Two grassroots organizations are calling on the Cobb County School District to disband its police department, and make other changes they believe will improve education for Black and Latino students.
La Gente de Cobb and Stronger Together on Monday sent a letter listing six demands: eliminate the school district’s 65-officer police department; hire more social workers, counselors and nurses; introduce anti-racism training for district employees; hire more black teachers, administrators and district-level employees; offer race and ethnic course studies to all students; and adopt restorative justice practices which allow victims, offenders and community members to meet and work through problems rather than relying on punishment.
The groups want a response from the school board in 14 days, and termination of Superintendent Chris Ragsdale’s contract if he does not address the demands within 90 days. The first day of school is Aug. 17.
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Jillian Ford, a member of Stronger Together, said the letter stems from Ragsdale, district officials and the Republican members of the school board ignoring requests from students and parents to address alleged racism within Cobb schools.
“The activism around the country has shown us that in Cobb County, we are no longer going to ask for things that might work,” she said. “We are going to demand things that research shows improve the school experiences of black students.”
Ragsdale did not respond to request for comment, but spokeswoman Nan Kiel said district officials are aware of the demands and have “no comment while preparing for a school year during a public health pandemic.”
Kevin Amaya of La Gente de Cobb said the demands are a reflection of the community’s desire to improve Cobb schools for minority families.
“I don’t think what we are asking for is a dream,” he said. “We can’t compromise on our values.”
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Ford said some people in the community have concerns about eliminating the district’s police department. But Ford said the history of police officers in schools can be traced to “fear and racist assumptions and beliefs” about Black students during the fight for desegregation.
Black students are punished more often and more severely than white students in Cobb and across the country, Ford said.
Several districts around the country have started removing police from its schools, including Madison, Wisconsin, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Portland, Oregon, Oakland, California, and Denver, Colorado. Community members and organizations in New York City are also pressuring elected officials to follow suit there.
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Cobb school board member David Morgan said he is pleased to see residents showing an interest in school district policy. Morgan said he is not in favor of eliminating funding for the district's police department, but said he believes a majority of the demands could be included in some talking points he plans to bring up at a school board retreat later this year.
“There are things in there that I agree with that have a great deal of merit,” he said of the letter.
Board member Jaha Howard said most of the items in the letter overlap with things he and fellow member Charisse Davis have been pushing the district to implement. While the district is busy planning the upcoming school year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing issues that negatively affect children of color should also be a priority for the system, Howard said.
“Yes, there’s a lot going on, but that’s what leadership is all about,” he said. “We have to be able to do multiple things at one time.”
Amaya added that having more inclusive schools will help all students succeed, not just Black and Latino students.
“We can’t have just one group doing well and expect all of us to be OK,” he said.
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