Photo above: the removal of two Cobb mothers and a Wheeler High student from the school board meeting room
By Rebecca Gaunt
Wheeler High School student Joel Beker and Cobb parents Melissa Marten and Jenny Peterson were removed from the Cobb County School Board meeting during public comment Thursday evening.
Beker stepped up to the podium to criticize a program the district uses to monitor students’ searches on their devices, but abruptly demanded an unnamed person on the dais get off their phone.
Chair Randy Scamihorn banged his gavel and cut the microphone.
“You’re not going to lecture the board, sir,” he said.
“This is censorship. You just proved my point,” Beker replied.
Multiple Cobb County School District police officers approached Beker as he returned to his seat and walked him out of the room.
From their seats in the audience, Marten and Peterson stood and argued with the decision to prevent him from speaking and were also escorted out at the request of board attorney Suzann Wilcox.
“This is a great look, folks,” Peterson said as she exited.
“Happy three-year anniversary,” Marten told one of the officers.
Marten was referencing the lawsuit she and Peterson filed against the district for violating their First Amendment rights at the September meeting in 2023.
Both were in line to speak that night while wearing shirts that read “Replace Ragsdale,” and both lost their places in line when, aware the line was filled with critics of Superintendent Chris Ragsdale, district staff coordinated to move the sign up at the last minute. Microsoft Teams messages sent by staff members to each other were revealed in an open records request obtained by Jennifer Susko, co-founder of Cobb Community Care Coalition. The change resulted in chaos, minor injuries, and threats of arrest in the location where a new line formed.
Read more here: 1st Amendment lawsuit against Cobb schools moves forward three years after public comment line stunt – Cobb Courier
Thursday was not the first time in recent months that a speaker has called out individuals on the dais for being on their phone or otherwise not paying attention. It’s the first time doing so has resulted in being removed.
The district adopted a policy of not responding to questions from the Courier in 2021.