Four school board seats are up for election for the Cobb County School District, but only Democratic candidates attended a packed public forum at the Switzer Library in Marietta on Oct. 1. Despite multiple invites, the organizers said, none of the Republican contenders responded.
The Democratic candidates who showed out were: Vickie Benson for Post 1, Leroy “Tre” Hutchins for Post 3, Laura Judge for Post 5, and Andrew Cole for Post 7. Even though current board member Hutchins is running unopposed for Post 3, he participated at the last minute, due to the lack of Republican candidates.
The Republican no-shows were current Cobb School Board members Randy Scamihorn for Post 1 and Brad Wheeler for Post 7, along with John Cristadoro for Post 5, who doesn’t serve on the board.
The four Democratic candidates addressed the key issues for about 50 Cobb residents who attended the forum, such as controversial recent book bans, school safety and non-responsiveness from the board’s Republican majority — topics that have sparked heated debates in recent years in Georgia’s second-largest school district. The event was hosted by Cobb Collaborative Vote Your Voice, Cobb Democracy Center, the Marietta-Roswell Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Mi Familia en Acción, and redefinED Atlanta.
Republicans currently hold a four-member majority on the seven-member school board. The political divide was a point of concern for Larry King, a Cobb resident of 24 years.
“An item cannot be on the agenda unless the majority of the board approves it,” King said. “What does that mean for a member of the minority? That means your issue will never get on the agenda. But hopefully, we can get one of these four people replaced.”
Sharon Hudson, a 10-year Cobb County resident in the Post 1 district, expressed similar frustrations about the board and her current representative. “I try to contact him, and he doesn’t reply. He doesn’t listen to my concerns,” Hudson said.
Forum attendees also raised concerns about Cobb School Superintendent Chris Ragsdale. “The school board is completely dysfunctional,” Melissa Marten, a Cobb resident of 16 years said before the forum. “It operates as the superintendent dictates, which is not how it’s supposed to work. There’s no accountability, no representation.”
Book bans
In August, Ragsdale banned 13 additional books, bringing the district-wide total to 20. Young adult books such as The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Push by Sapphire, and Flamer by Mike Curato have all been removed from the shelves.
“Let me say simply: We have not ‘banned’ a single book. We have removed age-inappropriate, sexually explicit content for minors,” Scamihorn, the board’s chair, said in a notice.
However, Ragsdale’s role in implementing these bans has been widely criticized, and some forum attendees said the current school board has failed to prioritize community input in the book-banning decisions. “There are policies in place for parents to make a challenge if they are concerned with the book in their child’s school, and he doesn’t follow any of the policies – so that to me is a big issue,” Hudson said.
Hutchins, the unopposed Democratic incumbent for Post 3, described the book bans as an “operational failure,” rather than an appropriate issue for the school board to oversee. He added that the current debate around banning books feels like a political distraction, especially in a county as diverse as Cobb.
As a current board member, Hutchins made it clear that no board member nor candidate supports allowing inappropriate materials in schools: “There is not a board member that is in favor of pornography in schools. No parent here is saying we want porn in your school. Things get puffed up to be made more than what they are.”
Judge, the Post 5 Democratic candidate, echoed Hutchins’ concerns, agreeing that the real issue is the school district’s top-down handling of book decisions under Ragsdale’s direction.
“A lot of people don’t understand the difference between the board and the [school] district, and it’s coming down from the district, specifically from the superintendent,” Judge said. “I truly think that he’s trying to protect children, but what I worry about is the unilateral decision-making that can be a slippery slope.”
School safety
The general consensus among the Democratic school board candidates was that school safety must go beyond physical security measures to include mental health resources and a clear safety plan.
“The number one priority right now is getting the safety plan on the agenda,” said Benson, the Post 1 candidate. “I attended the last board meeting, and it was still not on the agenda.”
Cole, the Post 7 candidate, said he entered the race due to his concerns over a school safety policy proposal for part-time armed security guards in schools.
“The part-time, armed-mercenary safety policy that was proposed two years ago caused me a lot of alarm – and it still does,” he said. Cole expressed concerns over the policy’s broad language, particularly a clause that would allow the superintendent to approve any individual for armed security.
Cole also said the school district did a poor job addressing the community’s concerns following a shooting in the parking lot of Cobb’s McEachern High School earlier this year. “The community wanted to come together and speak to the board. Some board members were present, but the superintendent was not,” he said.
The discussion had to take place at a small library instead of a larger, more accessible facility on McEachern’s campus, which the school district denied on the grounds that the meeting was considered a political event, he added.
“It was deeply disappointing to see how poorly that evening was handled,” Cole said. “The community was there, they came up with great ideas, and they were essentially ignored.”
Why does this election matter?
The outcome of the Cobb School Board election could have far-reaching consequences for Cobb County schools — Georgia’s second-largest school district, which serves over 100,000 students. With four board seats up for grabs, voters have the opportunity to flip the Republican-majority, which could change policies on curriculum, budget, and safety for years to come.
The school board’s responsibilities include hiring the superintendent, setting district policies, approving the budget, and supporting the academic performance and safety of students. School board members also are supposed to ensure that the district’s priorities align with community values.
Use the ACC x AJC Georgia Decides voter guide to see who’s on your ballot and learn more about the candidates.