Students Accused Of Antisemitic Graffiti Face Disciplinary Action

COBB COUNTY, GA — The students accused of scrawling antisemitic images and phrases inside two different Cobb high school bathrooms face disciplinary charges, Cobb County School District Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said during a board work session Thursday.

The case has to go through the disciplinary tribunal process as required by state law, he said, but could not elaborate any further or provide the students' names. The consequences could be serious enough to qualify for school board appeal, which is why Ragsdale could not provide further information.

“I want to be very clear: the district does not and will not tolerate hate in any form,” Ragsdale said. “I appreciate that statistically, in a district of 110,000 students in 114 schools, incidents like this may occur, and they're extremely rare in CCSD. Regardless, the district refuses to dismiss the incident as some sort of prank.”

Several weeks ago, a pair of swastikas and "Hail Hitler" were found drawn on the bathroom walls in Pope High School. Then a few days later, more swastikas and "Heil Hitler" were found written behind stall doors in two different restrooms at Lassiter High School.

District spokesperson Nan Kiel released a statement saying the district found it unacceptable "anytime a student misbehaves, and in this case disrespect, individual students, people, groups and their school." Jewish leaders said they were underwhelmed by the district's response to the incidents, including U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is Jewish himself.

Several members of the public, including two rabbis, spoke during the public comment period the board meeting, saying Jewish parents no longer felt Cobb schools were safe for their children, and more than 50 protesters stood quietly outside the district's headquarters before Thursday's board meeting — some advocating for a mask mandate and others with signs against hate, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

A local grassroots group even started an online petition calling on the school board to do more in their response to the incidents and specifically condemn them, as well as offer programming to educate students about antisemitism.

But after Ragsdale's comments, Senior Rabbi Larry Sernovitz of Temple Kol Emeth said he felt "positive growth" was taking place, he told the AJC.

“We need to keep our foot on the pedal until we see the systemic changes we’re looking for,” Sernovitz said. “All it takes is one student who hates to solve a problem.”

Related:

• Activist Group Calls On Cobb School Board To Condemn Antisemitism
• Sen. Ossoff Condemns Antisemitic Graffiti In Yom Kippur Address
  
• Swastikas, 'Heil Hitler' Found In Lassiter High School Bathrooms
  
• Swastikas Found Inside Pope High School Bathroom