CCAE president calls Cobb County School District's reading bowl comments “dishonest”

By Rebecca Gaunt Comments from the Cobb County School District denying any knowledge of staff concerns related to the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl, published in the Marietta Daily Journal Tuesday, has the Cobb County Association of Educators President Jeff Hubbard fighting mad. Hubbard has raised concerns since early August that CCSD staff members involved with the reading bowl are worried about their jobs. He first shared suggestions that would grant teachers and media specialists peace of mind directly with the district, and later went public after Due West Elementary School teacher Katie Rinderle was fired for reading “My Shadow is Purple” by Scott Stuart to her fifth grade students. Background Within days of the school board’s Aug. 17 4-3 split decision to uphold Superintendent Chris Ragsdale’s decision to fire Rinderle, the district announced it had pulled books unrelated to her case from libraries across the district due to sexual content.  The district did not respond to questions from the media regarding what led to the removal or why the district policy for complaints was not followed. The same week, Libs of Tik Tok, a far-right social media handle that has targeted teachers, media specialists, and doctors for harassment, took credit
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