Cobb school superintendent Chris Ragsdale said Thursday he will make a detailed school safety presentation to the public in October.
During a Cobb Board of Education meeting Thursday, he said that while “I will not identify systems and structures designed to keep our students, teachers, and staff safe,” additional safety measures will be announced next month.
His comments (full video here) come in the wake of the deadly shootings at Apalachee High School in Winder earlier this month, and following calls from local citizens for more open discussion of safety measures in the Cobb County School District.
Ragsdale was responding in particular to demands that board member Tre’ Hiutchins’ previous attempts to put such a discussion on the agenda be reconsidered.
But he said that “I fully appreciate the desire to know and the frustration that you cannot. However, law enforcement and school safety experts repeatedly caution that school safety plans should not be discussed in public—ever.”
He said the Cobb school district spends $35 million a year on student and staff safety, including the efforts of an 81-officer district police department.
“Our Board receives briefings in executive session, Ragsdale said, adding that he told the board on Thursday “of expanded threat assessment and abatement measures that we are investigating in a more detailed discussion. Following the Board’s input, I anticipate bringing a PUBLIC presentation on those aspects we can share without endangering students and staff of those measures during next month’s Board meeting.”
In addition to the Apalachee reaction, the district said it has received more than 60 reports of threats, none of which posed an actual threat to a Cobb school campus.
They included Dickerson Middle School last week and at Walton High School on Tuesday, which was on a brief lockdown after a report of a bomb that the district said “was not an active threat.”
In reference to those incidents, Ragsdale said that “we do not consider any threat ‘false’ until we are confident it is false. And also, please know we do not consider these false threats as pranks and every threat is reported to law enforcement and will likely result in both serious school discipline and criminal prosecution.”
Hutchins’ proposal would add non-certified school support officers and install weapons detection devices at schools and for large events.
For parent Melissa Marten, a frequent critic of Cobb school district, Ragsdale’s pledges weren’t satisfactory.
“All we’ve been asking for is an open discussion for you to consider any and all things that could keep our kids safe,” she said during a public comment Thursday night, “and an acknowledgement of the fear we live with every day. But you refuse.”
Marten asked how would a parent know about how the district’s emergency tip line was being monitored and responded to, and she claimed Ragsdale is “incapable” of extending empathy.
“Whose tips would you take seriously, and whose would you blow off?” Whether the reported threats are real or not, she continued, “it’s taking a toll.”
During his prepared remarks, Ragsdale said that “in general terms, our school safety measures are among the most comprehensive and layered in the State of Georgia.”
He added that “in times less troubled than these, this Board has endured loud and organized opposition to police presence on campus, armed police, safety drills, and even crisis response systems. Despite these critics and criticism, this Board has put the safety of students first.”
Before the meeting Thursday, the district said that students taking part in school walkouts to protest gun violence would be facing suspensions. A special assembly was held Friday morning without incident at the Wheeler High School football stadium to honor the Apalachee victims.
Related:
- Cobb schools remove six more books from libraries
- Cobb schools: Walton HS bomb report ‘not an active threat’
- Cobb school board chairman responds to safety concerns
- Dickerson MS student facing criminal charges for threats
- Walton, Wheeler students headline initial 2025 National Merit semifinalists
- Tritt ES staff member hospitalized after HVAC fire
- Cobb teachers train on virtual STEM prisms tool
- Here’s what you didn’t hear about Cobb school book removals
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