The Cobb County School District was to have kicked off a series of educational sessions about school safety later this month with an in-person public meeting at Hillgrove High School.
But the district announced Friday—due to safety reasons, of all things—that series is being postponed.
Instead, the district will offer those sessions online, with dates and details of the first seminar to be announced later. The Hillgrove town hall had been scheduled for next Monday, April 28.
“After being briefed about violence in other townhalls in our community, we have decided to postpone a series of educational seminars about school safety,” the district said near the bottom of a posting about the sessions, which will now be all-digital.
“While not directly associated with our schools, intentional disruption and acts of violence do not allow for effective communication with you and have a significant impact on the well-being of our entire county.”
The announcement Friday did not mention other incidents, but it follows a contentious town hall meeting in Acworth this week by U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, at which three people were arrested and six others were escorted out.
One of those persons also was Tasered by police in front of the town hall crowd, which was limited to constituents in Greene’s district that includes Northwest Cobb.
The arrested individuals were charged with misdemeanor obstruction, battery and disorderly conduct. Local Democrats have said the people arrested and ushered out have had their First Amendment rights violated and that police used excessive force.
Greene, a Republican and a supporter of President Donald Trump, said the disruptive citizens were properly dealt with (see video at bottom).
The Cobb school district is undertaking a variety of safety initiatives in the wake of a deadly shooting last year at Apalachee High School.
In October the district hired a private security firm with former intelligence and military officials to provide what it calls proactive solutions to address not only potential active-shooter situations but also gang activity, cyberviolence and other safety threats.
Two canine detection teams also will be employed, with another security firm training CCSD officers to work with the dogs who can identify “person-worn or concealed-carried explosives and firearms.”
Friday’s posting by the district explained some of those initiatives, and further said in explaining the switch to virtual safety sessions that “we have experienced disruptions during similar District events and look forward to a time when we can listen and learn together, safely.”
The district wasn’t specific about disruptions at its own events, but some citizens have been removed from Cobb Board of Education meetings in recent years during public comment sessions.
In 2022, some citizens protested a decision by the school board to hire armed, non-police professionals to provide school security.
And last year, two parents filed a lawsuit against the Cobb school district over a scuffle while trying to sign up for a public comment session at a school board meeting in 2023.
In recent months, the district has enacted a policy that requires all attendees at school board meetings to pass through an electronic security screening system.
The Cobb school board meets on Thursday with the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget to be presented.
Related:
- Cobb school board, commission to start FY 2026 budget process
- East Cobb resident named to Ga. charter schools commission
- Cobb school district police chief dies
- Lassiter, Walton, Wheeler students named Georgia Scholars
- LGE Community Credit Union announces 2025 scholarship program
- Cobb Schools Foundation honors 2025 volunteers of the year
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