Learning From (Local, Recent) History
How one renegade CCSD board member cost taxpayer money, threatened our accreditation, and became a convicted felon.
“Over the past few years, Cherokee County has been a breeding ground for a style of politics that rewards the intensity of one’s beliefs, even in the face of actual facts on the ground. If you believe passionately enough, and loudly enough, this line of thinking goes, then truth can be ignored as a mere inconvenience.”
– Jim Galloway, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, April 30, 2014
Remember that one time a member of our local school board ran up a $10,000 bill for our district, threatened our state accreditation, and was arrested for falsely claiming the superintendent tried to run her over with his SUV? That’s a thing that happened in fairly recent memory here in Cherokee County, Georgia and yet many locals don’t seem familiar with the story. It’s a clear warning of the dangers of electing disruptive members to our local school boards who are chasing radical, national agendas. Let me introduce you to a women who should serve as a cautionary tale for this year’s election.
Kelly Marlow began her public life as vocal advocate for Cherokee Charter Academy (where her children attended school once it opened—its start is a story all its own) before running for the Post 1 board of education seat in the summer of 2012. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “She won by 24 votes.” Marlow had previously made a name for herself being disruptive with complaints at school board meetings. But unlike the culture war battles we are fighting in our school system today, she focused primarily on structural and financial issues. Unlike today, this hardcore Republican was not allergic to diversity, and focused mostly on partnerships between public schools and private business:
For our students to graduate and compete in the global marketplace, our educational systems must be as diverse in instructional environments as we are in the students who attend our schools. Our challenge will be to balance the need for diverse instruction and innovation with cost-containment measures that will responsibly ensure delivery of topics relevant in the 21st century. For instance, I'd like to utilize the power and influence of our multidisciplinary school councils to uncover ways to engage our business community in public/private partnerships that are both educationally and philanthropically meaningful. Why not consider a pilot program whereby a local bank opens a branch in one of our high schools so that students can learn and work at the same time?
When asked what she wanted voters to know about her, her answer was prophetic: “I don't hide behind labels nor do I shy away from an emphasis on breaking molds, celebrating innovation and challenging status quo.” She wasn’t lying.
Marlow started her time on the board attempting to wrest perceived control over the board away from school superintendent Frank Petruzielo and railing against the Common Core standards that had been introduced in 2010—immediately painted by conservatives as a step toward a federal takeover of Georgia education. Junior board member Kelly Marlow “requested the board assemble a committee to study the Common Core standards. Her request went unanswered, prompting her to ask for an investigation by a state accreditation agency.”
As described in a Change.org petition:
In the letter, “Marlow said the district was violating SACS policies, a claim the accrediting agency later deemed unfounded,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. It was the night of the June board meeting in 2013 that things really got ugly and weird.
After public confrontational exchanges between Ms. Marlow and Dr. Petruzielo — “over the board’s budget, parliamentary procedure and the district’s participation in Common Core” — things took a dramatic turn after the meeting in the form of a 911 call: Marlow claimed that the Cherokee County school superintendent had tried to run her over in the middle of the street in downtown Canton.
In the call a breathless Marlow claims: “The superintendent of the school raced right by me in his white BMW and did not, did not stop, nothing. … He just accelerated past me.” Her associate Barbara Knowles (secretary of the local Republican Party at the time) claims to have pushed Marlow out of the way just in time to prevent being struck by Dr. Petruzielo’s BMW. Her political consult and future husband Robert Trim affirmed the allegations.
A big claim, if true, and Dr. Petruzielo denied the allegations. Unfortunately for Marlow, video footage of the alleged incident was available to police that contradicted both their sworn testimony and filmed recreation of the event. Marlow’s prime witness, Ms. Knowles, then admitted the group wasn’t in the crosswalk at the time the vehicle drove by.
While the criminal justice system began its process, the school board unanimously voted to hold an ethics hearing for Marlow’s alleged violations relating to the letter to AdvancED. In August the board voted against Marlow’s request that the taxpayers of Cherokee County foot the bill for her attorney’s fees. (For some reason she was suddenly much more in favor of tax-funded expenditures in this particular case.) But unfortunately Marlow’s appeals ran the district’s bill to more than $10,000—appeals that went nowhere as the Georgia Board of Education affirmed the original decision. Once convicted of a felony Marlow was immediately suspended from the board and officially resigned her position before May of 2014. The former board member was sentenced to 60 days in jail and 10 years probation but managed to delay punishment until 2017. Kyla Cromer was appointed to Marlow’s seat in 2014 and went on to serve as our current Chair.
The good news? That dramatic chapter in the history of our school district is years behind us. The bad news is that this election year we have four disruptive far-right candidates running for our board of education—taking money and talking points from an out-of-state PAC. While hopefully there won’t be arrests, false police reports, or ethics investigations if any of the 4 Can Do More candidates hold office, I am concerned there is four times the danger of problems that could disrupt the jobs of our teachers and the education of our students. We’ve seen what happens when bad actors and known liars are elected to local office.
“The truth is considered an absolute defense in journalism,” wrote Jim Galloway in the piece quoted above. “Perhaps we should give it some protected space in politics as well.”