The East Cobb Democrats will be holding a town hall on Thursday they’re calling “Flip the Cobb School Board.”
It’s from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Round Trip Brewery at the Avenue East Cobb (4475 Roswell Road, Suite 1600).
The featured speakers include Micheal Garza, who is challenging Republican incumbent David Chastain in Northeast Cobb’s Post 4 in a November election that will determine party control of the Cobb Board of Education.
Republicans hold a 4-3 majority on the Cobb school board, and the Democrats will be retaining two of their seats since they’re not opposed in the general election.
One of them is first-term board member Becky Sayler of Post 2 in Smyrna, who also will be a featured guest at Thursday’s town hall. Here’s more from the official invite:
“This town hall will showcase the Democratic vision for Cobb education centered on honest leadership, inclusive governance, and educational excellence. Hear from local leaders and experts about what’s working in our system and what needs to change. We will address real challenges facing our students and schools, and invite members of our community to ask questions and engage in dialogue.”
Participants are also asked to bring book donations in memory of Dolly Parton to be distributed at little libraries in Post 4.
The town hall is free but you’re asking to RSVP at this link.
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The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has released its lists of semifinalists for the 2026-27 school year, and 48 of them attend high schools in East Cobb.
They’re among the 16,000 semifinalists vying for a variety of academic scholarships provided through the NMSC, which said in a release Tuesday it will award nearly $24 million to high school seniors.
Of the 48 East Cobb students, 41 attend either Walton or Wheeler high schools, and the others are enrolled at Lassiter and Pope.
The NMSC release said that most of the semifinalists will move on to the finalist stage in the spring. To reach that stage, the student
“and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT or ACTscores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.”
LASSITER H. S.
Adwita Aremanda; Kanav Ganguly; Luka Mazukna; Xavier Menard; Tristin Veras
POPE H. S.
Sarah Blackwell; John Law
WALTON H. S.
Meredith Bates; Julian Bauman; Borra, Pranavi; Blake Cappall; Aaron Chen; Gavin Croom; Alexandra Ding; Stella Figueroa; Noelle Gustason; Jessica He; Arockiaraj Henry; Nicholas Herbert; Neil Kapoor; Jack Landrum; Ria Mohanty; Maya Muthu; Minh Nguyen; Saarth Pandya; William Pei; Shreya Prakash; Julian Ritter; Aaruhya Tummala; Kashyap Valeti; Jasper Wolfe-Tham; Brady Zhou
WHEELER H. S.
Caleb Amerault; Trevor Anderson; Rafael Aragon; Nathan W. Deng; Eason Fang; Charles Heuser; Jack Hong; Vyom Krishna; Aaron Mok; Nevaan Nigam; Shreyan Patel; Lars Peterson; Pranav Senthil Kumar; Andrew Squires; Daniel Stafford; Falak Upadhyay.
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Cobb Board of Education members haven’t said much publicly about remarks by Superintendent Chris Ragsdale last month at a kickoff rally that led to teachers being questioned for walking out.
But those trying to “flip” a key school board election in East Cobb in November have been quite vocal since then denouncing Ragsdale’s message.
He linked sexually explicit books to sex trafficking, and said that anyone who opposes the Cobb County School District’s actions in recent years removing such materials from its schools “has no business in education or anywhere around education.”
The district has questioned possibly around 200 teachers who walked out in protest, but no disciplinary actions have thus far been revealed.
Three-term Republican incumbent David Chastain said this week that while the issue remains a personnel matter, he supports Ragsdale’s efforts to send a “clear” message about what’s become an increasingly contentious subject.
Saying that “I don’t have all the details on this,” Chastain told East Cobb News that Ragsdale “delivered a message” that some staff and teachers opposed, “but that it was a mandatory meeting.”
Chastain said that while he hasn’t discussed the issue with Ragsdale, he has no problem with the superintendent saying, “this is what we’re going to do.”
When asked by East Cobb News if he thought the remarks may have a demoralizing effect on teachers and staff, Chastain said “I don’t think so.”
Chris Ragsdale told staff and teachers that “there is no room for disagreeing with what we’re doing” about removing sexually explicit materials from Cobb schools.
Ragsdale also said in his kickoff message that “some of those very people” who oppose the removal of obscene materials “have chosen to run for the Board of Education.”
In the Post 4 race that includes the Kell, Lassiter and Sprayberry high school clusters, Chastain is facing Democrat Micheal Garza, a frequent critic of the district, with party control of the school board at stake.
Republicans hold a 4-3 majority and Democrats have increased their attacks on Chastain and the GOP members, whom they say is a rubber-stamp for Ragsdale.
Chastain is prominently including the book removal issue in his campaign, and mentioned it during a kickoff fundraiser last month as a matter of parental rights and keeping Cobb schools free from distraction in classrooms.
“We have candidates who don’t support curating media in our schools,” Chastain told East Cobb News this week. Ragsdale, he said, “sent a message to his employees and a minority of them disagreed with that message.”
In a series of short videos on his campaign Facebook page, Chastain alludes to Garza’s endorsements by a number of national organizations.
“I do not have well-funded national groups whispering in my ear, trying to get me to advance a political agenda and using our children in the process,” Chastain said in one the videos, speaking with Joy Doss, his campaign manager, who also is the president of the non-profit Cobb Schools Foundation.
Micheal Garza in an interview with Kelley Robinson, executive director of the national LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Human Rights Campaign.
Garza, a leader with the Keheley Elementary School PTA, has accused the district of censorship for what he and other Democrats frequently refer to as book bans.
This week Garza posted an interview with him and the leader of the Human Rights Campaign, a prominent national LGBTQ+ organization.
But Garza has primarily been critical of what he says is Ragsdale’s unprofessionalism and treatment toward Cobb school district staff.
“With a different board member for Post 4 and with different board leadership, things would have gone much differently,” Garza said on his campaign Facebook page this week.
“We shouldn’t be questioning the integrity of our teachers just less than a month into the start of a school year. We should be questioning our Superintendent on why he shouldn’t be out of a job.”
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Two students have been arrested for bringing a gun to Wheeler High School, Principal Sara Fetterman said in a message that went out to the school community Friday morning.
Her message said that “everyone is safe” after an investigation by Wheeler administrators and the Cobb County School District Police Department led to the arrests on Thursday afternoon.
“Law enforcement agencies informed me that they are in custody and are facing criminal charges,” said Fetterman, who said she couldn’t provide more details due to a continuing investigation and for student privacy reasons.
East Cobb News has contacted the Cobb school district seeking more information.
Fetterman said the Wheeler community also is mourning the death of another student but she did not elaborate.
As for the gun charges, Fetterman said that “I cannot say this forcefully enough: We have many tools and officers at Wheeler, including gunpowder-detecting dogs. If a student brings a weapon to our campus, they will be caught. They will also face the harshest possible penalties that the law allows.
“A mistake like this could ruin the rest of your life. Don’t do it.”
Fetterman closed her message by saying that “our leadership team will continue to keep doing everything we can to make sure Wheeler is a safe place for everyone.”
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Cobb Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said that teachers and staff who object to the removal of sexually explicit materials “have no business being in education or anywhere around education.”
The head of the Cobb County Association of Educators said he’s heard “no word” on any possible disciplinary action that may be or has been taken against teachers who walked out on a school year kickoff speech by Superintendent Chris Ragsdale last month.
Jeff Hubbard told East Cobb News on Wednesday that he all he knows is that “employees were only told ‘next steps’ ” would occur this week.
Between 100 to 200 teachers reportedly were called in for questioning last week by Cobb County School District officials after they walked out on remarks Ragsdale gave the week before the 2026-27 year began, and that included President Trump’s July rally at Wheeler High School and the district’s removal of sexually explicit materials that he linked to sex trafficking.
(You can watch the full video by clicking here; his remarks on those topics begin around the 36-minute mark.)
Those questioned were reportedly asked if they left the mandatory event before it was over and if they had permission to do so.
Hubbard did say that “the interviews suddenly stopped after [last] Wednesday after all of the media reports.”
The exact number of teachers questioned, and the schools where they teach, are unclear, as is the potential action, although Hubbard said that “staff would most likely be charged with insubordination/unprofessional behavior.”
East Cobb News contacted the Cobb school district this week, and Thursday morning the communications department replied only that “at this time, we do not have any updates to share.”
Hubbard said that “the more interesting thing we have learned is that some schools have had no interviews of staff (with confirmed walkouts) or partial (only some staff interviewed some staff members, but not all who walked out).
He added that the majority of the schools where teachers were questioned are in “South and Central Cobb, although we have confirmation of walkouts throughout the entire county.”
Ragsdale’s speech was delivered at Harrison High School, but teachers and staff also were watching remotely in avent that was livestreamed at their own schools.
He reiterated public comments he’s made over the last few years as the district removed objectionable materials, and continued to link them to sex trafficking.
Some of Ragsdale’s critics have created a social media logo expressing their support for teachers who walked out.
“Make no mistake about it. It’s about the protection and safety of kids,” Ragsdale said in his address. “Nothing having to do with politics. There is no room for disagreeing with what we’re doing. Somebody that disagrees with it has no business in education or anywhere around education, where there is responsibility of kids.”
He also said some of those critical of the book removals “have chosen to run for the Board of Education.”
That was a veiled reference to Micheal Garza, a Democrat challenging Republican incumbent David Chastain in Northeast Cobb’s Post 4 in a November election with party control of the Cobb Board of Education at stake.
Critics spoke out against Ragsdale at a school board meeting last month, and Democratic activists have continued online and on other platforms, accusing Ragsdale of unprofessionalism and improperly injecting politics into a staff event.
The district acknowledged only that “district leadership has continued conversations with some individual educators. Those conversations ensure alignment, communication, and like any personnel investigation, are not publicly available.”
Hubbard told East Cobb News Wednesday that CCAE members have been told to reach out “if interviewed or if they walked out but were not interviewed.”
While the CCAE and its parent organization, the Georgia Association of Educators, are not teachers’ unions, they can provide legal and professional support “as needed.”
At the top of its website, CCAE has put up a contact link near a headline saying “Standing With Our Members.”
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Submitted by the Cobb County School District; photos by Kristen Harter:
Wheeler High School’s Raider teams opened the 2026 season with an impressive showing, capturing first place in the Mixed Division at the second annual Wheeler Wildcat Raider Challenge, held on Wheeler’s campus on Saturday, August 29.
Raider Competition is a high-intensity athletic program within JROTC that challenges cadets through a series of team-oriented physical and skill-based events. Often compared to a team version of “American Ninja Warrior,” Raider competitions typically include events such as obstacle courses, team runs, rescue challenges, rope bridges, tire flips, and fitness tests.
Beyond the physical challenges, Raider Competition supports the broader goals of JROTC by helping cadets develop ethical values, citizenship, leadership, communication, and critical-thinking skills. The program promotes physical fitness, healthy decision-making, self-motivation, and personal responsibility. Through the demands of team competition, cadets learn the importance of cooperation, discipline, and perseverance—skills that help them succeed in the classroom and pursue excellence throughout their lives.
The Wildcat Raider Challenge brought together 12 high schools and 22 Raider teams for a full day of physically demanding, team-based events. The teams—10 male, three female, and nine mixed—competed in Team Run, Rope Bridge, Physical Team Test, Tire Flip, and Rescue Rodeo. Wheeler’s Mixed team won all but one of the five events, and the Wheeler Boys team took second in both the Rope Bridge and Rescue Rodeo. Overall, the Mixed team won their category, and the Boys team took fourth.
“It was so amazing to see everything this weekend,” said an excited Dr. Sara Fetterman, Wheeler’s Principal. “I am so proud of how our two teams performed and that we were able to host such a fantastic event!”
Dr. Fetterman’s video of the Rope Bridge also received hundreds of thousands of views on Instagram. “I love that we are getting the message out about our program’s success,” she said with a smile.
This accomplishment is particularly significant for the Wildcats because Wheeler has the only Air Force JROTC Raider program in Cobb County and competes in a sport traditionally dominated by Army JROTC programs.
Wheeler’s Raider program also benefits from a crosstown partnership with Walton High School. Through the agreement, cadets from both schools train and compete together as one Raider team, combining their talents and building a strong culture of teamwork.
The Wildcat Raiders’ impressive performance was the result of months of preparation and demonstrated their dedication. Raider Competition requires athletes to work together under pressure while pushing themselves physically and mentally.
The Wildcat Raider teams will return to competition Saturday at Etowah High School, continuing their third season. With a first-place finish already secured, Wheeler’s Raiders are off to a strong start.
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The Northeast Cobb Business Association will honor the volunteer leaders who support our local schools on Friday, Aug. 28 at its annual UPBEAT luncheon, a longstanding community event celebrating the people who dedicate their time and talents to East Cobb schools.
UPBEAT, which stands for United Partners Business & Education Advancing Together, will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Piedmont Church. Cobb County Commissioner JoAnn Birrell and Cobb County School Board members David Chastain and John Cristadoro are expected to attend, joining representatives from schools throughout East Cobb.
UPBEAT recognizes those working behind the scenes to strengthen local schools. Principals are invited to join NCBA in honoring their volunteer leaders such as PTSA, foundation, and booster club leaders.
“Teachers, administrators, and students alike will tell you that their schools would not thrive without the dedication of the parents who get involved,” said Neeahtima Dowdy, president of the Northeast Cobb Business Association.
“UPBEAT is our opportunity as a business community to say thank you, but it is also about strengthening the relationship between our schools and the businesses that serve and invest here.”
Local businesses sponsor the luncheon, allowing invited school representatives to attend as guests. Business sponsors also showcase their companies during the event, giving school leaders an opportunity to learn more about the local businesses supporting their schools.
The relationship is intentionally reciprocal: local businesses invest in East Cobb schools and their students, while school leaders, families and community members are encouraged to support the businesses that invest in them.
About the Northeast Cobb Business Association
The Northeast Cobb Business Association (NCBA) is a community-based organization bringing together businesses and professionals, nonprofits, schools, and civic leaders. NCBA works to strengthen the local business community through relationship-building, professional development, and partnerships that support the broader Northeast Cobb community.
NCBA hosts monthly business luncheons, networking and educational opportunities, and special programs throughout the year. UPBEAT reflects NCBA’s commitment to connecting local businesses with the schools and communities they serve.
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The 40th anniversary of Pope High School echoed back to the time of the school’s founding in the mid-1980s but trotted out a contemporary level of energy.
At Matt Hobby Field last weekend, “Popefest” featured more than six hours of live music, food, an artisan market, family activities and fireworks.
The bands featured local talent from around the Cobb area, and one was made up of teachers, according to the Cobb County School District.
In a district release, Pope social media coordinator Hayden Fraker said that “I have worked here for 10 years, and this is the first thing we’ve ever done like this to this large of a scale. We have different theme nights and invite people back for different sporting events, but nothing to this extent of having just the huge stage and just really incorporating every aspect of the community and what we’re doing.”
The event also benefitted one of the Cobb County School District’s key partners, the American Heart Association. A portion of the proceeds from Popefest were donated to the AHA, which last month was the recipient of a $1 million donation from the Kids Heart Challenge, an initiative of the Cobb school district.
At the end of the night, Popefest attendees were treated to a fireworks show from Pyrotechnics, which recently staged fireworks in Washington for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Click the middle button below to view more photos.
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Chris Ragsdale said at a back-to school rally for teachers and staff that there are those “who think that we are doing the wrong thing by removing inappropriate sexually explicit materials who have chosen to run for the Board of Education.”
Cobb County School District Superintendent Chris Ragsdale has repeatedly defended decisions to remove sexually explicit books and other materials for the last few years, without reservation.
He tied the introduction of sexually explicit materials to young people with sex trafficking, and pushed back against critics who have accused the district of imposing book bans.
“What’s even more disturbing is that the environment that I just described—there are some of those very people who think that we are doing the wrong thing by removing these inappropriate sexually explicit materials who have chosen to run for the Board of Education,” Ragsdale said at the kickoff, which took place at Harrison High School.
“Make no mistake about it. It’s about the protection and safety of kids. Nothing having to do with politics. There is no room for disagreeing with what we’re doing. Somebody that disagrees with it has no business in education or anywhere around education, where there is responsibility of kids.”
Ragsdale didn’t mention anyone by name, but the Post 4 challenger Micheal Garza, a Democrat, came out swinging in response earlier this week.
He called Ragsdale’s speech a “tirade” that “was not only appalling in its content, but even more so in that he felt like this is what teachers needed to hear days before their first day of classes. Our teachers deserve a leader who doesn’t question their integrity because they don’t agree with the decisions he makes.”
Garza—who is trying to unseat Post 4 three-term Republican incumbent David Chastain—didn’t get much support when he posted those comments last weekend on his campaign’s Facebook page.
“Was his speech long winded? Yes. Should he have brought up politics? No. Is he perfect? No,” wrote a commenter who has been a Cobb teacher for 15 years. “But he has done an amazing job as superintendent. I feel supported with staff, supplies, trainings as well as the the money I am making.”
Another said that “I thank the good Lord for Ragsdale, who has the courage to stand against the forces that are eager to corrupt other people’s children. We must re-elect David Chastain. Sorry Garza, you are so wrong on this issue.”
After a contentious meeting in July in which some citizens complained of President Trump’s rally at Wheeler High School, tensions rose even higher Thursday during public comment at the Cobb Board of Education.
Ragsdale’s critics came out in strong force. Some read from social media comments from anonymous staff and teachers, or spoke on behalf of them “because they don’t feel safe speaking up for themselves.”
One of them is Katie Hearn, the mother of Hillgrove High School graduates, who told the board that “teachers are disheartened, and stunned by their superintendent’s lack of professionalism and leadership.”
She read from a comment from an unidentified teacher/staffer who claimed that Ragsdale’s “condescending remarks about a school board candidate” were “a conflict of interest in a speech meant to be inspirational.”
Laura Judge of East Cobb, who ran as a Democrat in 2024 for Post 5, told the board that “when taxpayer-funded events leave staff questioning the person leading them, our board should pay attention.”
At a Thursday night school board meeting, Ragsdale didn’t back down, repeating his comments about the need to purge sexually explicit materials.
He also said that “contrary to what it is now being suggested by some political campaigns, we do not fire educators simply because they read books to children.”
That was a swipe at Garza, who has been critical of the district’s decision to terminate former Due West Elementary School teacher Katie Rinderle in 2023.
She was the subject of a parental complaint for reading a book to her fifth-grade class about gender identity.
Ragsdale said she was fired “for making a decision for parents and intentionally elementary-age students to content with which which some families might disgree,” among other reasons.
He would up his comments by insisting that “I shall not be moved” and that “sexually explicit materials in schools is not a political issue, it is a student safety and protection issue.”
The district highlighted that comment in a release distributed after the meeting, as well as a statement from Chastain, the current school board vice chairman, that “we choose what’s best to nurture a young mind and to nurture a young heart.
“So yes, certain books are not permitted in the Cobb County School District, and that is because we’re thinking about protecting children.”
Chastain made similar remarks on Monday at a campaign fundraiser that included U.S. Rep. Clay Fuller, who told an audience at the Governor’s Gun Club that the school board race in Post 4 was “a fight of good vs. evil.”
At that event, Chastain touted Cobb as the “the largest conservative school district” on the country. “Family values and conservative principles are what guide us. This election is about maintaining that stability . . . that is how we ensure that students have a learning environment that is free from distraction.”
But on Thursday Garza noted that Ragsdale spoke about sexually explicit materials for 14 minutes during the school board meeting and only a few seconds about an incident at Campbell Middle School in which a student was found with a gun.
(Ragsdale said he couldn’t say much because of an ongoing “multi-state investigation” and that the student in question is in custody “and will face the full consequences.”)
Garza countered that “our students don’t need to be protected from books. They need to be protected from the growing epidemic of gun violence in our schools and communities. Our families are worried about it. Our teachers are worried about it.
“Those are the conversations that we should be having. But we’re not having them because of this board—a board that fails to hold our Superintendent and district accountable. We can change that with one single race in November.”
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Nationally, their ratings were No. 375 and No. 436, respectively, among more than 27,000 public high schools that were evaluated.
Walton also was ranked No. 77 nationlly among charter schools and Wheeler High School was ranked No. 46 across the country in a listing of top STEM high schools.
“The 2026-2027 Best High Schools national rankings identify top public schools based on six key performance indicators, including student achievement on state-required assessments, strong graduation rates and college readiness measures. Schools are evaluated on how effectively they serve all students, including underserved populations, with college readiness specifically measured through student participation and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams. The rankings consider curriculum breadth and overall student outcomes as well.”
The Georgia rankings include 522 schools and are led by the Gwinnett school of Mathematics, Science and Technology, which is at No. 7 nationally. Most of the state Top 10 are specialty magnet or charter schools in metro Atlanta.
Among the other East Cobb high schools, Pope is ranked No. 25 in Georgia and No. 823 across the country, followed by Wheeler at No. 54 and No. 1,859 respectively, Sprayberry (89 and 2,991) and Kell (92, 3,197).
In the Cobb County School District, Kennesaw Mountain, Hillgrove and Harrison followed Walton, Lassiter and Pope, and Wheeler came in at No. 7.
We’ve posted links to the rankings by creating a required free account; if you cannot access those links on this post let us know and we’ll try to get the information you’re looking for.
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The following letter was submitted by Wes Jackson, a Cobb County School District parent, to the Cobb Board of Education and Superintendent, and also was sent to East Cobb News and other media outlets. Jackson has children attending Dodgen Middle School and Mt. Bethel Elementary School in East Cobb.
The firm also made contributions to Republican members of the Cobb school board in 2024 elections via three political action committees it controlled that the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission determined exceeded contribution limits.
Those board members—John Cristadoro, Randy Scamihorn and Brad Wheeler—returned some of those contributions after the commission determined that the PACs were bundled together from the same source. One of those entities, Business Supporting Schools Inc., was fined $5,000 for campaign finance violations.
Jackson told East Cobb News he “sent this letter solely as a concerned parent with several children in Cobb County schools. My law firm had no role in or knowledge of my letter as I was speaking only in my personal capacity. I do not do any legal work with the Cobb County School District.”
We have added a photo of the book that is the subject of the letter and related links for the public’s reference:
Dear Board Members and Superintendent Ragsdale:
I am a Cobb County resident and parent of four current Cobb County public school students. (We have one more who will start kindergarten at Mt. Bethel ES soon.)
My eldest has participated twice in the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl. She enjoyed it very much, and I think it is so important that we teach our children to love reading.
That being said, I recently learned that one of HRRB’s selected books for middle schoolers for the 2027 competition is “The Queen Bees of Tybee County,” by Kyle Casey Chu. Mr. Chu is a self-avowed “drag queen” and “founding member” of Drag Queen Story Hour [author’s website].
I have read his book, and it is exactly what you would expect: a narrative designed to introduce children to “drag culture.”
Respectfully, I do not believe this type of literature should be promoted through Cobb County’s extracurricular reading programs.
I invited the HRRB president to discuss my concerns, but was unable to connect with her. I hope that each of you will give serious consideration to whether “Drag Queen Story Hour” has a place in Cobb County Schools.
I would welcome the opportunity to discuss my concerns with each of you further.
Thank you for your time and consideration. More importantly, thank you for the challenging task of maintaining such an excellent school system for our children. I am continually impressed with your work as a Board and our local schools.
Go Panthers and Buccaneers!
Regards,
Wes Jackson
Editor’s Note: Members of the public are welcome to send Letters to the Editor to East Cobb News on topics of interest to the community. Please e-mail [email protected]. We recommend keeping letters to around 500 words maximum. Contributions may be lightly edited for accuracy and style and to include related links.
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The Cobb Board of Education on Thursday will get an annual demographic update to be presented during its August work session.
The work session takes place starting at 3 p.m., and will be followed by an executive session and a voting session at 7 p.m.
All meetings take place in the board room of the Cobb County School District Central Office, at 514 Glover St. in Marietta. The combined agenda for the public meetings can be found at this link.
The public meetings will be streamed live and you can watch on Comcast Cable or on a livestream on the district’s Boxcast Channel.
The Cobb County School District contracts with Education Planners, a private Marietta company run by a former Cobb school superintendent, and that provides demographic updates on an annual basis.
Education Planners takes data from the Atlanta Regional Commission, Cobb building permits, live birth numbers and other sources to project long-term enrollment to help Cobb school district officials plan for school construction needs.
Last May, Education Planners founder James Wilson provided a demographic update that projected selected growth “in pockets” of the county.
Those include most school attendance zones in South Cobb, in Smyrna-Cumberland-Vinings and the Town Center-KSU area as well around Wheeler High in East Cobb, where apartments abound and many schools are well over capacity.
A figure in that presentation showing that more apartment units have been approved in Cobb County since 2006 than any other jurisdiction in metro Atlanta prompted a lengthy, sharp response from Cobb superintendent Chris Ragsdale, who called the numbers “more than disturbing . . . that is alarming.”
He said that an increase in this trend will “continue to have a detrimental impact on schools’ performance, whether they’re perceived or real.”
Ragsdale went on for a good while about high-density zoning and mentioned how such growth has led to split sessions. Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid invited the district to a “stakeholders” meeting during the week of high school graduations.
Last week, the Atlanta Regional Commission said that the area added more than 53,000 new residents in the last year, with only 3,600 coming to Cobb County.
At the Thursday night board meeting, a number of recognitions will involve students at schools in East Cobb.
They include the state championship baseball team from Kell, the girls state track and field champions from Pope and the girls state tennis champions from Walton, as well as individual athletes winning state championships in the spring.
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Twelve students attending high schools in East Cobb have been named to the 2026-27 class of Cobb Youth Leadership, “a development program sponsored by the Leadership Cobb Alumni Association and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta that focuses on developing leadership skills through interactive participation,” according to a release from the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.
CYL was created by the Chamber in 1989 and the selected students are high school juniors who began the application process as sophomores. Around 60 students are chosen each year, and here’s what they do during the school year:
“Through six evening programs during the course of the school year participants in the CYL program are introduced to local, state, and national leaders. They also receive information on the responsibility, ethics, and tools for effective leadership, as well as potential career paths for after graduation.”
The following CYL class members are from East Cobb:
Johnson Ferry Christian Academy: Brooks Baughman
Lassiter High School: Niyamat Kaur, Grace Qian
Pope High School: Callie Cochran, Maret Dickerson
Sprayberry High School: Alex Duke
Walton High School: Ryan Ghiai, Colton Green, Zach Pila
Cobb Youth Leadership also is sponsored by Kennesaw State University, Maranie Brown and Family, Marietta Wrecker, and Six Flags Over Georgia.
For more information about Cobb Youth Leadership, contact Katie Guice at (770) 859-2334 or [email protected].
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Micheal Garza said his campaign donors are mostly local, reflecting “an indication of strong grassroots support from teachers, community members, and parents of students in our schools.”
With partisan control of the Cobb Board of Education at stake in the November elections, leaders of the Republican Party that holds on to a slim majority are taking aim at the candidate who’s vowing to change all that.
Democrat Michael Garza is challenging three-term Republican incumbent David Chastain in the Post 4 race in Northeast Cobb, which includes the Kell, Lassiter and Sprayberry attendance zones.
The GOP holds a 4-3 majority on the school board in Cobb, which once was heavily Republican. But Democrats control the Cobb Board of Commissioners and the Cobb legislative delegation and occupy all countywide offices.
The Post 4 race is the only contested campaign for the Cobb school board in the general election, as Smyrna-area Democratic incumbents Becky Sayler and Nichelle Davis have no Republican opponents.
On Monday, the current and several former Cobb Republican Party chairs, as well as state GOP leaders, issued a press release demanding that Garza return several thousand dollars in campaign contributions from his biggest individual donor.
That donor is Michael Tafelski, an East Cobb resident who is a supervising attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center, who’s contributed $6,000 to Garza’s campaign.
The SPLC, which has filed several suits against the Cobb County School District on a variety of matters, recently was indicted by a federal grand jury for wire fraud and other charges.
The SPLC is alleged to have donated more than $3 million to informants within violent and extremist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Nations, while raising money to to dismantle them. A former SPLC employee has been arrested in connection with allegations in the indictment.
In Monday’s release (you can read it here) the Georgia and Cobb GOP leaders said that “Cobb County voters deserve to know whether [Garza] supports the Southern Poverty Law Center’s agenda or whether he will return the money and publicly distance himself from the conduct alleged in the federal indictment.”
Among the signatories is Georgia Republican Party chairman Josh McKoon, Cobb Republican Party chairwoman Mary Clarice Hathaway and her predecessors, including Salleigh Grubbs, Jason Shepherd, Scott Johnson and Rose Wing.
Post 4 Republican incumbent David Chastain said that “we must not start chasing the newest unproven instructional fads.”
Garza told East Cobb News Tuesday he has no intention of returning Tafelski’s donations and stressed the local nature of what he calls his “grassroots” campaign.
“Mr. Tafelski is a parent of a child in Cobb County schools and a well respected volunteer within the community,” Garza said.
“He’s not been accused of a crime, and his employer has no bearing on the donation he made in a personal capacity. It does not disqualify him from being able to have a say in the direction of his child’s educational experience.”
East Cobb News also has left a message with Tafelski seeking comment.
Garza, who’s active in the Keheley Elementary School PTA and the East Cobb County Council of PTAs, said his campaign has received 283 individual donations, and only one from an organization. That’s a $2,000 check from the political action committee of the Cobb County Association of Educators.
According to a financial disclosure report filed last week (you can read it here) Garza has raised $42,000 and has $16,000 cash on hand.
Garza said it was telling that the GOP letter is “another in a series of outside political distractions being brought into our county that have nothing to do with our public schools.
“Our families can’t afford to have leaders who care more about retaining power for a political party than they care about actually serving the students in our community.”
Chastain, the current Cobb school board vice chairman, was not among those signatories.
Late last month, he sent out a campaign newsletter entitled “Cobb County Schools—Town Hall Newsletter” and said that “I will continue my pledge to always protect parents’ right to guide their own children.”
The parental rights’ issue has been cited repeatedly by Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale—whose most vocal critics include Garza—on such issues as removal of school books deemed inappropriate for minors.
Without being specific, Chastain also said in the newsletter that “we must not start chasing the newest unproven instructional fads.”
Last week, a video message called for the need to “stay away from distractions and keep other things from the outside from affecting how we manage our children and support our teachers.”
According to Chastain’s financial disclosure statement (you can read it here) he has raised $29,000 with $17,000 cash on hand.
He’s having a fundraiser next week on Monday at the Governor’s Gun Club in Kennesaw with U.S. Rep. Clay Fuller.
Cobb Democrats are having a “special meeting” Saturday morning called “Cobb School Board and You” at Bridge Pointe Church in Marietta.
On Saturday afternoon, Garza will be involved in a “Flip the Cobb School Board” canvassing session from 1-4 p.m. at Noonday Park.
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“This year, National PTA honored 321 local PTAs and schools as 2025-2027 National PTA Schools of Excellence for building partnerships between families and their schools that enrich the educational experience and overall well-being of all students,” the ECCC PTA message stated.
Lindse Parsons, co-president of the Mountain View PTA, told East Cobb News that “I just felt it shines a great light on our East Cobb area and the level of volunteering and engagement in our schools!”
More detailed information and criteria about the National PTA School of Excellence program can be found by clicking here.
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The 2026 Georgia Milestones test results were released this week, minus some important categories of metrics.
The Georgia Department of Education has been revising its standards for Reading and English Language Arts, and is delaying release of those test scores until November.
At the middle and high school levels, East Cobb News has been breaking down 8th grade English Language Arts and the four subject-area high school tests.
For the Georgia Milestones assessments, students are tested in grades 3-8 in English Language Arts, reading and math, in grades 5-8 in those subjects plus science, and all those subjects plus social studies in grade 8.
Those are formally called End of Grade Assessments.
High school students are tested in American Literature, algebra, biology and U.S. history under what’s called the End of Course Assessments.
A total of 20 different assessments are measured at the end of each semester, as well as the end of the school year.
Students are categorized in one of four levels, based on those test scores: Level 1 is Beginning Learner, Level 2 is a Developing Learner, Level 3 is a Proficient Learner and Level 4 is Distinguished Learner.
Here’s the link to the Georgia Milestones dashboard, but a warning: There is a massive amount of information and instructions on how to use it.
Broader state education data, including district- and school-level test results, can be found at this link.
The 8th grade math scores at elementary schools in East Cobb (see the table at the bottom of this post) show a variety of differences from 2025.
What the tables below do not show—again because of state delays—are 8th grade English Language Arts and high school American literature and composition. That testing data will be available in November, according to the Georgia Department of Education.
Schools in East Cobb reported some of the highest figures in the Cobb County School District.
According to a Cobb school district release, 82 percent of all students tested at 82 percent in proficiency levels and above, the highest for a large district in metro Atlanta.
At Lassiter that figure was 94 percent, and at Pope and Walton, those figures were at 90 percent.
At Simpson Middle School, 98.7 of the students taking the Milestones tests were deemed proficient learners and above in social studies, while that metric was 97.9 percent at Dodgen and 97.5 at Hightower Trail.
The downloadable school-level spring 2026 End of Course spreadsheets contain all results by high school name, grade and subject.
The spring 2026 End of Grade spreadsheets include elementary and middle school results by individual school name, grade and subject as well.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
More than 90 percent of 5th graders at Sope Creek ES are proficient or better in math, the best figure in the Cobb County School District.
The 2026 Georgia Milestones test results were released this week, minus some important categories of metrics.
The Georgia Department of Education has been revising its standards for Reading and English Language Arts, and is delaying release of those test scores until November.
At the elementary school level, East Cobb News has been breaking down 3rd grade reading and 5th grade math in the years since COVID-19 disruptions, and this report will focus on the latter.
For the Georgia Milestones assessments, students are tested in grades 3-8 in English Language Arts, reading and math, in grades 5-8 in those subjects plus science, and all those subjects plus social studies in grade 8.
Those are formally called End of Grade Assessments.
High school students are tested in American Literature, algebra, biology and U.S. history under what’s called the End of Course Assessments.
A total of 20 different assessments are measured at the end of each semester, as well as the end of the school year.
Students are categorized in one of four levels, based on those test scores: Level 1 is Beginning Learner, Level 2 is a Developing Learner, Level 3 is a Proficient Learner and Level 4 is Distinguished Learner.
Here’s the link to the Georgia Milestones dashboard, but a warning: There is a massive amount of information and instructions on how to use it.
Broader state education data, including district- and school-level test results, can be found at this link.
The 5th grade math scores at elementary schools in East Cobb (see the table at the bottom of this post) show a variety of differences from 2025 (you can see that graphic at this link).
At Sope Creek Elementary School, 90 percent of the 181 5th graders taking the Milestones are considered proficient or above. That’s the highest number in the Cobb County School District, and 10 percentage points higher at Sope Creek than in 2025.
Students at seven elementary schools in East Cobb have distinguished learning rates in 5th grade math at 40 percent or above, and Sope Creek, Timber Ridge, Tritt and Mt. Bethel have more than 50 percent testing at that level or above.
The Cobb school district reports that nearly 60 percent of more than 7,600 students testing for 5th grade math were at profiency level or above, and 22.8 percent are distinguished learners.
Those benchmarks are higher than the statewide averages of 44.1 percent and 16.9, respectively.
The downloadable school-level spring 2026 End of Grade spreadsheets contain all results by school name, grade and subject.
On that spreadsheet, you search through grades 3-8 math scores in individual assessment categories. As we noted at the top, the Reading and English Language Arts results will be released in November.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Walton HS is among the top public high schools in Georgia, according to 2026 Niche rankings.
Several schools at all grade levels in East Cobb have been listed as some of the best in Georgia, according to a prominent education ranking service.
The Niche.com 2026 Best Schools in Georgia update came out on July 31, and Walton and Lassiter are among the Top 25 in the high school rankings.
Walton is at No. 9 and Lassiter is at No. 24, according to the Niche Georgia public high school rankings, which are compiled with a variety of data from the U.S. Department of Education, students reviews and other indicators.
According to the Niche website, its rankings also include factors relating to culture and diversity, teacher quality, clubs and activities, resources and facilities and sports.
As for the Cobb County School District overall, the Niche rankings have assigned an “A” score, with A or A- scores in most categories.
That comes to No. 15 among public school districts in the state, and tops among the larger districts. Gwinnett is No. 18, Fulton County No. 19 and Marietta City Schools are No. 24.
To look at a map of Cobb County schools and to view individual school profiles, click here.
You can also go to the Niche.com main page and search for any school or school district for customized information.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
“More than backpacks were handed. Families found encouragement. Children found joy. Neighbors became community,” Together with Families’ Sarah Donegan said.
“With backpacks, school supplies, free health screenings, driver’s education, bike giveaways, food, games and dozens of volunteers, the event helped families start the school year feeling supported and connected.
“Thank you to every sponsor, volunteer, partner and donor who made the day possible. When a community shows up for families, everyone is stronger.”
The backpacks included school supplies and families enjoyed food and refreshments, music, games and a community celebration.
Click the middle button below to view more photos.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The Cobb County School District accused Cobb County Government of a “money grab” over tax collection fees.
Cobb County Government said Monday that a mediation meeting last week with the Cobb County School District to resolve a lawsuit over tax collection fees came to an impasse.
In an unsigned statement, the county said that after the July 31 meeting, and noting that it “mediated in good faith, a resolution was not reached.”
The statement didn’t detail the reasons, and the case continues in Cobb Superior Court. The county statement added added only that “our responsibility is to protect the taxpayers of Cobb County and maintain the level of services that they have come to expect.”
On June 30, Cobb Superior Court Judge Julie Jacobs ordered the parties to appear before Judge Stephen Schuster in a mediation hearing, according to court filings.
The county was sued in Cobb Superior Court on June 15 by the Cobb school district, which alleged that the county has improperly billed the district more than $130 million in administrative fees over the last 15 years to collect school taxes that are then turned over to the school district.
The lawsuit (you can read it here) claims that the county unlawfully raised the collection fee amount from 1.6 percent to 2.5 percent of what it collects for the school district, both in property taxes and the Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Taxes (SPLOST) for education.
The school district claims a state law, Local Act 240, should prevail. That states that all education funds since 2011 should be directed to the school district without any fees.
The total the county is charging the Cobb school district for tax collections for fiscal year 2027—which began on July 1—is $20 million.
John Floresta, Chief Strategy and Accountability Officer for the Cobb school district, issued the following statement when asked for a response about the mediation meeting by East Cobb News.
“Whether it’s $13 million or $20 million, and whether it’s called a tax on top of taxes or a “fee,” taking even one dollar that taxpayers intended for students doesn’t work for our Board or our Superintendent. This week, our teachers and staff welcomed students back to school, and our focus remains where it belongs—on educating children. That same focus drives this lawsuit. Our teachers already serve students at one of the lowest per-pupil costs in the metro area, and we’re committed to protecting the taxpayer dollars intended for their classrooms. This lawsuit says enough is enough.”
Cobb government has contended that current Georgia law allows for the 2.5 percent collection fee, and “that, due to no current local legislation setting the commission rate lower, the commission rate should be 2.5 percent.”
The county’s actions, the district said in its initial release, constitute “a money-grab, from classrooms, for absolutely no reason, other than the presumed hope of ending the senior school tax exemption or forcing a tax increase on Cobb homeowners.”
On July 17, the Cobb school district filed a motion for a partial summary judgment; a mediation notice was filed on July 20 setting the July 31 date.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
