Second Mask Mandate Protest Planned For Cobb School Board Meeting

COBB COUNTY, GA — Cobb County School District parents are planning a second protest this week, urging the district to require face masks as COVID-19 cases are rising across Georgia, including in Cobb County.

Dozens of parents first protested outside the district’s main offices in Marietta last Thursday, just a day after the district sent the entire fifth grade class home at East Side Elementary School due to an increase in COVID-19 cases at the school. The district does not require masks for students or staff, regardless of vaccination status.

Related: East Cobb School Sends 5th Graders Home Due To COVID-19 Spike

Parents stood outside the building with signs promoting mask wearing, such as “Moms for Masks” and “Be the solution: require masks,” according to CNN. Some chanted phrases including “Mandate masks,” “Protect our kids” and “Educate the ignorant.”

But they were met by a group of parents pushing for the opposite, holding signs reading “Unmask our kids,” “Why hide this cute face?” and “My child, my choice.” One protester could be heard shouting, "You are not my kid's parent, no more mandates.”

CNN reported that at one point, a masked man and an unmasked woman began yelling at each other. The woman accused the man of spitting on her, and the man accused the woman of hitting him in the mouth.

Additionally, a Cobb Schools board member shared COVID-19 misinformation with a Cobb parent via email last week, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Daniela Baker emailed the board Aug. 10, criticizing its handling of the pandemic and sharing that her elementary-age daughter contracted COVID-19 about a week after classes started.

Board Member David Banks responded, telling her to “listen to the real truth about masks” and provided a link to a video of a doctor sharing false information about COVID-19, questioning the usefulness of masks and praising the “dangers of vaccination” in response to the coronavirus at a Mt. Vernon Community Schools board meeting in Indiana, according to emails shared with The AJC.

Baker decided to enroll her daughter into an area private school.

The Indiana doctor in the video, Dr. Dan Stock, does not appear to be board-certified, according to Indy Star. He did not respond to the news outlet’s requests for comment.

Thursday’s rally will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the school district headquarters, 514 Glover St., just before the Board of Education meeting at 7 p.m. Board Chair Randy Scamihorn told The AJC he does not anticipate any discussion about the district’s COVID-19-related policies.