Cobb County School District employees at three schools are being pulled from their classrooms and questioned about whether they walked out of Superintendent Chris Ragsdale's back-to-school kickoff speech, escalating a weeks-long controversy — one that has drawn East Cobb parents into its public comment fights — into a formal personnel investigation.

Staff at two elementary schools and one high school have been called in for questioning, according to Cobb County Association of Educators President Jeff Hubbard, who identified the schools to the Marietta Daily Journal as Riverside Elementary, City View Elementary and Pebblebrook High School. Employees are being asked whether they left the July 29 address before it ended and whether they had permission to do so, the MDJ reported Aug. 25. The district itself has not publicly confirmed the schools involved.

In a written statement to WSB-TV, the district said it has continued conversations with some individual educators and that those conversations ensure alignment and, like any personnel investigation, are not publicly available.

The CCEA said it is monitoring the situation and will provide representation to any members who need it. Hubbard told WSB-TV's Michele Newell that the union is watching to see whether employees at additional schools are also called in.

What Ragsdale said

The July 29 kickoff drew criticism for remarks some educators and parents called unnecessarily political. Ragsdale addressed the district's book removals and President Trump's visit to Wheeler High School in East Cobb, then told the crowd: "There is no room for disagreeing with what we're doing. Somebody that disagrees with it has no business in education or anywhere around education, where there is responsibility of kids," according to East Cobb News.

At the Thursday, Aug. 20 Cobb Board of Education meeting, Ragsdale doubled down, declaring "I will still not be moved," despite criticism from parents, students and educators who called the speech inappropriate. Parent Katie Hearn, whose children graduated from Hillgrove High School, told the board that teachers are disheartened and stunned by their superintendent's conduct.

What's next

No timeline has been announced for the investigation's conclusion, and it remains unclear whether disciplinary action could follow. The CCEA has said it will provide representation to any employee called in for questioning.