Letter to the Editor: Drag queen author’s book in Reading Bowl

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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.Letter to the Editor: Drag queen author’s book in Reading Bowl

Jackson is a partner with Freeman, Mathis and Gary LLP, a Cobb-based law firm which has represented the Cobb County School District on redistricting matters.

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 have written an (admittedly long) analysis of the book, the selection process, and what it means for Cobb County families: https://sites.google.com/view/qbtc-review/home.)

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.

6 thoughts on “Letter to the Editor: Drag queen author’s book in Reading Bowl”

  1. No problem with selecting which books should be in CCPS as long as the standards are applied equally. Of course that means the bible must be banned due to its extreme sexual content.

    Reply

  2. We should be treating the mentally ill with compassion and care, not trying to indoctrinate children into their sick fantasy world.

    Reply

  3. I read the following disgusting passage in a book I found in the library of a CCSD school:

    “She became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled”

    Why are our children being exposed to such filth in Cobb County School???

    Reply

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