Cobb County School District Superintendent Chris Ragsdale received a one-year extension to his current contract Thursday to run through Feb. 28, 2027.
The Cobb Board of Education voted 4-3 along party lines to offer the extension to a contract that will continue to pay Ragsdale, who has been superintendent since 2015, a salary of $350,000 a year.
The board’s four Republicans voted in favor, the three Democrats against, following an executive session, but didn’t discuss the matter at the voting meeting Thursday night.
Ragsdale thanked the board for the “vote of confidence” but didn’t elaborate. He later launched into scathing remarks against those critical of the district’s handling of a Feb. 1 shooting in the parking lot of McEachern High School that prompted two town hall meetings.
Two former students were shot and two current students were arrested during the incident, which didn’t extend into the school buildings.
Some citizens called for public meetings to be held on school safety plans, and others wanted the removal of McEachern principal Regina Montgomery.
But Ragsdale said that the details of those plans are discussed in executive session and are not allowed to be made public. He stood by Montgomery, and said there’s a safety plan for every school, including McEachern, and that it was followed on that day.
“I find it disturbing, but not surprising, that the same people and political groups who spoke against increased security measures in our schools . . . are now the very same people screaming the loudest about not having enough resource officers.”
At that point, some in the audience began interrupting, and one person was removed from the room.
“Please sit down and quit being rude and let us conduct our business,” board chairman Randy Scamihorn said.
Ragsdale continued that “you can continue to come at me with all of your lies, but do not come after my teachers, my principals or my team. They’re all too far and work too high to stoop to your level.”
Before the vote, some critics—wearing shirts that read “No Confidence in Ragsdale”—spoke out against him, complaining mostly about the McEachern situation and efforts they allege the district made to restrict public commenters at the September board meetings and that created what they said was a chaotic situation.
“This was dangerous, and they are lucky no one was seriously injured,” said Melissa Marten, leader of a group called the Cobb Community Care Coalition, which has been critical of the district on a number of issues, including what it contends is an “acceleration of racism, bigotry, and censorship in Cobb County School District.”
“We demand accountability for putting our safety at risk and for district employees wasting our tax dollars and spending their time orchestrating potential violence.
“How can we have safe schools when our schools are run by people like this?” Marten said. “The problem is right here in this room looking at you right now.”
Also on Thursday, the Cobb school board voted to approve a “guaranteed maximum price” of $14.5 million for the Sprayberry High School main campus building replacement project, and to spend $9.328 million for renovations at Blackwell Elementary School on Canton Road.
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