Once again Cobb County Schools and the republicans on the board of education have failed our community.
One day after the tragic incident at Lindley Middle School, all Superintendent Chris Ragsdale could muster was stammering a few awkward “thoughts and prayers,” before moving on. He and the other republicans (except for Brad Wheeler who must not feel the need to speak after his reelection) however, had no shortage of words about Triple A credit scores and books bans.
A child hurt themself on school property and not a single word about improving mental health resources or safety measures. It seems that even the “mysterious” Servius Group, who was hired to head off this very type of incident, is moving on to another pet project of the superintendent.
It is clear based on their lack of interest and empathy that they are ready to just move on as republicans do following a shooting on school grounds.
But we will not.
We will continue advocating for stronger gun reforms, increased school safety, and better access to mental health. We will support local elected officials like Nichelle Davis, Tre Hutchins and Becky Sayler when they propose common sense solutions.
This is our community, and our children deserve better. We ask our members to contact your board of education members and demand they vote on Mr. Hutchins four-point safety plan. We don’t need former travel agents pretending to be spies and monitoring our social media sites. We need actual solutions.
To the student who is currently in critical condition, we are sorry this system and your superintendent failed you. You deserve a bright future where you are loved and appreciated. You are not an agenda item, or an announcement to be checked off at the beginning of a meeting.
You are a loved member of our community.
The self proclaimed “adults in the room,” have failed once again ladies and gentlemen, and we do not need to wait until the next election to speak out about it. We do not need to wait until the next election to show up as a community and show these cowardly men that we need action on the real problems affecting our schools.
Not once was school safety mentioned in the board's two hour work session, but man oh man did Randy Scamihorn talk up that Tripe A credit rating. Being a good school district is more than just paying your bills on time sir.
You wouldn't even know Board Chair David Chastain was even aware of the incident had it not been for his callous comments to the Marietta Daily Journal. To Chastain, it doesn't seem to matter that a gun made its way onto school grounds because it was just a suicide attempt and, "It could have been done with something else." What a pathetic cop out.
No one expected the board's newest member, Jon Cristadoro, to say a word on improving anything at Cobb County Schools after he was reprimanded by Ragsdale's chief enforcer Jon Floresta for commenting on a dangerous school crossing. Cristadoro spent the night overcompensating for that unforgivable sin. We're not sure if anyone has told you yet, Mr. Cristadoro, you are the superintendent's boss. Not the other way around.
Not a whisper in that work session about Wednesday's tragedy, but don’t worry everyone, the superintendent has solved human trafficking in Cobb County by banning a book that educates high school students on the subject. Sure a student may be fighting for their life, but as long as Audrey Neu and the Moms for Liberty crowd are happy, it's fine right?
Wrong.
These are foolish and unserious men using our school system as a political playground.
Enough is enough. Contact your board member today: