Accreditation agency reverses some findings in review of Cobb County School District

MARIETTA, Ga. - The CEO of a school district accreditation agency challenged its own findings in an August review of Cobb County School District during a special-called Cobb County Board of Education meeting on Monday.

The initial report found no evidence to revoke the school district's accreditation. While Cognia CEO Mark Elgart said the board remains fractured, he said it's overall operating according to its policies. He disputed the validity of complaints by board members and community members about how the district allocates resources and provisions of some school board documentation. 

Cobb County School District Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said the district office expressed concerns after the report came out. The district indicated findings Ragsdale called "inconsistent" with evidence provided by CCSD. Cognia compared evidence with the findings with its special review team. Elgart concluded the review did not properly contextualize opinions or allegations or incorporate factual evidence provided by the school district. The original report weighed opinions or allegations too heavily, Elgart said in a letter to Ragsdale after the internal review. 

Cobb County School District published the letter, dated March 3, from Elgart to Ragsdale on its website.

"The findings of the report really clearly indicate there is no real issue with the allocation of resources," Elgart said during Monday's meeting. "The system follows its policies in making fiscal decisions. The public or board members may disagree with those decisions, but that's not our role here."

The allocation of CARES Act funds, purchase of hand sanitizers and allocation of resources, Elgart said, were made in accordance with established policies. 

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Elgart said board members have adequate access to necessary documentation prior to making decisions at board meetings.

"There have been, and always are, situations where maybe something comes up during the course deliberations that is slightly different — that's just the course of deliberating and governing," Elgart said during the meeting. "But are agendas planned and material provided? Yes, they are. That doesn't mean someone may raise a question about material that wasn't provided."

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Elgart said Cognia found the board's dysfunctionally isn't affecting teaching, learning and administration at Cobb County schools. Cognia will no longer conduct a monitoring review in December 2022, as it intended in its original report. The agency will instead evaluate board governance in 2024 during its next full evaluation. 

Elgart remarked on a "concerning" pattern of block voting and the board should develop trust and cooperation among its members with its stakeholders and follow policies to hold board members accountable.

"What's important to note is we're not telling you how to do this, we're telling you that, if you do this, you'll be a more effective board," Elgart said. 

Elgart said volunteers conduct about 2,000 reviews per year. A school system has the right to challenge factual information in a report, regardless of action — or the lack of — against a district. 

The school district announced the meeting on March 4. 

Board Chair David Chastain, who expressed frustration with the original findings, was pleased with Cognia's new review. 

"Based on Dr. Elgart’s presentation, the Board is happy to hear Cognia’s review of the Special Review contained inaccuracies which have now been corrected in the letter provided to the District and the Board. Our Superintendent, staff, and families can now fully return their focus on students and schools," Chastain said in a statement. 

All board members were in attendance and no one else commented during the meeting. 

Cognia is an Arizona-based agency that reviews and certifies school districts to provide directives and cohesive policies to improve education standards. 

Why was Cobb County School District's accreditation reviewed?

Several board members and dozens of community stakeholders complained to Cognia. 

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Cognia told Cobb County School District it was launching a special review. 

Superintendent Chris Ragsdale wrote in a statement addressed the complaints in a statement:

"The communication I received from Cognia centered upon allegations of political disagreements and intra-personal behavior within the board of education.  While these are serious concerns, an unscheduled Special Review seems to be a very unusual response, particularly following the extension of our accreditation and the possible adverse effects of a Special Review to the District’s students, faculty, staff, and community. Given this, the District is taking this Special Review very seriously. The District will fully cooperate with Cognia in moving forward without delay. I have every confidence the District’s adherence to performance standards will be evident, just as it was 14 months ago."

Why is school accreditation important?

A negative review by an accreditation agency could impact college acceptance rates, college scholarships, enrollment, funding, and educator recruitment, and retention.

Atlanta Public Schools, Clayton County School District and DeKalb County School District have all been subject to accreditation reviews in the past. 

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