Education & School Boards
What do school boards do?
School boards have a number of responsibilities that impact how local schools are run. School board members supervise and evaluate the superintendent, determine how district resources are used, and they set policies that control what happens in schools. For example, a school board could vote on directing district funds towards new facilities for schools or for pay raises for teachers. A school board could also vote to adopt a policy on the implementation of a more equitable curriculum.
Why are school board elections important?
The decisions made by school boards greatly impact the daily lives of students, parents, teachers, and local community members. However, school board elections and other local elections often see a much lower voter turnout. Because of this, every vote is significant. It’s crucial to make your voice heard and elect local school board members that will work to benefit you and your community.
In Cobb County, 3 school board seats will be up for election on November 5th, 2024.
Cobb County residents will have the opportunity to put school board members into office who best represent them. There are a number of crucial issues on the ballot this election - one being the Cobb County School District’s recent book bans.
The Cobb County School District has been removing books with themes on LGBTQ+ and racial identities from district libraries. With its current slight conservative majority, the Cobb County School Board has allowed the district superintendent to enact these harmful policies. So far 20 books have been banned in district libraries, and we do not wish to see these practices continued.
It is unproductive and harmful to limit students’ access to books in libraries and in the classroom. We know that books are tools for understanding complex issues and that young people deserve to see themselves reflected in the educational materials available to them. AAAF wishes to see every student feel represented in their curricula and have access to critical information to help them understand themselves and the world around them.
This election, we’re up against Republicans who have been pushing these unpopular book ban policies. However, they’re not playing fair. Republican members of the county school board have been involved with efforts to gerrymander Cobb’s school board districts, even wasting millions of dollars in district funds to defend these corrupt actions in court.
School board seats in Districts 1, 5, and 7 will be up for election this year. It’s time we make a change and elect Democrat school board members who will oppose repressive book ban policies and focus on student success. That’s why AAAF is supporting Dr. Vickie Benson for Cobb County School Board in District 1. Vickie is a longtime educator who is staunchly opposed to book bans and believes in bringing in student, parent, and teacher voices into school policy decisions. If elected, Vickie would block any future book ban efforts and protect Cobb students’ access to diverse educational materials. We encourage all Cobb residents of School Board Districts 1, 5, and 7 to vote Democrat for this year’s school board elections!
You can check your voter registration or register to vote by October 7th at mvp.sos.ga.gov! If voting by mail, request your absentee ballot by October 15th at securemyabsenteeballot.sos.ga.gov and mail it by October 21st to ensure it is received in time to be counted. Or, you can vote early in person at any of your county’s designated early voting locations between October 15th - November 1st. If you’re voting on election day, vote at your assigned polling location on November 5th by 7pm! For more information about how to vote this year, visit our voting webpage!