Book Battles Become Contentious at Cobb School Board

Cobb Voice Contributor August 22, 2024

Superintendent Chris Ragsdale of the Cobb County School District remains resolute in his stance that schools must protect students from exposure to sexually explicit content. As a Cobb elementary parent recently put it, “Schools aren’t telling parents how to parent; however, schools have a responsibility to make sure materials available to children are age-appropriate.”

Chris Ragsdale Superintendent Cobb County School District

Ragsdale clarified that the district is not banning books but is ensuring that sexually explicit content is not available to students. At the August school board meeting, Ragsdale went on to say, “Today, I’m updating our ongoing book review process,” The Cobb Superintendent continued, “We began this review after discovering sexually explicit and graphic content in our media centers. Recognizing our legal and moral obligation to protect students, we removed access to inappropriate materials.”

Andrew Cole, Democratic Candidate for Post 7, currently occupied by Brad Wheeler, has very different views on the issue of books.  Mr. Cole states that the school district policy, which removes books from schools, violates the current policy.  Incumbent, Wheeler, meanwhile, strongly disagrees with Cole in a widely distributed campaign newsletter (Cobb County BOE Town Hall Newsletter). Current board member Wheeler emphatically states, I support the protection of our students and ends with a stinging rebuke of his opponent by telling voters, “…if you believe otherwise, Mr. Andrew Cole might be your candidate.”     

Brad Wheeler Cobb County School Board Post 7

The district’s recent review led to the removal of 13 additional books. This decision, according to Ragsdale, was not made lightly. “We reviewed the content carefully and decided to remove these materials, just as we restrict access to rated-R movies or adult websites in compliance with federal law.”  Many of the books removed from Cobb Schools can be found at www.BooksInSchools.com, which has a rating system and a video of recent comments made at the August board meeting. Cobb Voice reached out to the Cobb Board Of Education and was told this website is an independent site of the CCSD, and thus, the school would not have a comment regarding the content.