(photos by Rebecca Gaunt)
By Rebecca Gaunt
Six Cobb legislators have filed House Bill 989, a bipartisan bill that would require all Georgia school districts to record or broadcast public comments in the same manner as the rest of the meeting.
Georgia school boards are legally required to set aside time for public comment, but are permitted to set limits on the length of time and the number of speakers. They are not required to broadcast their meetings, but the bill would prevent that portion of the meeting from being handled differently from board business for those that do.
The move follows the Cobb County School District’s decision last July to cut the livestream for the public comment portions of the monthly board meetings. The district does not maintain a record of the comments either.
Read more: No more broadcast of public comments after 4-3 vote by Cobb school board – Cobb Courier
Superintendent Chris Ragsdale proposed the policy change without input from the board members, saying it would protect the district from potential legal action based on comment content. He also said some speakers would prefer not to be broadcast. It passed in a 4-3 partisan vote with the Democratic board members opposed. The broadcast audience now sees a black screen with the district logo and a message that the broadcast will resume after comments.
The bill sponsors are Democratic representatives David Wilkerson, Mekyah McQueen, Solomon Adesanya, Mary Frances Williams, Lisa Campbell, and Republican Jordan Ridley, some of whom have publicly objected to the district’s decision during public comment at school board meetings and at a July press conference that followed the axing of the broadcast.
“With my colleagues, my motivation is the fundamental belief that public comment should be public. Livestream comments enable all constituents to participate in important public school board meetings and engage in their communities. Public comments allow for a diversity of perspectives, identification of issues, suggested improvements, and create a record that holds our board accountable, leading to more effective, transparent, and fair governance,” Campbell told the Courier.
The Cobb school board and Ragsdale have been on the receiving end of scathing comments regarding district spending, safety protocols, book removals, racism, and the behavior of its central office staff toward the public. Ragsdale has frequently volleyed back at his critics from the dais, telling them to “take a break” and accusing them of being activists with agendas.
Heather Tolley-Bauer is a parent to a Cobb high school student and a co-founder of Watching the Funds-Cobb, a parent-led group that wants more transparency surrounding the district’s spending decisions.
“The Cobb County School Board has no problem ignoring and disrespecting taxpayers at meetings. Since the board won’t do the right thing, I hope state legislators will take up House Bill 989 and show they actually respect the citizens funding our schools. It shouldn’t take legislation to get them to broadcast public comment, but here we are,” she said.
There have been other examples of school boards cutting the feed when tensions are high.
Fulton County cut the public comment stream at the December 2024 meeting when parents were protesting the planned closing of two elementary schools.
The issue isn’t limited to Georgia. The Loudoun County school board in Virginia voted in 2024 to stop airing public comments. The chair also ended public comment early at one meeting in which multiple parents spoke about a student with an alleged gang affiliation who was arrested for threatening students and bringing a weapon to school.
School districts in Minnesota and Colorado have also ended or proposed ending the broadcast of public comment in recent years.
“It’s not just Cobb. It’s an issue across the state. People want transparency,” Wilkerson said.
Read the proposed bill in full here: Georgia General Assembly – HB 989
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.
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