Residents push back on superintendent’s claims linking apartment approvals to student transiency; ask county and school leaders to meet

Public commenters disputed claims by Cobb County School District superintendent Chris Ragsdale that the county’s approval of apartment complexes is producing harmful student transiency and lower graduation rates.

Jennifer Susco, a school counselor, asked the board to “schedule another meeting with the district and school board” so county and school leaders can pursue “collaboration that will be shared with the board at an upcoming board meeting.” Susco accused Ragsdale of “misrepresenting facts and insulting families” in public remarks and urged more intentional cooperation between the county and the district.

Sam Foster of A Better Cop addressed the same topic with data. “Cobb County is actually in line with the state average,” Foster said, citing student mobility figures he said were published by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement: “Fulton County is at 18%. DeKalb County is at 25%. Cobb County is at 14.3, and the state average is 13.5%.” Foster added that Osborne High School’s graduation rate increased from 43% in 2010 to 77% today and noted the school’s mobility rate has fallen from about 33% to 20%.

Other speakers framed the issue as a policy dispute rather than an immediate operational crisis. Ian Constantine urged officials to focus on child safety and housing instability: “We should be discussing how we can have less students facing eviction, how we can have less homeless students, and how we can bring the cost of housing down for everyone,” he said.

No formal action was taken by the Board of Commissioners on school policy during the meeting. Multiple public commenters asked Chairwoman Lisa Cupid and the superintendent to pursue a joint working session or formal collaboration plan; the transcript records requests but no commitment, motion or vote to convene such a meeting.

Context: Public comments on the superintendent’s remarks came during the meeting’s public-comment periods; speakers cited statewide mobility metrics and local graduation-rate trends as evidence contradicting the superintendent’s public statements. The board did not debate or vote on school policy at this meeting.