By Rebecca Gaunt

Anyone interested in donating new or gently used winter coats can drop them off Thursday by the line for public comment in front of the Cobb County School District main office at 514 Glover St. 

The official time designated for drop off is Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. The school board’s evening voting session begins at 7 p.m.

Coats in both adult and children’s sizes are needed.

Cobb Community Care Coalition, a parent and community-member-led group, organized the effort. The coats will go to MUST Ministries for distribution.

MUST is a non-profit that assists people who are struggling financially with feeding, clothing, housing, and workforce development. It serves eight counties and has physical locations in Cobb and Cherokee Counties.

Cobb parent and CCCC co-founder Melissa Marten’s inspiration to collect the coats outside while waiting in line to sign up for public comment was born of a combination of frustration at not feeling heard in meetings, but still wanting to contribute.

“With every upcoming board meeting, the thought of standing in front of people during public comment and getting completely ignored, gets more and more difficult. At the same time, we believe it’s still important to show up for our community. This month, I wanted to incorporate a tangible way we could give back. If we’ve learned anything over the last few years, it’s that we have to take care of each other. CCCC began with a core mission to take care of our community, and that is what we are doing even in the face of a school district that repeatedly silences those of us trying to make positive change,” Marten said.

Cobb residents wishing to sign up for one of 15 two-minute speaking slots have been required to line up outside since October 2023, a month after central-office staff coordinated a last-minute change in protocol intending to push the superintendent’s critics, some of whom were wearing red ‘Replace Ragsdale’ shirts, out of the line. An open records request by CCCC co-founder Jennifer Susko included incriminating Microsoft Teams messages amongst several staff members.

Read more: Cobb schools staff acted to silence critics, Teams messages show – Cobb Courier

CCCC co-founder Micheal Garza announced last week that he is challenging board Chair David Chastain for the Post 4 seat in 2026. Chastain is seeking a fourth term.

Rebecca Gaunt earned a degree in journalism from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in education from Oglethorpe University. After teaching elementary school for several years, she returned to writing. She lives in Marietta with her husband, son, two cats, and a dog. In her spare time, she loves to read, binge Netflix and travel.