Photo above: Mira Ugwuadu
By Rebecca Gaunt
The community’s strong reactions to President Donald Trump’s Wednesday visit to Wheeler High School dominated the mood at Thursday’s Cobb County Board of Education meeting.
Susan Clark, still hoarse from protesting Trump outside of Wheeler the day before, asked for transparency in “who paid what, and why this political, very political, happening happened inside one of our schools.”
The event drew hundreds of protesters. It also drew hundreds of supporters, some of whom traveled to see him, and were recognized as regulars by the president during his speech. A bus promoting Trump 2028 was parked outside. (Trump is not eligible for a third term under the Constitution).
The district has not addressed the public’s questions about who paid for use of the facility and other costs incurred. CCSD previously received criticism for charging Post 3 school board member Leroy Tre’ Hutchins to rent the McEachern High School auditorium to hold a town hall addressing a shooting that took place in the parking lot in 2024.
The Courier has submitted an open records request for the rental agreement and was told it will take 1-2 weeks to fulfill due to the need for redaction.
Public comment
Heather Tolley-Bauer, co-founder of Watching the Funds-Cobb, said, “At yesterday’s taxpayer-funded campaign rally, Superintendent [Chris] Ragsdale had the mic on the national stage, but said absolutely nothing about Cobb County schools’ long list of accomplishments…so as you shook hands with the president and Linda McMahon, and the state Republican leaders pursuing that new property tax law, did any of you advocate for the kids you serve or tell them that their proposals will gut Cobb’s funding?”
While the visit was advertised as a discussion of Trump Savings Plans, federally established and seeded with $1,000 for children born between 2025 and 2028, and invested in tax-deferred low-cost U.S. stock index funds until the child turns 18, much of the time was spent on “Dumocrats,” borders, Iran, Venezuela, and the Big Beautiful Bill.
Trump opened with, “It’s a special place and I am here to announce my candidacy [long pause]. I’m only kidding.”
Republican candidate for Georgia governor Rick Jackson also spoke and promised that, if elected, he would put an additional $1,000 in Georgia Trump Accounts should he be unable to get the state legislature to make that commitment. Republican candidates for lieutenant governor Greg Dolezal, attorney general candidate Sen. Brian Strickland, and secretary of state candidate Rep. Tim Fleming were also among the speakers.
“Our district policies require staff to avoid partisan activity in educational settings, prompting further scrutiny of how the event aligned with those standards,” said Laura Judge, a former Democratic candidate for school board Post 5.
Jessica May Babcock said, ”He should not have been allowed on school grounds for the simple fact that he is a 34-count felon, known sexual predator, and implicated pedophile.”
Other speakers voiced appreciation for the event to applause from evening audience members.
Leroy Emkin told the board it was an honor to hear the president speak and thanked them for “keeping DEI out of the schools.”
Rebecca Ivanov thanked the superintendent at the afternoon work session and continued, “Did the school district have a say in what was discussed in addition to the Trump accounts? No.”
Virginia Choate said, “We were so proud of Wheeler High School as they showcased their school and really invited people and showed them how happy we were to have him there.”
However, Andrew Nelms protested with a fiery, “You fired a teacher for reading a book! Why did you let a pedophile into one of our schools?”
Board Chair Randy Scamihorn ordered his mic cut and Nelms raised his middle finger as he walked away.
Jenny Peterson, a parent who is currently suing the district for First Amendment violations, spoke next, calling the cutting of Nelms’ mic illegal when she stepped up to the podium.
“Wheeler has some of the highest test scores in the state, which you like to crow about, but did you invite any of those students to the microphone? Was there a single Wheeler student on the stage yesterday? You forgot to mention the Wheeler principal Dr. Fetterman, whom I believe was left to work the lost and found table. What about exceptional Cobb teachers? Why did the Republican nominee for governor get time at the microphone twice and not a single teacher?” she asked.
Peterson paused in her comments to point out that Ragdale did not appear to be listening to her.
During subsequent comments, audience members yelled at Ragsdale and Post 5 board member John Cristadoro to get off their phones.
Mira Ugwuadu, a 2023 Wheeler graduate, said it felt like a punch in the gut when she heard the news that Trump was coming to her alma mater.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to decipher whether or not this board has student concerns at the forefront of the decision making processes, whether that be ignoring students pleas to change the confederate name of Joseph Wheeler High School or welcoming a president that contributes to dismantling and deemphasizing public education to that same high school,” she said.
The board voted 4-3 in 2025 to cut public comment from the live stream and record. The Courier posts public comments recorded from the audience. View Thursday’s comments in full here.
Ragsdale’s response
Ragsdale used his remarks at the evening meeting to address the event, starting with a video put together by the communications department. That triggered another disruption when members of the audience walked out.
The short recap included a clip of Ragsdale welcoming the president, Trump thanking Ragsdale, and comments from Post 4 board member David Chastain. Chastain is the only board member facing an opponent, Democrat Micheal Garza, in the November election.
The video was stopped as Ragsdale ordered the room cleared of people jeering.
Scamihorn banged his gavel.
“If you don’t want to hear this, go with the rest of them…otherwise you didn’t come to hear what we have to say. You just came to yell at us,” he said.
Someone in the audience responded, “Now you know how we feel!”
The video replayed from the beginning and Ragsdale launched his remarks with compliments to staff involved in preparations. He also made a pointed reminder that Cobb had hosted former Presidents Ronald Reagan in 1984, George W. Bush in 2003, and Barack Obama, a candidate at the time, in 2008.
“The saying ‘not my president’ is not an option for a public school system, or any other United States citizen as far as that goes…we do not control the president, the White House, the secret service, or the content of any remarks, or who the president asks to speak. What a president chooses to say is not known until the moment he starts to speak,” he said.
Ragsdale linked accusations of the visit being divisive back to other hot button topics in recent years.
“Is that divisive like not supporting the removal of inappropriate materials from the hands of children? Or demanding that we require masks and vaccinations during Covid? Or not supporting the anti-racism resolution?” he said. “Anyone who opposes our district being honored needs to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask themselves if they are supporting students or waving their own political flag.”
See his remarks in full on the district website: Watch Meetings Online
Post 2 board member Becky Sayler is the only board member who has responded to the public outcry. In a Facebook post, she wrote, “What I saw was quite different from the way the event was promoted. As an elected Democrat, it was very strange sitting in the audience of an event that is supposed to at least mention the excellence of Cobb schools, but to hear campaign speeches from four Georgia Republicans running for state office who said things like “This is a fight to save western civilization” (Greg Dolezal), and “129 people move to Georgia from other states every day…insane states…blue states…they are not checking their policies at the door” (Brian Strickland).
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.