The Cobb Board of Education met for only 20 minutes Tuesday to elect officers for the 2020 calendar year, but most of it was taken up with the explosive charge by one member that the process for doing so isn’t above board.
“Something stinks,” second-year board member Jaha Howard said after the board’s Republican majority voted 4-2 for fellow party member Brad Wheeler to serve as chairman.
Another Republican, David Banks of East Cobb, was voted vice chairman in a similar fashion and by a similar vote.
Both votes were conducted without any board discussion at its annual organizational meeting.
Howard, who represents the Campbell and Osborne clusters in South Cobb, nominated his fellow Democrat, Charisse Davis, of the Walton and Wheeler clusters. But they were the only two votes for her in a series of votes strictly along party lines.
The board’s other Democrat, David Morgan, was not in attendance.
The four Republicans are all white males and the three Democrats are black. Davis is the only woman on the seven-member board.
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After the votes for Wheeler and Banks prevailed, Howard lashed out, saying “everything is behind closed doors” pertaining to board discussions about officers before the meeting, and that the activity in open session is “vote, hurry and go on.”
He said that in communicating with colleagues before the vote about nominating Davis—also starting her second year on the board—he was troubled to hear familiar concerns about her, including a lack of experience.
“These reasons keep coming up,” Howard said.
“What is it? Is it gender bias? Is is racial bias? Is it a political party bias? . . . The public deserves to hear why you’re choosing somebody.”
Shortly after taking the gavel, Wheeler said that for each individual board member, “that’s their call” on how they vote.
“I’ve been in this situation before. It’s who the board majority has confidence in.”
In brief comments, Davis noted that while “the vote is the vote,” this is the fourth consecutive year that either Wheeler or David Chastain, last year’s chairman, has served as chairman.
Howard, who touched off controversy last year that resulted in the board voting to ban members’ public comments, said that “most efforts to have more conversations in the light of day seem to be frowned upon.”
Republican board member Randy Scamihorn said he’s not heard from Howard or Davis about their concerns. He said that his decisions on voting for officers are “personal” and that “I try to to make it for the betterment of the board and school district.”
Wheeler, last year’s board vice-chairman, pledged to work with all board members and said that “I think this position represents our best collectively.”
After the board meeting, Davis wrote on her Facebook page that “seemingly everyone who has expressed an interest in being chair over the years, except Mr. Morgan, has been chosen. This includes newly sworn-in members, women, non-educators, and even a Democrat that served some years ago.
“However, in a district comprised of 62.6% students of color, there has never been a person of color chosen as chair. It’ll happen.”
Wheeler, who represents the Harrison, Hillgrove and McEachern clusters, is one of four board members up for re-election in 2020, along with Banks (Pope and Lassiter), Scamihorn (Allatoona, Kennesaw Mountain and North Cobb) and Morgan (Pebblebrook and South Cobb).
The board also approved its 2020 meeting schedule, and changed those dates from the third Wednesday to the third Thursday of the month, with a few exceptions.
The first regular work session and business meeting for the school board take place on Jan. 16.
The rest of the 2020 school board meeting schedule can be found here.
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