Uncertainty Over New Education Standards Keeps Cobb County From Adopting Materials
Cobb County Schools
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During the recent legislative session, some lawmakers introduced a bill repealing Georgia’s adoption of a set of new education standards called the Common Core. The bill didn’t pass the House, but that hasn’t stopped some officials from voicing their opposition. The Cobb County school board recently voted against adopting math materials aligned to the standards.
Cobb County school board chair Randy Scamihorn says he voted “no” because he wasn’t sure if the Common Core would stick around.
“My biggest concern is that with our very limited funds, we would spend the money, which is $7.3 million,” he says, “And then [if] the state decided to go a different direction, we would no longer have the money to buy whatever book was required.”
The board voted 4-3 not to adopt the materials, against the recommendation of a teacher committee. Board member David Morgan voted for the adoption.
“The books that were chosen for adoption were fairly vetted by the administration, teachers, a lot of different stakeholders,” Morgan says, “So, it’s not as if this was something just kind of tossed out there and the people using the books had no idea what we were going to do.”
Gov. Nathan Deal this week issued an executive order reaffirming the state’s participation in Common Core. The governor reiterated curriculum decisions will be made locally.
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