Kathy Cox - - -> Where are you?????

We just re-elected you, Kathy Cox.
Where are you now? We've called your office. We've left you emails.

Why are you abandoning your constintuency?

We need your support to keep our kids in their PTC community schools. We don't want a new fancy school. We're not asking for bells and whistles.

We just want our children educated in their community - - not scalpeled out by a redistricting committee that is so blatantly slanted towards preserving the south side of town.

Kathy - - guess where Sam Sweat sends his children to school - -> out of his district to Rising Starr.

Kathy - - guess where Terri Smith sends her child - -> out of her district to McIntosh.

We're your working model. Remember the one you're always talking about where parents are "IN" their schools and partnering with their children's teachers to get the most out of their education?

Help us now, Kathy Cox. We need you.

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Submitted by CitizenBlogger on Sat, 07/05/2008 - 2:36pm.

Talking about kids

Submitted by oldbeachbear on Sat, 07/05/2008 - 3:44pm.

there is a world of difference in attacking some one's kids....and stating that it apears the parents have circumvented the system for what they feel is the betterment of their kids at the expense of others. Not to mention they were in a position they 'could' have led by example. You are really reaching.

By the way, would you like to answer any of the questions that were posed?

Submitted by oldbeachbear on Sat, 07/05/2008 - 4:15pm.

back when 'justhafax' was in rare form...HO HO HO..If you look about 2 or 3 blogs down ...we see you answering.

gelato's picture
Submitted by gelato on Sat, 07/05/2008 - 2:49pm.

Dorthea, Janet or whatever you are calling yourself today - when Hi There mentioned Dr. Baccallao's kids in her blog, she did so alluding to their intellect. She hit below the belt, she kicked when they were down, she went all the way down to the gutter. She had no business going there with ANYONE'S Kids, including mine and yours. So please, don't be so narrow-minded as to compare the mentioning of offspring having jobs in the School System or anywhere else..there is a world of difference. You are truly embarrassing yourself and doing exactly what Hi There did if you continue pressing this subject.


Submitted by sageadvice on Sat, 07/05/2008 - 2:58pm.

Do wives working as deputies enter into this conversation also? Or is it just 25 year old "kids?"

Real kids need someone to honk their horn pretty often nowadays since parents sure aren't!

gelato's picture
Submitted by gelato on Sat, 07/05/2008 - 3:04pm.

All I can say is that I would hate to work with my spouse! 24/7 is a bit too much for me! Have a great weekend!


Submitted by justhafax on Tue, 11/14/2006 - 11:46pm.

Terri Smith has three children. One attends Whitewater Middle School. One attends Whitewater High School. One attends McIntosh for reasons that are nobody's business but would be considered by anyone who knew them to be legitimate. These reasons have nothing whatsoever to do with trust in her district's schools or her other children wouldn't still be there. You might have some information, but you certainly haven't surmised the motives correctly.

Submitted by Kedron Hillbillie on Wed, 11/15/2006 - 4:58pm.

and wants the best for their children. That is what we were rallying for when we asked the board to not take only 100 kids (4 subdivisions in NPtree) out of their neighborhood schools. That is only 100 out of 1187 that attend Booth.

Each of our children have their own legitimate reason for not wanting to be "scalpeled" out of their community in those tough middle school years. But Smith disregarded info from successful schoolboards and professionals who spoke to the disruption for these kids. In fact she did not even answer parents e-mails. She happily sealed their fate when she raised her hand to send them out of town away from their classmates. Why should she get special consideration for her kids?

Submitted by KathyCox on Tue, 11/14/2006 - 8:19pm.

I don't usually read blogs and I certainly don't post to them. But after being shown the comments posted here today, I felt that I had to respond.

My family is definitely affected by the recent redistricting decision as are many of our friends and neighbors. I did everything a concerned parent would do when faced with this type of situation. I signed a petition, wrote to board members and talked personally with Fayette County officials. Also, my husband attended the meeting with our neighborhood as I had a prior commitment that night.

In each case, we were clear: We believe that our neighborhood children should be going to our neighborhood school. It is unfortunate that the Fayette County School Board did not agree.

But each of these steps I took, I did so as a parent, not the State Superintendent of Schools.

As State Superintendent, I do not have the authority to decide local issues, such as attendance zones. It would be improper of me to use my office to influence these local decisions and I will not use my office in that manner.

I am saddened by the Fayette County School Board's decision, but like all parents, I must live with it. Regardless, as always, I am proud to call myself a resident of Peachtree City and Fayette County.

Kathy Cox
Peachtree City

Submitted by dollaradayandfound on Wed, 11/15/2006 - 9:24am.

There is nothing wrong if you say what you think, publically---not to county officials---about this travesty.
You should. It is obvious that some of the board has no clue about assignment and listen too much to administrators. If you think so, for goodness sake, say so. They may throw you out in the next election, but so be it! All you have to be careful about is inappropriate contact with county officials.

Submitted by swmbo on Mon, 11/13/2006 - 3:17pm.

I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!

If you voted for her, you got what you asked for . . . deaf, dumb, blind and absentee representation.

-------------------------------
If you and I are always in agreement, one of us is likely armed and dangerous.

cruiserman's picture
Submitted by cruiserman on Mon, 11/13/2006 - 11:01am.

Why are you guys not digging into this one? We are treated to “Passion of the Parents” ledes (BTW spelling is correct for journalism) and absolute passes on Sweat’s outrageous public comments. “Nine elementary school feed.” WHAT? “AMLI Apartments moved from Flat Creek (under capacity) to Booth (overcapacity)” WHY? We are The Citizen’s readers, advertisers, the taxpayers, voters AND the parents.

I am disgusted by having to rely on the largess of Sweat and Campbell who are not elected and therefore, in no way accountable. The Citizen could be putting a lot more heat on these guys or if they are legitimate, clear the air for all of us. Here, at what could be the end game, we can only hope that the Board will step in and give this group of clowns oversight. Make no mistake, Sweat and Campbell are spending the public funds based on the wackiest numbers you’ve ever seen. These guys are CYA so hard it would be hilarious if the kids were getting scr@w#d in the process.

The meeting last Monday was full of:

“That can’t be right.”
“We’ve adjusted that number.”
“Check the back page for the corrected number.”
“We called the schools and got the real numbers last week.”
“Would you look into this, that can’t be right.”
“We’ll get back to you tomorrow morning with the corrected numbers.”

Geez, these guys are making multimillion dollar decisions with public funds and get mighty huffy when challenged in the least. You might think this would attract more of our local press’s interest.


Submitted by RT Tugger on Mon, 11/13/2006 - 12:20pm.

Your second paragraph says it all. There are a bunch of us that agree with your comments. Do you know if parents and taxpayers can see ALL the data on which the new boundaries were based? Has any parent group met with the BOE and seen this information? Something more than just capacities, projected enrollment, and potential growth numbers? I want to see the numbers that support the boundaries as being congruent with the guidelines used in the BOE's presentations. I'd also like to know how software was used to determine bus routes.

cruiserman's picture
Submitted by cruiserman on Mon, 11/13/2006 - 3:50pm.

with the State's Attorney General's office and the work that the Committee did to arrive at these lines is not covered by the Open Records Act. It is not considered public information. Rots, huh.

No group has been able to get a meeting with the BOE. They hold all the cards, don’t have to reveal them, and they know it.

The best we can do is prevent this in the future. We have got to hold our purse strings a lot tighter. They start stampeding about needing more money, the sky is falling, we need to hold their feet to the fire about the plan then. And if they won’t give us enough information, we vote NO! We obviously won’t get a second chance once they have our money.

A bond referendum for a new High School is coming in 2008. They put these bonds on ballots for Presidential election years. We need to make them a lot more accountable before we support another blank check (ie Bond Referendum). This fiasco has proven they cannot be trusted to be forthcoming after the fact.

P.S. Speaking of after the fact. My understanding is that bus routes have yet to be determined. They are planned after the lines are approved. Cool, huh?


Submitted by PTCMomma on Mon, 11/13/2006 - 10:17am.

First off, Kathy is a state official, not a local official. She can't do anything about school boundaries because it's not part of her job! It's a local matter unless the local school board does something illegal. Second, she lives in an affected neighborhood, and she has always been very careful to not ask favors, which is a GOOD thing for a politician. When her youngest was at Oak Grove, she went out of her way to make sure teachers and staff knew that her child should be treated like every other child there.

Mom to 3, plus the kids that hang out there all the time but don't live there (they like having an adult around that makes them feel welcome, and is just plain around!)

Submitted by Concerned Mom on Tue, 11/14/2006 - 2:59pm.

It is pretty convenient that this subdivision on the school Benetts Mills side of Robinson, without direct access to Booth, children have to cross a main road to get there on foot get's moved back to Booth, I guess. We are closer and the board refused to listen to me.

Why did she not come to any of the public forums to fight, did she not have to?

Education is her life and she makes no appearance to help support those who are trying to stay put?

cruiserman's picture
Submitted by cruiserman on Tue, 11/14/2006 - 6:27pm.

Those neighborhoods on Robinson, by my reckoning, are the only ones south of 54 that were going to be moved. I seriously doubt that you come in under their 1.5 mile and 700 steps.

If Robinson Road is a major road, what do you call 54?

Just saying.


muddle's picture
Submitted by muddle on Mon, 11/13/2006 - 9:40am.

Remember when KC suggested that schools continue to teach the CONCEPT of evolution by natural selection but refrain from using the word "evolution"?

The clear solution here is to continue with the redistricting plan but refrain from using the word "redistricting."

"Outsourcing" is a good euphemism, though perhaps not quite accurate in this case.


Submitted by RRGroup on Mon, 11/13/2006 - 8:22am.

If you didn't know, Kathy Cox lives in one of the Robinson Road Group neighborhoods. She choose not to support us in our effort to not be redistricted, instead stating that her son was eager to go to the new school. Odd, because this boy rode his bike to school slmost daily. She is a politician of the state, not a neighbor out for our best interests. If you drove through our subdivision before the election, you would have only seen two of her campaign signs.

Submitted by falconsfan on Tue, 11/14/2006 - 9:51am.

Kathy Cox did not have to help anyibe. Her son was never going to Bennetts Mill - called that one from the start She just laid low and knew her buddy Dr. D. would take care of her.

Submitted by truth monger on Tue, 11/14/2006 - 10:03am.

I find it very interesting that Kathy Cox's neighborhood is being sent back to Booth. I don't find it shocking just sickening. Again it is another example of the powerful protecting their own.Things have got to change here in the state of Georgia. What is going to take for people to see that there needs to be a sysytem of checks and balances put into place to protect everyone when it comes to the school board? Even the President of the U.S. does not have all the power. Maybe we should study our civics lessons again.

Submitted by flightplan on Mon, 11/13/2006 - 8:20am.

You don't know much about Kathy. Did you know that she is personally being impacted by this redistricting? She has her own kids directly in the crossfire. She can't get involved because then it will look like she's using her influence to take care of herself. Besides, even though she lives in Fayette County, she is a STATE office holder. Do you really think she can intervene in every single county situation where there is some type of dispute? Give me a break.

Submitted by RT Tugger on Mon, 11/13/2006 - 8:00am.

I, too, thought about contacting Kathy Cox, if for no other reason than to bring more attention to the shenanigans of the BOE. From their self-serving proposed boundaries to their questionable policies on out-of-district students, to the lack of data released on how the proposed boundaries were drawn, this group needs to stop and re-think what they're doing. But, as dollaraday said, I doubt Ms. Cox would get involved. She's a politician now. For today, I think parents should flood the BOE members with another round of e-mails and tell them all to vote NO on the new maps tonight. They literally need to go back to the drawing board. Keep the public pressure on them.

Submitted by dollaradayandfound on Mon, 11/13/2006 - 6:32am.

I don't really know what the state school superintendent does, but rest assured she won't interefere in any way with Fayette schools. Won't even give an opinion! Anyway she would need to spend all of her time in Atlanta if she were allowed to interfere. That won't happen either.

Submitted by my.three.kids on Tue, 11/14/2006 - 8:37am.

Her child will be changing schools after two years at Booth. I'm sure he is not thrilled with the idea, and I'm sure she has reservations as well. I know as a mother, it is tough to watch your child have to face challenges that these kids are facing. I don't think she has authority to make changes involving the FCBOE, as long as Georgia laws are being upheld.

Submitted by myword_mark on Tue, 11/14/2006 - 9:20am.

I assure you it will not kill them.

As an Air-Force brat, I attended 8 schools during my 'public education experience'. Despite this fact, I have never been CONVICTED of a crime Eye-wink

I can assure you these changes will be good for them in the long run.

Life is a series of changes and decisions, the better you are at handling them, the further you will go in life.

Being adaptive is an asset, not a liability.

جندي السِم

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