobb, built in the 1950s and 1960s. 

"There are many conditions that you cannot fix any more," Banks said about Powers Ferry. 

Regarding Eastvalley, Banks pointed to the school's portable classrooms as a disadvantage.

But board member Scott Sweeney of East Cobb, who also represents portions of the Powers Ferry and Eastvalley areas, said the proposal presents some problems. 

He said while "an argument can be made" for a consolidation, "there's a school in the middle of both of them, and it happens to be Sedalia Park, a charter school."

Sweeney also pointed to the 17 trailers currently being used at nearby Brumby Elementary School, whose parent leaders have been pressing the board for a new school. 

Mountain View parents and those at Harmony Leland Elementary School in Mableton have been most vocal in recent weeks in demanding replacement schools, citing mold, safety, overcrowding and traffic concerns. 

The SPLOST IV collection period begins in 2014 and will continue through 2018. The new elementary schools most likely be constructed in 2015 and 2016.