MARIETTA — The MDJ recently sat down with Randy Scamihorn, the new chair of the Cobb Board of Education, to discuss his goals for 2024 and review some of the hot topics in the district over the past year, including school safety, redistricting, the superintendent, library books and vouchers.
Scamihorn, 74, was first elected to the school board in 2012. He last served as board chair in 2021. He represents the areas including North Cobb and Allatoona High schools.
Scamihorn retired from the Army Reserves in the mid-90s and began teaching in Cobb County in 1996. In his 15 years in education, he taught at Central Alternative School, which no longer exists, before going to Sprayberry High, North Cobb High, and Daniell Middle, retiring as an administrator.
John Floresta, the district’s chief strategy and accountability officer, sat in on the interview, which is edited for length and clarity.
MDJ: Laying the groundwork for your year as school board chair, what are the three main priorities?
Scamihorn: No. 1 is safety. We want to continue building our network of safety. We want to do everything we can to prevent any serious incidents. I certainly support our philosophy of not making our schools like prisons. At the same time, we want a comprehensive safety plan and utilize safety technology as much as possible.
No. 2 is we want to continue expanding CTLS (Cobb Teaching and Learning System) for the benefit of our parents and teachers, to help them stay informed to the possible extent that we can, and for teachers that want to use that resource as an extra benefit for lesson plans and follow the curriculum, we want to make sure that we continue to improve that for them too.
No. 3, I want to, as chair, do everything I can to continue working together as an entire board. I think this past year, I believe our Cobb citizens would agree that we’re…
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