Sandy Springs mayor apologizes for comment about Cobb, local schools

Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul posted an apology on Nextdoor for a comment he made about local schools during a North End Revitalization Task Force meeting.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul posted an apology on Nextdoor for a comment he made about local schools during a North End Revitalization Task Force meeting.

Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul made a comment a few weeks ago that rubbed some folks the wrong way, apparently.

Speaking with the city’s North End Revitalization Task Force at a brainstorming session at Pontoon Brewing on May 16, topics included redevelopment, class, transparency and city resources.

When it came to how class affects school districts, Paul was quoted in a May 25 Reporter Newspapers story saying, "In Sandy Springs, rich kids go to private schools, poor kids go to public schools, and middle-class kids go to Cobb County."

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Through a city spokesperson, Paul confirmed the accuracy of the quote.

On Monday, Paul took to the neighborhood social networking service Nextdoor to issue an apology.

“Please let me apologize for a poorly framed comment I made about our schools,” the mayor wrote. “It was in the course of unscripted remarks and was very poorly articulated,” he said. “I have very high regard for our schools and am embarrassed that I was so inarticulate in this subject. Mea culpable.”

The North End Revitalization Task Force was approved and formed in March in an effort to study redevelopment and affordable housing in that section of Sandy Springs. The task force is chaired by councilmember Steve Soteres.

Paul ran unopposed in the 2017 mayoral election in Sandy Springs and was re-elected to a second term.

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