Residents Ask Kelly Marlow to Step Down

Three Cherokee County residents on Thursday took the opportunity to ask District 1 School Board member Kelly Marlow to either suspend herself while her criminal trial goes through the justice system or resign from the board altogether.

The residents — Jennifer Hall and Carol Taylor of Woodstock andWoodstock High School student Taylor Poole — all addressed Marlow during the board's meeting. 

Hall, a teacher at E.T. Booth Middle School, said she strongly felt it was in the district's best interest for Marlow to voluntarily suspend herself while the case against her goes through the Cherokee County Superior Court.

The attention to Marlow's tribulations, she added, has taken the focus off the district's accolades. 

"Although I strongly believe that the absolute best course of action for this board member is to resign, I think that the option presented by Gov. Deal is one that should be considered as well," she said. "Not only does the board need to rid itself of this distraction of the upcoming trial, but I can imagine that this board member can use the time and privacy to prepare for her court case." 

A Cherokee County grand jury on Tuesday indicted Marlow on four counts of making false statements in relation to allegations that Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Petruzielo tried to run her and two other people over after a June 13 board meeting. 

The grand jury also hit her partner and political advisor Robert Trim with three counts of making false statements while Barbara Knowles, secretary of the Cherokee County Republican Party, was indicted on one count of filing a false report and four counts of making false statements. 

Gov. Nathan Deal on Wednesday received a certified copy of the indictment, and now must wait 14 days from that day to appoint a three person panel to review whether the charges Marlow faces will "adversely impact" her ability to govern as a board member. 

In the meantime, Marlow could voluntarily suspend herself from the board while her trial goes through the system. 

Carol Taylor, who has two children at Hickory Flat Elementary School, also asked Marlow to resign, noting she would be more than happy for Marlow to, "for the first time," do the right thing and step down.

She told the board and the audience she was saddened by "one rogue school board member has attempted to hijack our award winning school district and dismantle it piece by piece."

"However, I am hear to say we will not stand for this and we will do everything to protect the great gift of an outstanding education that this district provides our children," she said. 

When it was her turn to speak, Woodstock High sophomore Taylor Poole was accompanied by a group of her peers who stood behind her as she spoke. Poole in July called on Marlow to resign at a rally organized by SCRAM, or Smart Citizens Rally Against Marlow.

Taylor, who lives in Canton, noted Marlow allegedly showed "blatant disregard" for board policy when she appeared at a forum in Cobb County that was heavily critical of Common Core standards, despite the board as a whole voting to adopt and support the standards. 

She noted she hopes her voice calling on Marlow to resign from the board would be stronger in the presence of her fellow students. 

"There comes a time when enough is enough," she said. "We, the student, are taking a stand. We implore the media and everyone to stop being distracted by the soap opera. that's right turn off the television and turn your focus back onto expanding the educational opportunities for our future. For what I hope will be the last time, we ask for your resignation."

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