AROUND TOWN: Cobb Schools super on divisive concepts; election worries; tribute to Mike Boyce

While discussing "divisive concepts" at Thursday's Cobb school board meeting, Superintendent Chris Ragsdale had a message for teachers who may be worried about getting in trouble when teaching sensitive topics: stick to the book.

Board members were reviewing changes to administrative rules that are intended to bring Cobb into compliance with new state laws. The legislation, passed earlier this year and signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp, are part of Republicans' efforts to control how race, sex and other issues are taught. They include a “parents’ bill of rights,” as well as bans on the teaching of certain “divisive concepts” and content that is “harmful to minors.” 

Democratic board member Leroy Tre’ Hutchins had asked if teachers would be provided with district-approved curriculum so that they don’t run afoul of the new laws.

“Divisive topics — are we gonna define that, is what I'm saying, and then make sure that we provide the curriculum?” Hutchins said.

That's when Ragsdale chimed in.

“Absolutely, you hit the nail on the head … The way to ensure that things are going on in the classroom, the way the district teaching and learning standards expect them to be, is to utilize the district-approved resources to accomplish that. … When you start getting outside of those standards, is where you start getting into quicksand. … It's just disappointing that in this day and age, that you have to have legislation passed that truly draws a line between parents, and teachers. But it's a good example of what I've indicated earlier about teachers being asked to do too much,” the superintendent said.

Democratic board member Charisse Davis also had questions for Ragsdale and Marc Smith, the district’s chief technology and operations officer.

“In regards to the controversial issues … There's some language that was taken from the current media policy about balanced viewpoints … There's been a lot of discussion all around the country with these CRT bills or whatever, about how do you present both sides, essentially, of something, if a teacher is teaching the Holocaust or the enslavement of Africans, any number of things,” Davis said. “So my question to you is, how will our teachers have the support that they need to be able to actually do their jobs and follow these laws?”

Smith said he had been discussing that exact issue with the district’s academic division.

“The part of this that’s important is: I, as a teacher, am not to take a side on either,” Smith said. “Can we discuss things from an academic standpoint? Yes. Can we advocate for one or the other? No. So, that's part of your, I think your question, is how do we help our teachers navigate that, and that is something that we're working on with academics.”

The new district administrative rules, Republican school board Chair David Chastain said, did not require a vote. They are, however, provided to board members, who were given a chance to ask questions at the meeting.

“That falls under the management of the superintendent and his staff,” Chastain told Around Town. “…Board members are given copies of the administrative rules with the changes, and there's discussion, and there can be, you know, questions and things like that. But typically the board does not vote on the administrative rules.”

Board attorney Nina Gupta said that there are things in the new legislation that require new policies for local boards, changes which the board itself will have to vote on at some point.

Earlier in the meeting, during public comment, Jeff Hubbard, the new president of a teacher’s association, the Cobb County Association of Educators, laid out his concerns with the new rules. (Hubbard's group is the local chapter of the Georgia Association of Educators, which endorsed Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Stacey Abrams over the weekend.)

The rules, Hubbard said, eliminate the ability of local school staff to make decisions about new reading materials.

“This directly takes away the ability of our professionally trained media specialists and certificated teachers to self-determine what they feel is developmentally, academically and socially valid for inclusion at their individual school sites,” Hubbard said.

Other rules that are sourced from the parents’ bill of rights, Hubbard said, are codifying parental rights that already exist at all Georgia schools.

“These rules are counterproductive and will serve to be self-defeating and an overreach of political influence to those professionals working every day to benefit our children. Knowing principals across the county will now face an additional demand upon their time as site leaders is deflating,” Hubbard said.

Finally, Hubbard said other new rules do not provide proper guidance “regarding which priority and non-priority standards … are permitted to be covered, and therefore is highly problematic for our teachers.”

THE RUNOFF: Cobb County’s early voting may have started smoothly and slow last week, but that doesn’t mean all is well in election land.

Jacquelyn Bettadapur, chair of the Cobb County Democratic Committee, is concerned about the quick turnaround time required to get an absentee ballot mailed back to the county ahead of the June 21 runoff. Ballots began going out June 8th, Elections Director Janine Eveler confirmed, giving a window of less than two weeks for them to make the treacherous two-way trip via USPS.

“With USPS delivery times, that creates an impossibly tight turnaround. That is a form of vote suppression,” Bettadapur said.

Her counterpart, Cobb GOP Chair Salleigh Grubbs, disagrees.

“Nothing could be further from the truth. There is plenty of time. Additionally, there are 4 extra days of early voting on top of the state-mandated dates of June 13th-17th. We are fortunate to have so many opportunities and different ways to vote in Georgia,” Grubbs said in an email to AT.

Eveler acknowledges the time frame is tight, and encouraged voters to return their ballot to a drop box or poll manager at an early voting location before Election Day.

“After advance voting closes on June 17, they should hand-deliver it to the Main Office. Voters who are away from Cobb County and have to use the postal service will have a very hard time getting it back to us before the 7 p.m. June 21 deadline,” she added.

RECOGNITION: A resolution adopted in the Georgia Senate honoring the life and memory of former Cobb County Chairman Mike Boyce was presented to his widow, Judy Boyce, at the beginning on the Cobb County Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday.

State Sens. Kay Kirkpatrick, R-east Cobb, and Michael "Doc" Rhett, D-Marietta, took turns reading the resolution. 

Boyce died Jan. 26 after suffering two strokes. He was 72.

“He was dedicated to bringing his community together,” Rhett said. “Col. Boyce was known to handle controversy with grace and diplomacy, insisting on holding multiple town hall meetings with residents face to face when tough issues arose.”

Standing in front of the commission dais, Judy Boyce expressed her thanks. 

“Mike had four wonderful years here. He was a true servant. He did what he believed was right always. It didn’t matter what political party you were or anything else. He believed in doing what was right, and I appreciate that you honor him with this. Thank you.”

Among those who joined in the presentation were Michael Murphy, who served as Boyce's special projects assistant; Boyce's administrative assistant Millie Rogers, and Deane Bonner, president emeritus of the Cobb NAACP.

“There isn’t a day that goes by as I travel Cobb County and throughout the area that I don’t think of the chairman,” Murphy said.

Murphy said Boyce will never be forgotten. 

“Judy, it’s always good to see you, and we’re still family,” Murphy said.

Bonner said the county owes Boyce a debt.

“He made this county a place where we all could live and work together. He was transparent, and I’m truly sorry that he’s gone, but his legacy will be with us and is truly appreciated by us in this county,” she said.

Rogers said it was her pleasure to work with Boyce. 

“He dearly loved this job, believe it or not. If you knew him at all, you knew him to be full of laughter, and that’s how he was to work with as well. It’s so very hard for me, and I know for Judy, to realize he’s no longer on this Earth, that he has gone beyond and he has taken a trip up in his helicopter, and we’ll meet him one day up there in the sky. But you know, Mike gave his heart and soul to this county, and he, in my opinion, made a difference. Thank you Mike Boyce and thank you Judy.”

How fitting, remarked Commissioner JoAnn Birrell, that the former chair, a 30-year-career Marine veteran, was being honored on Flag Day. 

"And not a day goes by that we don't think of him as well, Michael. He was a good man," Birrell said.