What at-home viewers see now during public comment

By Rebecca Gaunt

(All photos by Rebecca Gaunt)

New rules and new physical barriers greeted attendees of the monthly Cobb County Board of Education meeting on Thursday, the first in which the district’s communications team cut the broadcast for public comment per a new policy approved last month.

Audience members held signs that stated “What are you afraid of?” and “Cobb wants our $$$ not our voice.”

In July, the board voted 4-3 along partisan lines to no longer broadcast or record public comment for the public record. Anyone who wished to record the comments was directed to do so from their seat. 

Black retractable stanchions were also newly present, setting the boundary between the audience and the dais, where Superintendent Chris Ragsdale and the board sit.

Read more: No more broadcast of public comments after 4-3 vote by Cobb school board – Cobb Courier

Two speakers opted to bring selfie sticks and record themselves: Tovah Ringland, a parent who speaks regularly about special education concerns and posts her comments on her YouTube page, and Jeff Hubbard, the president of the Cobb County Association of Educators, who routinely speaks about educator issues in the district.

Ringland told the Courier that broadcasting comments allowed administrators who weren’t physically present to hear her concerns and had already produced positive results.

Hubbard’s comments at the June meeting made waves when he discussed administrative retaliation against employees at a specific school he didn’t call out by name, but hinted at its location.

“Just look eastward over I-75…a valley of depth and despair after the principal’s comments were stunning,” he said.

Also present in the audience on Thursday evening were staff members from the bus fleet maintenance crew who first showed up en masse in April. Public comment was their last-ditch effort after they said previous efforts to report safety concerns had been unsuccessful.

Jennifer Susko, a cofounder of Cobb Community Care Coalition and critic of the superintendent, cast doubt on the district’s given reasons for the decision, which Ragsdale said was to avoid liability and to welcome people who are uncomfortable appearing on camera.

“So people guess. Maybe it’s the bus mechanics raising safety concerns, drivers speaking up about poor working conditions, parents criticizing you, or students exposing racism. You wouldn’t admit if those were the reasons, but I think it’s something that we don’t know yet. And it must be bad enough that you’re fine letting us believe those other theories instead,” she said.

Laura Judge, a former candidate for the Post 5 seat now held by John Cristadoro, also spoke at the evening meeting.

“Issues like antisemitism, school safety, and how our tax dollars are spent, all things that I’ve spoken about up here, deserve to be heard by everyone,” she said. “We deserve accountability. You say that you’re leaders? Act like one.”

Mableton residents continued their public comment campaign against the bus depot and fueling station that will be built at 440 Veterans Memorial Highway. The board approved a construction contract Thursday for the site in a 4-3 partisan vote. Public comment is how the district’s plans were initially revealed. The district purchased the land in 2022, but it wasn’t until 2024, when a resident asked a worker spotted on the site, that the district’s intentions became known.

“I know you’re already going to vote on it. It’s almost a done deal, but I’m begging you. Don’t do it,” said resident Patricia Hay.

In June, a public commenter called out the district for not providing bathrooms for the bus drivers. On Thursday, it was confirmed by the district that they are now allowing drivers to access the schools they serve.

Reki Mae Parker, a district bus driver who was recognized as the transportation department’s classified employee of the year in 2024, asked why transportation employees were paying $2 for a drink at the south Cobb bus depot, when it costs $1.25 in the Griffin Middle School teacher’s lounge. The transportation department pointed her to the vending machine company, which directed her back to the district. According to Parker, the district ignored her inquiries.

She said she learned on Facebook that the difference in cost was intended to fund the transportation’s end-of-year party.

“So I asked why is transportation paying for their own end-of-year party, and not Cobb County School District?” Parker asked. “And in fact, we haven’t had an end-of-the-year party since 2019…where’s the money?”

Also on Thursday, the board approved a $2 million contract in a 5-2 vote to add parking where a controversial multipurpose graduation and educational event center was once slated to go. The project was nixed last year after the leaked site plans revealed it was an 8,000-seat basketball arena. Heather Tolley-Bauer of Watching the Funds dropped the bombshell information during public comment, a month before the project’s cancellation. However, Ragsdale placed the blame on inflation.

“I’m here because I’m truly baffled to know how millions of dollars can be funneled into a parking lot so property looks nice, while longstanding maintenance issues exist in Cobb schools, affecting the day-to-day student learning experience,” said one commenter.

State Rep. Lisa Campbell (D-Kennesaw) spoke at the afternoon work session and asked the board to restore the broadcast of comments.

“This decision diminishes our credibility in Cobb County. This is being noticed and seen across the state and across the country,” she said.

Campbell recounted her experience speaking at a board meeting in the 1980s when she was a student at Lassiter High School and cheerleaders were not allowed to wear their uniforms to school.

“The school board listened to us and they made a change,” she said.

John Sansom accused the board of wanting its critics to “sit down and shut up.”

“Not one of you in the majority contributed to any discussion that moved the needle for a compromise. This district’s proud policy of broad and inclusive public access, with a 17-year precedent, was trashed with no discussion,” he said.

The decision did receive support from afternoon speaker Arielle Kurtze, who thanked the board for not backing down.

“I appreciate the steps you have taken to bring the focus of public comment time back to what it should be–an opportunity to address the board and superintendent,” she said.

Larry Felton Johnson, the editor and publisher of the Cobb County Courier, attended both meetings to livestream and record the public comments on Facebook and YouTube, a plan that was announced days in advance. He initially set up along the wall where journalists regularly stand to film or take pictures. Johnson was the only member of the media asked to move and sit down in the audience. 

Following the final comment that night, a member of the communications team counted down to the live broadcast for a second time.

“Thank you. We’re getting back on air,” said board Chair David Chastain.