Cobb County taxpayers question planned $50M event facility

COBB COUNTY, Ga. - Cobb County parents are upset about plans to build a $50-million event facility. Several people spoke at a public forum before the Cobb County School Board meeting on Thursday night. 

"Wasting $50 million of taxpayer money on an event facility just because you can," said Beverley Winn. 

Plans are to build it on 10 acres of land near the school district headquarters. The 8,000-seat facility would be mainly used for graduations which are currently held on the Kennesaw State University campus. 

"The convocation center at Kennesaw State costs less than $45,000. We're going to spend $50 million, plus maintenance, plus renovations, plus any unforeseen expenses that will come with building what frankly has never been needed before," said Steven Lang. 

In the past, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale defended the facility, saying it could also be used for staff training, college fairs, and other special events. At Thursday night's board meeting, he only mentioned the facility in passing, when talking about the upcoming graduation season. 

"Once our multipurpose facility is completed, we will be honored to celebrate this occasion with even more family members. We have the facility, even more people can come," said Superintendent Ragsdale. 

The facility is not part of the newly adopted $1.8-billion budget. It would be paid for through sales of existing property and capital outlay funds. Still, parents say that money could be spent more wisely. 

"I think it's unnecessary, I'd rather my son's school have paper towels and soap in their bathroom, because we ran out in January," said Emma Jarvis, who is the parent of a first-grader. 

"They're prioritizing this over leaky roofs," said another parent. 

"It won't teach them skills, or get them accepted to better colleges, instead it gives parents a $50 million shortfall that taxpayers will once again have to foot the bill," said Lang. 

While those who spoke know there's little chance they can stop the project from moving forward. They say taxpayers need to be aware of what is going on and the board needs to know that people are watching, and they want transparency.