Wendy Parker

Moments after getting a contract extension, Cobb County School District Superintendent Chris Ragsdale on Thursday spoke out about the student walkouts last week at several district high schools.

They included Sprayberry and Wheeler high schools as part of coordinated protests against federal immigration activities that supporters said were student-run.

But in remarks at a Cobb Board of Education meeting Thursday night, Ragsdale disputed that claim, and accused those behind the walkouts of trying to indoctrinate public school students.

He said that the Georgia Emergency Management Administration identified some of the groups as Liberation Atlanta and the Party for Socialism, and that they “want schools to use their access and authority to advance their political agendas.

“And once again in Cobb, we say no.”

He said that parents have the right to make decisions for their children, “a right we recognize.

“They do not, however, have the right to force the children of other families to sacrifice their learning to advance that parent’s political goals,” Ragsdale said, reading from prepared remarks, as he has done frequently on a variety of controversial topics in recent years.

“In what is far from the first time I’m having to say this and unfortunately unlikely not the last, our schools must be politically neutral. ”

Before the walkouts took place, the district said that students violating its student code of conduct—which includes disruptions to the school day—would be subject to disciplinary matters including out-0f-school suspensions and bans from extracurricular activities.

In his remarks, Ragsdale did not indicate what, if any, disciplinary measures have taken place. He said that unspecified property damage during walkouts could cost between $150,000 to $200,000.

Nor did he mention an incident at Campbell High School during the walkouts in which a student allegedly was attacked by Principal Paul Gillihan—formerly of Wheeler.

Ragsdale also called out Cobb Democratic legislators who supported and encouraged the walkouts and who said the district’s threatened punishments violated students’ First Amendment rights.

“They know that minors do not have the same rights in schools that adults have in society,” Ragsdale said, adding that “the First Amendment ends when schools are disrupted.

“These people knew that, but they did not care.”

At some schools students were driving around on campus, while at Sprayberry, several dozen students left the school grounds and held up signs at the intersection of Sandy Plains and Piedmont roads.

“Public schools are—and must be—places for learning, not battlegrounds for ideology,” Ragsdale said, adding that the district will ensure that classrooms remain “free of political games.”

The Cobb school board voted 5-2 to extend Ragsdale’s contract into 2029. It’s a three-year deal that has been routinely extended by a year by the board, which has a 4-3 Republican majority.

There was no discussion of the extension by the board, which voted after coming out of an executive session. Board members Becky Sayler and Nichelle Davis, Democrats, from the Smyrna area, voted against the extension, also without making any comment.

No details of Ragsdale’s current contract were presented; his base salary has been at $350,000 but with bonuses and other incentives his total package is estimated to be near $500,000 a year.

Related:

• Sprayberry HS lockdown lifted after report of weapon
• East Cobb students advance to FIRST LEGO World Championships
• Simpson Middle School celebrates annual STEAMapalooza
• East Cobb high school athletes make college commitments
• Cobb students earn national honors at 4-H championships
• East Cobb Middle School talent show continues long tradition
• Wheeler hires football coach who won Fla. state title
• Students walk out at Sprayberry, Wheeler to protest ICE

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