Cobb County board discusses recommending Power Public Schools charter for South Cobb

The Cobb County Board of Education in a Feb. 12 work session heard a staff recommendation to approve a charter petition from Power Public Schools that, if approved by the board, would operate under the district and aim to open in August 2027 serving grades 6–7 and expanding one grade per year to Grade 12.

Mr. Floresta, the district’s Chief Strategy and Accountability Officer, told the board staff had not seen a petition of this quality in recent memory and recommended approval. He said Power Public Schools proposes roughly $1,000,000 in seed funds and “another $4,000,000 roughly that is committed at least verbally by a series of funders,” naming Google, Microsoft, the Walton Family Foundation, Goldman Sachs, Redefined Ed and PlayLab AI as supporters. Floresta said the petition proposes two potential sites in South Cobb (one in Austell and a backup in Powder Springs), and a model in which students spend about two hours each morning on AI-driven academic content with the remainder of the school day focused on hands-on, whole-child development.

Superintendent (identified in the session as Mr. Ragsdale) and district staff emphasized that, if the board authorizes the charter, the school would operate under a five-year authorization with annual staff reviews and district oversight. "If this recommendation is approved by you all as a board," Floresta said, "we will hold this school to the standard of a Cobb County school." The superintendent also warned that if this board did not approve the petition the state charter commission could still authorize the school, which would then operate outside the district umbrella and not receive district funds.

Board members pressed staff on operational details. Mr. Wheeler asked whether the district would be liable if the charter mismanaged finances; Floresta replied the charter would be held to the same financial and operational accountability as other Cobb County schools. Ms. Sailor asked whether transportation would be provided; staff said transportation is not part of the current application. The district said the charter would be responsible for its facility; the applications under consideration proposed repurposing existing church buildings rather than district-owned campuses. On athletics, staff said athletics were not included in the application and they would follow up on whether charter students could participate on district teams.

Several board members raised concerns about enrollment effects on nearby schools and the potential loss of FTE-driven programs. Ms. Sailor asked for the complete petition to review capacity and sustainability; staff said the board will receive annual reports and that district budgeting and allotment processes would be used to respond to any enrollment shifts. Mr. Floresta noted the petitioner intends to recruit primarily from South Cobb and stressed that the district would retain the authority to revoke a locally authorized charter during its term if performance standards were not met.

China Cardish, identified by staff as the founder of Power Public Schools, attended the meeting but did not make a presentation during the work session. Staff said the petitioner intends to seed operations with initial funders and to scale from grades 6–7 in year one to 6–12 over subsequent years if authorized.

The board chose to discuss the petition rather than place it on the consent calendar; no vote to authorize the charter was recorded during the Feb. 12 work session. Next procedural steps were not voted in the work session record, and staff indicated additional review and potential action would follow the discussion.

What the district said it would track: planned opening date of August 2027; initial grades 6–7 with one grade added each year; seed funding of roughly $1,000,000 with about $4,000,000 verbally committed; two proposed locations in Austell and Powder Springs; transportation and athletics not included in the current application; district oversight via annual reviews and a five-year authorization if locally approved.