Safety is a top concern for families across the state, and the September Board of Education meeting provided the Superintendent with the opportunity to reassure Cobb families of how seriously the District takes the safety and security of students and staff.  

The Superintendent’s full remarks are included below the video. 

“It has been a long, difficult couple of weeks as we process the tragic shooting in Barrow County. Our thoughts and prayers have been with all the families affected by this senseless violence and continue to be. 

As the Barrow County Board listens to their county's response and as their Superintendent leads their schools through this, I've been reminded how thankful I am for the Board's support for student safety over my last ten years. 

While we do not publicly discuss our school safety plans, this Board has been aggressive about ensuring the safety of our students. The old saying, "Show me your budget, and I'll show you what's important to you," has never been more true. 

Since I became Superintendent, the District has spent at least 35 million dollars per year on student and staff safety. We have multi-layered plans, systems, and strategies developed by experts in school safety and emergency management and in cooperation with law enforcement. For a decade, Board members have made safety a top priority in Cobb, with actions and appropriations. In that decade, Board members have made sure our schools have everything possible to keep kids safe. 

As a parent, there is perhaps nothing more frightening than thinking something might happen to your child. As a parent myself, I know the driving feeling of believing I need to "do something," even if I'm not entirely certain what that is. 

We want to be assured that something like that could not happen here, could not happen to my child. 

In situations with school shootings, this can manifest as a desire to know everything about school safety plans and systems at our children's schools. I fully appreciate the desire to know and the frustration that you cannot. However, law enforcement and school safety experts repeatedly caution that school safety plans should not be discussed in public - ever.  

In response to an article in the paper last week, a 25-year military and law enforcement veteran encouraged me to remind folks, "There is no reason—NONE—to break operational control and describe safety measures in your schools. If I can read what schools have weapons detectors and which don't," so can those wishing to harm students and teachers. Even though we do not intend to do so, we can unintentionally reveal information integral to keeping our children safe. 

That's why we do not publicly discuss safety plans and strategies. As reassuring as some might find a comprehensive discussion of the numerous strategies and systems contained in that 535 million annual appropriation, we do not - cannot - publicly discuss our specific safety plans and strategies. To do so truly endangers our students, staff, and teachers. 

Our Board receives briefings in executive session. For example, tonight, I informed the Board of expanded threat assessment and abatement measures that we are investigating in a more detailed discussion. Following the Board's input, I anticipate bringing a PUBLIC presentation on those aspects we can share without endangering students and staff of those measures during next month's Board meeting. 

Like all discussions of this type, my remarks to the Board tonight were accompanied by a caution to the Board that publicly discussing the specifics of those plans could literally endanger students and teachers. 

And I greatly appreciate those Board members who honor this duty. I know it becomes particularly tough when there are those who - ironically - want to score political points by falsely suggesting Board members not discussing our school safety plans in public do not care about the security of our students and staff. 

Frankly, just the opposite is true. 

Continuing that practice, I will not tonight be talking about specific aspects of our school safety plans. I will not identify systems and structures designed to keep our students, teachers, and staff safe. 

I can tell you that, in general terms, our school safety measures are among the most comprehensive and layered in the State of Georgia - if not the nation - and include: 

• A dedicated police force of 81-armed POST-certified police officers (which, by the way, this question came up at the NAACP education forum - a huge thank you, Ms. Jerieene and Ms. Deeane, for inviting me - the question from the moderator was, "do you ever think that there will NOT be armed police officers in schools?" My response was very simply – NO. However, prior to my answer, a high school student who was on the panel made some very well-thought-out remarks and concluded with, and I quote, "I am all about armed police officers in school, because they help to keep us safe.") 
• A crisis response system to save precious seconds when there is an emergency;
• Unannounced school safety trainings and drills in every school; 
• Extensive safety measures in every school; 
• Numerous systems designed to assess threats, including weapons detection systems; 
• Resources for students, families, or staff to report concerning behavior, including a dedicated tip line; 
• Dedicated teachers and counselors working with students and seeking to intervene before crises emerge. (As a matter of fact, we had five of our School Social workers, including our Assistant Director, Ana Murphy, go to Barrow County to support the students, staff, and community. Thank you to Petrina Fowler, our District Social Worker of the Year and State of Georgia Social Worker of the Year, Xenia (Zen-ya) Ventura, Gayle Roque (Row-Kay), and Heather Anderson. We also had several interns from our School Social Workers department support Barrow County. During their time in Barrow, our social workers and interns delivered essential crisis response services to students, staff, and community members. They provided guidance for establishing crisis response protocols, conducted check-ins with students and families, and offered grief support, particularly for Spanish-speaking students and families who required additional assistance. A huge shout out and thank you to these five amazing team members!) 

Also, sadly, in the era of social media, school shootings are often accompanied by a wave of false threats. Please know we take these threats very seriously. We do not consider any threat "false" until we are confident it is false. And also, please know we do not consider these false threats as pranks and every threat is reported to law enforcement and will likely result in both serious school discipline and criminal prosecution. 

In times less troubled than these, this Board has endured loud and organized opposition to police presence on campus, armed police, safety drills, and even crisis response systems. Despite these critics and criticism, this Board has put the safety of students first. Thank you.  

Over 100,000 students and 18,000 staff are safer because you have chosen to prioritize and resource safety, I am also incredibly thankful for our school district police officers and all first responders who work to shield and protect our students and staff every single day. 

Our highest priority remains the safety of our students and staff, and with your support, we will continue to invest heavily, train often, and keep student and staff safety at the heart of the decisions we make. 

So, in closing, I encourage everyone to tune in to our Board meeting in October to learn more about additional safety measures coming to the Cobb County School District. I hope everyone has a safe and relaxing Fall break.” 

With the focus on safety, the Board also had the opportunity to thank the men and women who are at the forefront of keeping Cobb students and staff safe—the Cobb County School District Police Department. Although not popular with some in Cobb who advocate for removing police officers from schools, for the last ten years, the Cobb Board of Education has heavily invested in 81 public safety officers, including in Cobb elementary schools. The Cobb County Public Safety Appreciation Week is October 7-11, and the District encourages the community to remember those supporting Cobb’s Shield of Protection every day.  

In the Board of Education work session, Superintendent Ragsdale updated the Board and the community about the removal of six more books for containing sexually graphic or explicit language, illustrations, or situations that are inappropriate for children, making unrestricted access for Cobb students unacceptable. 

The six removed books include: 

• A Court of Wings and Ruin
• A Court of Thorns and Roses
• A Court of Mist and Fury
• A Court of Frost and Starlight
• A Court of Silver Flames
• Iron Fire

The six books, which the book review process determined contain explicit sexual content, are no longer accessible in any school in the Cobb County School District. Previously, the book review process resulted in the removal of 20 books for also containing sexually explicit or graphic content.  

The 20 books previously removed include: 

• Laid  
• Crank  
• Tricks  
• Push  
• Milk and Honey  
• It Starts with Us  
• The Infinite Moment of Us  
• Casual Vacancy  
• Identical  
• Boys Aren't Blue  
• Juliet Takes a Breath  
• Monday's Not Coming  
• City of Thieves  
• Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl  
• Flamer  
• Blankets  
• It Ends with Us  
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower 
• Lucky  
• Thirteen Reasons Why

Board Recognitions  

2023-2024 GHSA Class 7A Boys Soccer State Champions – Kennesaw Mountain High School  

2023-2024 GHSA Class 7A Girls Pole Vault State Champion – Cassidy Woodham, Kennesaw Mountain High School  

2023-2024 GHSA Class 7A Boys 4x200 Meter Relay State Champions – Shemarr Session, Ephraim Riddick, Joseph Oliver, Ja’Von Broussard, Wheeler High School  

2023-2024 GHSA Class 7A Girls 4x400 Meter Relay State Champions – Kiya Boyd, Yasmine Williams, Angelique Degboe, Dominique Rose, McEachern High School  

2023-2024 GHSA Class 6A Boys Shot Put State Champion –Tahir Hines, Allatoona High School  

2023-2024 GHSA Class 6A Girls Pole Vault State Champion – Lindsey Magaw, Allatoona High School  

2023-2024 GHSA Class 7A Girls 200 Meter Dash State Champion – Jasmine Robinson, North Cobb High School  

2023-2024 GHSA Class 7A Girls 300 Meter Hurdles State Champion – Jasmine Robinson, North Cobb High School  

2023-2024 GHSA Class 7A Girls 100 Meter Dash State Champion – Ryan Davis, Hillgrove High School  

2023-2024 GHSA Class 6A Girls 800 Meter Run State Champion – Oluwatosin Awoleye, South Cobb High School  

2023-2024 GHSA Class 7A Boys 800 Meter Run State Champion – Joseph Minecci, Walton High School  

2023-2024 GHSA Class 7A Boys 1600 Meter Run State Champion – Joseph Minecci, Walton High School 

2024 Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award – Procurement Services Department  

2024 Quality Public Procurement Departments Award – Procurement Services Department  

Cobb County Public Safety Appreciation Week