COBB COUNTY, Ga.,None — A Cobb County School Board member is calling for a grand jury criminal investigation of his colleagues.
Channel 2’s Tony Thomas went to a Thursday night board meeting, where the panel discussed allegations that members violated the open meetings law and a so-called blacklist.
"I think some of these events that have happened may actually rise to the level of criminality," board member David Banks told fellow board members.
No other school board member voiced support for his call, and the board’s attorney refused to make a request to the Cobb County District Attorney without a vote from the entire board.
"There is a very dark cloud over this school system and this school board. There's no sunshine coming in," Banks said.
Banks and a group of Cobb County parents believe four members of the seven-member board have been making decisions in secret, emailing each other using personal email accounts and sharing information only among themselves and a select group of citizens.
"I think it could impact the entire board and put the district in jeopardy," school board member Lynda Eagle said.
The uproar started with an open records request by concerned citizen Mike Sansone. He is upset with the way the board handled a controversy over the school calendar earlier this year and began making open records requests.
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"Originally, I suspected board business was being conducted with private email accounts,"Sansone told Thomas.
Sansone said he believes hundreds of emails have proven that open records and open meetings laws have been violated.
Among the emails is a list of everyone who posted in opposition to the calendar issue on a Facebook page. Gerald Williams, a district parent who found his name on the list, calls it a blacklist, meant to retaliate against those who spoke out against the board.
"I'm worried more, so upset and disgusted that this was done," Williams said.
The names, positions and salaries of some district employees are highlighted on the list sent by email to some board members. Some parents fear it could be used against those people or keep them from talking in the future. Board Chairwoman Alison Bartlett said it wouldn’t.
After the meeting, Thomas asked her if anyone should be worried about the list.
She replied, "Oh my gosh, no."
WSBTV
