The Cobb County School Board meets once a month and offers two opportunities for members of the community to speak at public comment – the afternoon work session and the evening voting session. The afternoon session time varies but will be at either 1pm or 2pm. The evening session always starts at 7pm.
The board is not allowed to respond or ask questions of public commenters, although CCSD has added restrictions on what commenters can talk about. It is an opportunity for the board to learn what issues are important to their community and for people to make their voices heard.
Make sure to arrive early if you want to speak – public comment signup starts 30 minutes prior to the start of the board meeting. If there’s a particularly hot topic in the media, you may want to arrive 30 minutes to an hour before that signup time. The district allows 15 speakers to sign up at each session.
The district also places restrictions on who can speak – you must live in Cobb County or be a property owner in Cobb – they will check with a valid ID. If you’re under the age of 18, the district requires that a parent or guardian be present.
When it is time for people to speak, the board will call individuals to the front of the room. You will be given a 2 minute time limit to deliver your comment. With 30 seconds left, you will get an alert that there’s 30 seconds left. Sometimes that can be jarring, but don’t stop or acknowledge it – continue with your comment.
It can be intimidating to stand before a board of elected officials and address concerns that you have with their leadership or decision-making, but you should remember that the school board’s job is to serve their students and community. Your feedback is necessary for the board to do their job well.
