Cobb citizens group to protest ‘pornography in Cobb schools’

A group of citizens who say they’re “taking a stand against pornography in Cobb schools” will hold a press conference Thursday before a Cobb Board of Education meeting.

An e-mail from an account called “takingAstandcobb” said the press conference will start at 5 p.m. at the Cobb County School District Central Office, 514 Glover Street, in Marietta and that two school board members will be present.

A follow-up message in response to a question from East Cobb News identified those school board members as Randy Scamihorn and Brad Wheeler, the current and most recent chairmen. Both are Republicans who are up for re-election in November.

When East Cobb News asked for information about “takingAstandcobb,” the response indicated that “we are a group of Cobb Citizens that have fully researched the book contents, and believe the public has a right to be fully informed.”

No names were disclosed.

The message also said that a representative from Gays Against Groomers will be on hand for the press conference.

It’s a national organization that is “fighting back from inside the community against the sexualization, indoctrination and medicalization of children happening under the guise of “LGBTQIA+,” according to its website.

That also includes opposition to “queer theory and gender ideology being taught in the classroom.”

Those issues have been the subject of controversy in the Cobb school district for the last year.

The district has removed 20 books because of what Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said include sexually explicit, lewd, obscene and vulgar content that aren’t appropriate for children.

Cobb schools also fired a Due West Elementary School teacher last year for reading a book to her fifth-grade students about a boy who questions his gender identity. The district said that was a violation of a new “divisive concepts” law in education in Georgia.

The teacher, Katie Rinderle, is suing the district.

At the same time, those protesting the book removals have said the objections from the district are largely due to LGBTQ content.

But at a school board meeting in August, East Cobb resident JoEllen Smith read from books that complained explicit content.

Her remarks were not aired on the district’s livestream due to “federal regulations” because of their explicit nature.

Later, Smith said that “there are hundreds of pro-LBGT books that don’t include kiddie porn. And it’s unfairly conflating homosexuality to pedophilia which is stigmatizing our gay youth.”

The Cobb school board will hold a work session at 3 p.m. Thursday and a voting meeting at 7 p.m., with an executive session in between.

You can view the agendas for the public meetings by clicking here.

The open meetings also will be live-streamed on the Cobb County School District’s BoxCast channel and on CobbEdTV, Comcast Channel 24.

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