08/21/2026
The day after a meeting, I normally give an update on what happened and I will still do that. But the Superintendent's remarks require a lengthier response. His remarks lasted 14 minutes. 8 minutes of it were spent talking about my campaign.
At board meetings, the Superintendent is on the clock. He’s being paid by taxpayers. His remarks go out on district resources streamed to the internet. No doubt the communications team will be working some of his remarks into content to be pushed out on social media. Taxpayers just paid the Superintendent and our district to actively campaign against a school board candidate.
But it’s worse than that. It was the content of that speech. Essentially the Superintendent said that he has to talk about our campaign so much because our positions on responsive governance, more support for students who are falling behind or have specialized needs, and safer schools is dangerous to our students.
Wait, no he didn’t talk about those things because he is pushing the notion that our campaign is about trafficking our children. Somehow a father of an elementary school student, a trusted volunteer in a school of elementary students, and a trusted volunteer in an organization that covers dozens of elementary schools in Cobb – wants to traffic our children.
It sounds ridiculous, but that’s dangerous rhetoric that the Superintendent knows it isn’t true. It’s also dangerous because he has not just directed it at me – in his teacher welcome, it was directed at staff too. He’s prioritizing his job security over the safety of community members and our teachers.
Speaking of staff, this was the best part of both meetings. The lion’s share of public comment included community members who read staff responses to the welcome speech. As one teacher put it, “we were held hostage and had to listen”, but this time, the Superintendent had to sit there and listen to their responses. It’s probably the first time in a long time that he’s had to acknowledge that a significant portion of our teachers have a negative view of him especially after he questioned their integrity in the classroom. (Screenshot is of his reaction each time a comment was read)
The last thing about his remarks - only 40 seconds of it were spent about the incident at Campbell Middle School where a student brought a gun onto campus. Most of that 40 seconds was spent saying that district protocols brought about a “quick and safe resolution” and that all of our schools are safe.
The father of one of the students had a different take – in an interview with media, he said the gun wasn’t noticed until his child had been threatened with it by the student who was apprehended. His statement, “"What I hate, they put so much effort into banning Black history, but they don't have the same effort when it comes to the security and safety of the students. It's easier to get a gun inside the school than a book on Black history.”
Our students don’t need to be protected from books. They need to be protected from the growing epidemic of gun violence in our schools and communities. Our families are worried about it. Our teachers are worried about it. Those are the conversations that we should be having. But we’re not having them because of this board – a board that fails to hold our Superintendent and district accountable. We can change that with one single race in November.
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Volunteer: https://www.michealforcobb.com/volunteer/
