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Cherokee County School District, Georgia

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Cherokee County School District
School Board badge.png
Cherokee County, Georgia
District details
Superintendent: Brian Hightower
# of school board members: 7
Website: Link

Cherokee County School District is a school district in Georgia that serves Cherokee County. It was the eighth-largest school district in Georgia, serving 39,668 students in 44 schools during the 2013-2014 school year.

About the district

Cherokee County School District is located in Cherokee County, Georgia

Cherokee County School District is located in Cherokee County, Georgia. The county seat of Cherokee County is Canton. Cherokee County was home to 214,346 residents in 2013, according to the United States Census Bureau.[1]

Demographics

Cherokee County outperformed the state of Georgia in terms of higher education achievement and median household income in 2012. The United States Census Bureau found that 34.6 percent of Cherokee County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 27.8 percent for Georgia as a whole. The median household income in Cherokee County was $67,928, compared to $49,604 for the state of Georgia. The poverty rate in Cherokee County was 8.4 percent, compared to 17.4 percent for the entire state.[1]

Racial Demographics, 2013[1]
Race Cherokee County (%) Georgia (%)
White 89.6 62.8
Black or African American 6.2 31.2
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5 0.5
Asian 1.8 3.5
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.1 0.1
Two or More Races 1.8 1.8
Hispanic or Latino 10.8 9.2

Presidential Voting Pattern, Cherokee County[2]
Year Democratic Vote (%) Republican Vote (%) Other Vote (%)
2012 20.2 78.0 1.8
2008 23.8 74.9 1.3
2004 20.1 79.1 0.8
2000 23.6 73.1 3.3

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Superintendent

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This information is updated as we become aware of changes. Please contact us with any updates.

The superintendent of Cherokee County School District is Brian Hightower. He became the superintendent on February 1, 2016. Hightower served as the district's deputy superintendent from 2013 to 2015.[3]

Past superintendents

Frank R. Petruzielo

Frank R. Petruzielo was the superintendent from 1999 to 2016. Petruzielo began his career as an English teacher in Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida. He also served as superintendent in both Houston Independent School District in Texas and Broward County Public Schools in Florida. In 2003, Petruzielo was named Georgia’s Outstanding Superintendent of the Year by the Georgia Parent Teacher Association (PTA); and in 2004, he was the first superintendent appointed to serve on the Georgia PTA Board of Directors.[4]

School board elections

The Cherokee County Board of Education is a partisan board consisting of seven members elected to four-year terms.[5]

Cherokee County Board of Education
Member District Party Affiliation Term Ends
Kyla Cromer Chair Republican 2020
Kelly Poole 1 Republican 2020
Patsy Jordan 2 Republican 2020
John Arlen Harmon 3 Republican 2018
Robert Rechsteiner 4 Republican 2018
Clark Menard 5 Republican 2018
Mike Chapman 6 Republican 2018
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This officeholder information was last updated on July 3, 2018. Please contact us with any updates.
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Election dates

See also: 2014 election overview, 2016 election overview, and 2018 election overview

Members of the board are elected to four-year terms on a staggered basis. Elections are held in even-numbered years.

Public participation in board meetings

The board maintains the following policy regarding public participation in board meetings last revised in 2013:

Individuals desiring to appear before the Board must first complete a sign-in sheet, which will be available at the beginning of the meeting. The Superintendent’s designee will provide this form to prospective speakers and be available to answer questions regarding procedures. Any materials the speaker desires the Board to receive related to his/her remarks will be given to the Superintendent’s designee at this time for distribution to the Board.

Speakers will be given three minutes to speak before the Board, with the total time during the Open Session not to exceed 30 minutes and the total time for speakers to one agenda item not to exceed 30 minutes. The 30-minute time limit may be extended with a majority vote of the Board.

If appropriate, the Superintendent will have a response communicated to the speaker.

[6]

—Cherokee County School District's website, (2013)

[7]

Budget

From 1993 to 2013, the Cherokee County School District had an average of $261,428,000 in revenue and $262,085,762 in expenditures, according to the United States Census Bureau's survey of school system finances. The district had a yearly average of $165,052,714 in outstanding debt. The district retired $18,716,333 of its debt and issued $30,037,429 in new debt each year on average.[8]

Revenue

The table below separates the district's revenue into the three sources identified by the agency: local, state, and federal.

Revenue by Source
Fiscal
Year
Local State Federal Revenue Total
Total % of Revenue Total % of Revenue Total % of Revenue
2010$201,638,00053.64%$138,053,00036.73%$36,206,0009.63%$375,897,000
2011$199,907,00047.97%$182,509,00043.79%$34,341,0008.24%$416,757,000
2012$198,216,00050.17%$177,421,00044.91%$19,430,0004.92%$395,067,000
2013$190,781,00047.26%$191,873,00047.54%$20,988,0005.20%$403,642,000
Avg.$129,956,81048.14%$119,162,47647.63%$12,308,7144.23%$261,428,000

Expenditures

The table below separates the district's expenditures into five categories identified by the agency:

  • Instruction: operation expenditures, state payments on behalf of the district for instruction and benefits, and retirement system transfers
  • Support Services: support services, food services, and retirement system transfers for support service staff
  • Capital Spending: capital outlay expenditures (i.e., construction, land or facilities purchases, and equipment purchases)
  • Debt & Gov. Payments: payments to state and local governments and interest on school system debt
  • Other: all other non-K-12 programs, except food services
Expenditures by Category
Fiscal
Year
Instruction Support Services Capital Spending Debt & Gov. Payments Other Budget
Total
Total % of Budget Total % of Budget Total % of Budget Total % of Budget Total % of Budget
2010$224,586,00053.86%$105,821,00025.38%$70,694,00016.95%$13,983,0003.35%$1,883,0000.45%$416,967,000
2011$220,466,00055.82%$110,698,00028.03%$46,539,00011.78%$15,426,0003.91%$1,805,0000.46%$394,934,000
2012$217,936,00056.45%$108,986,00028.23%$41,806,00010.83%$15,443,0004.00%$1,892,0000.49%$386,063,000
2013$213,187,00054.99%$108,103,00027.89%$50,212,00012.95%$14,271,0003.68%$1,888,0000.49%$387,661,000
Avg.$141,086,00053.46%$70,525,90527.95%$41,875,14315.38%$7,451,4762.81%$1,147,2380.41%$262,085,762

Debt

The table below shows the amount of debt retired, issued, and outstanding in the district for each year.

Debt
Fiscal
Year
Retired Issued Outstanding
2010$22,667,000$104,738,000$335,837,000
2011$32,926,000$39,854,000$314,366,000
2012$37,111,000$0$301,991,000
2013$38,489,000$43,232,000$306,734,000
Avg.$18,716,333$30,037,429$165,052,714

Teacher salaries

Cherokee County teacher salaries are based on years of service and teacher certification. A teacher can earn higher salaries by pursuing various teaching certifications. The salary schedule also accounts for experience by providing higher starting salaries and greater potential salaries depending on years of service. The following table details the salary schedule set forth by the Georgia Department of Education:[9]

Salary structure
Years of experience Minimum salary ($) Maximum salary ($)
0-2 years 31,586 48,213
3-5 years 32,505 52,683
6-8 years 35,550 58,974
9-10 years 38,847 60,743
11-12 years 40,012 62,565
13-14 years 41,212 64,442
15-16 years 42,448 66,375
17-18 years 43,721 68,366
19-20 years 45,033 70,417
21+ years 46,384 72,530

Schools in Cherokee County School District

Enrollment

The district served 14,134 students during the 2013-2014 school year. The district experienced a 7.1 percent increase in enrollment between 2008 and 2014. The following chart details enrollment in the district between 2008 and 2014:[10]

Total enrollment
Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2008-2009 37,052 N/A
2009-2010 38,134 3.0
2010-2011 38,567 1.1
2011-2012 38,476 -0.2
2012-2013 39,061 1.5
2013-2014 39,668 1.6

District schools

Cherokee County School District operates 44 schools listed below in alphabetical order:[11]

Cherokee County School District Schools
School Name
ACE Academy
Arnold Mill Elementary School
Avery Elementary School
Ball Ground Elementary School
Bascomb Elementary School
Boston Elementary School
C3 Academy
Canton Elementary School
Carmel Elementary School
Cherokee High School
Clark Creek Elementary School
Clayton Elementary School
Creekland Middle School
Creekview High School
Dean Rusk Middle School
E.T. Booth Middle School
Etowah High School
Free Home Elementary School
Freedom Middle School
Hasty Elementary School
Hickory Flat Elementary School
Holly Springs Elementary School
Indian Knoll Elementary School
Johnston Elementary School
Knox Elementary School
L.R. Tippens Education Center
Liberty Elementary School
Little River Elementary School
Little River PreSchool
Macedonia Elementary School
Mill Creek Middle School
Mountain Road Elementary School
Oak Grove Elementary School
Oak Grove PreSchool
Polaris Evening Program
R.M. Moore Elementary School
Ralph Bunche Center
River Ridge High School
Sequoyah High School
Sixes Elementary School
Teasley Middle School
Woodstock Elementary School
Woodstock High School
Woodstock Middle School

Academic performance

The Georgia Department of Education administers annual tests to students in grades three through eight called the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT). These tests assess the proficiency of district students in five academic subjects including reading, English language arts (ELA), math, science and social studies. The CRCTs are designed to measure progress by students in topics covered by the Common Core State Standards. A student meets state proficiency goals with a score of 800 and exceeds state proficiency goals with a score of 850 or higher. The following tables detail the percentage of students who met or exceeded proficiency levels on the CRCTs during the 2013-2014 school year:[12][13]

CRCT Scores, Grades 3-5, 2013-2014[13]
Grade Subject District meets/exceeds standard (%)
3 Reading 95.9
3 ELA 93.0
3 Math 85.6
3 Science 83.1
3 Social Science 86.7
4 Reading 95.6
4 ELA 91.6
4 Math 87.5
4 Science 85.5
4 Social Science 85.9
5 Reading 97.1
5 ELA 96.4
5 Math 92.8
5 Science 88.4
5 Social Science 84.9

CRCT Scores, Grades 6-8, 2013-2014[13]
Grade Subject District meets/exceeds standard (%)
6 Reading 98.6
6 ELA 94.6
6 Math 90.3
6 Science 84.5
6 Social Science 86.4
7 Reading 97.7
7 ELA 96.8
7 Math 94.9
7 Science 91.3
7 Social Science 91.8
8 Reading 98.6
8 ELA 97.2
8 Math 92.0
8 Science 87.6
8 Social Science 90.1

Contact information

Cherokee County School District logo.jpg
Cherokee County School District
221 West Main
Canton, GA 30114
Phone: (770) 479-1871

See also

External links

Footnotes