'It's a battle against good and evil': Cobb schools superintendent defends book removal

COBB COUNTY, Ga. - The Cobb County School District has removed an additional four books from its media centers.

Supt. Chris Ragsdale made the announcement during a school board meeting Thursday night.

"It Ends with Us," "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," "Lucky," and "Thirteen Reasons Why" were all identified by the district as having lewd, vulgar, graphic, or sexually explicit content.

The titles join three other books banned by the district in 2023 -- "Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl," "Flamed," and "Blankets." 

PREVIOUS: 2 books with 'sexually explicit' content pulled from Cobb County school libraries

"This type of material has no place in any school or in the hands of any child," Supt. Ragsdale told FOX 5. 

The superintendent says the move is an attempt to protect students, parents, and teachers. 

"We can never allow the sexualization of children to be normalized and accepted," he said. 

Many in the community are referring to the action as a book ban, a label Supt. Ragsdale calls "erroneous" and says "cannot be further from the truth." 

Here's how Merriam-Webster defines ban: to prohibit the use, performance, or distribution of

We asked the superintendent if Cobb County schools are now prohibited from using or distributing the four books. 

"That's right. They are not accessible in any of our schools," he replied. 

Supt. Ragsdale cites the books' continued availability in stores, homes, and public libraries unaffiliated with the school as evidence there is no book ban.

Cobb County Parent Russell Sauve isn't satisfied with the response.

"You can’t find the books in those schools. Sounds like a book ban to me," the father told FOX 5. 

Ultimately, it's the lack of debate that Sauve finds most troubling. 

"We’re not being listened to. They say they want community feedback, but they don’t. If they don’t like what we have to say, we’re ignored," he said.

Still other parents are grateful for the district's action. In public comments Tuesday, one father told the board, "I’m so thankful this district has remained committed to academic excellence. What grieves my heart is the negativity that seems to be poured out by those that seem to want to destroy our schools and our children. I would ask that you not allow them to inject their agenda into our classrooms. Whether it’s defunding the police or teaching our children about things that should be left to their parents or putting sexually explicit books in the classrooms. I ask that you please keep the pornography out of media centers." 

Supt. Ragsdale told FOX 5 the district will continue to review the many books in its media centers and remove any deemed inappropriate due to lewd, graphic, vulgar, or sexually explicit content.

Russell Sauve plans to respond at the ballot box. Until then, he is having transparent conversations with his daughter about the decision.