The Cobb County school board chairman has used district resources a second time to lobby against a county-wide transit expansion referendum on next month’s ballot — a move that’s again being criticized for violating state laws against publicly-funded advocacy.
In the latest “Just the Facts” letter from Randy Scamihorn, the board chairman argued, without evidence, that the proposed tax for public transit and transit-related projects would “negatively impact our schools” by increasing the number of students who transfer from one school to another.
“And before anyone goes complaining about politics in education, this is a great example of how who makes policy decisions affects your day-to-day life,” Scamihorn wrote in the letter that is posted on the school district website. “Why should anyone support dramatic changes to Cobb County that might make that problem even worse?”
A spokeswoman for the district also shared the letter in a mass email on Oct. 18. Scamihorn’s first letter addressing the transit tax, sent in a district newsletter on Feb. 2, was also posted on the school district’s website.
Georgia law prohibits governmental agencies from using public money to support or oppose any political activity. Elected officials are further prohibited from spending public money to advocate for tax referendums.
Scamihorn defended his comments this week in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“I categorically deny that I was even breaking the spirit of the law, let alone the law,” he said, adding that as a school board member, “we have a responsibility to continue to inform our county citizens about what is happening in the school system.”
“Nobody complains when we report that we have the highest test scores in the state … but it’s odd that they want to complain when we speak the truth about an issue that comes before our Cobb County taxpayers and our parents that are sending kids to school,” he said.
Credit: Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
District spokeswoman Nan Kiel did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Scamihorn’s letter also criticized a proposal before county commissioners to allow accessory dwelling units — smaller homes built on the same lot as existing single-family homes. Those units are seen as a way of alleviating housing shortages.
“Children need stability and consistency to learn well, not more housing options, which could see more children moving more often,” he wrote in the same letter.
His letter did not provide any evidence backing up either claim. When asked why he thinks public transportation will increase student transfers, Scamihorn said he “extrapolated” that view and believes there is an overlap between places with more public transportation options and schools in the Atlanta metro with high transfer rates.
He said his letter “wasn’t meant to be a research paper.”
Scamihorn said he does not believe his letter advocated against the referendum that would use a penny sales tax to expand transit county-wide.
“What I think it does is states our position as a school system and as a school board,” he said.
Scamihorn, a Republican who was first elected to the school board in 2013, is seeking re-election this November. He is running against Democrat Vickie Benson. She did not immediately return a request for comment.
Edward Queen, a faculty member at Emory University’s Center for Ethics, said Scamihorn’s messages are problematic.
“Using a publicly-funded forum, such as a school district website, to support or oppose a ballot measure, raises several ethical concerns,” Queen said, adding that Scamihorn’s message could be seen as “intimidating and potentially coercive” to employees.
Efforts to expand transit have been politically contentious for more than half a century in both Cobb and Gwinnett counties, which have both put forward new proposals that will be decided at the ballot next month. Opponents have previously said transit will bring “the wrong people” to the suburbs.
This election cycle has been no less fraught.
Scamihorn’s first letter, which said the transit tax would “increase the transience of students and families from the metro, into and out of Cobb,” was published even before county commissioners decided to put the issue on the ballot. In Gwinnett, the county’s legal department sent a message to commissioners earlier this month advising them against lobbying for or against the referendum.
“As a bright line rule intended to avoid even the appearance of impropriety and to defend against any claim that you violated this restriction, I have advised that you should not tell voters how to vote on the transit referendum,” a county attorney wrote.
The warning from attorneys came after Matthew Holtkamp, the only Republican on the five-member Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, posted videos to his “Matthew for Gwinnett” political social media pages urging people to vote “no.” In one video, he stands on a Ride Gwinnett bus. Holtkamp posted a mobile receipt for bus fare as an argument that he used his own resources and not public funds.
Ross Cavitt, a Cobb County spokesman, said the county’s position on Scamihorn’s letters and advocacy has not changed. After the first letter, the county condemned his language as “incendiary, vague and misleading.”
“It’s improper to use taxpayer funds to promote the messaging of an individual politician, but that’s a school board decision,” Cavitt said this week. “It’s not something we would allow here at the county.”
Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid said Scamihorn’s comments show a lack of respect for his fellow elected officials.
“I think it shows poor judgment critiquing a body that serves the same public community, knowing that our strength is in our ability to work well together,” Cupid said. “This actually undermines our ability to do so.”
State law does allow counties to use public money to educate voters about ballot measures, and both Cobb and Gwinnett have created websites with information on what the penny sales taxes would fund if approved by voters.
Scamihorn said the rules around what constitutes voter education versus advocacy are unclear and argued the county’s educational materials haven’t been neutral.
A pending ethics complaint in Cobb County makes a similar allegation, arguing the county violated state law by showing an “obvious bias” in favor of the referendum in its educational materials. Transit opponent Lance Lamberton filed a complaint earlier this month against Cupid, saying that as chairwoman of the board, she is responsible for ensuring the county doesn’t advocate.
Cupid has described the complaint as “meritless.”
Staff writer Alia Pharr contributed to this report.
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