MARIETTA - So much for listening to your constituents - once again.

At the Cobb school board's Thursday meeting, about 80 residents of the Eastvalley Elementary School neighborhood turned out carrying signs in protest of a proposal to build a 150-foot cell tower at the school.

Yet Cobb school board member Dr. John Crooks, who represents the area, made the motion, seconded by Holli Cash, to approve the tower.

The board voted 4-2-1, with Crooks, Cash, Lynnda Crowder-Eagle and board Chairman Dr. John Abraham in favor; David Morgan and Alison Bartlett voting against; and David Banks abstaining.

The vote re-approves the board's initial July 23 unanimous vote for the tower. After that vote, three residents who live near the school, located off Lower Roswell Road in east Cobb, filed suit with Cobb Superior Court. Plaintiffs claimed the school board violated state Open Meetings Law on July 23 by voting to approve the tower the same day Crooks slipped the matter on the agenda without giving proper notice in advance because, as he previously told the Journal, he was afraid such proper notice would cause a "circus." The court echoed plaintiffs' claim and slapped the board with a temporary restraining order on Sept. 21.

Eastvalley Elementary School father Dr. Ricky Welkis, one of the neighbors who filed the lawsuit, was unsurprised by the board's vote after the meeting.

"We've figured this might be the case - we thought there might be a chance that maybe they had some conscience and common sense. But we were prepared for this," he said.

Welkis said he intends to move forward with litigation, seeking a permanent injunction.

"SACS is coming, and you know what happened in Clayton County. If this board thinks they're above that, they're mistaken," he said.

Welkis said he thought about running for the board, but he doesn't want to sit up there with the current members.

"This is a slap in the face for the whole community. The community's been wronged and we have to do it for the community - or else everything is for nothing," he said.

Another soon-to-be Eastvalley father who is part of the lawsuit, Jonathan Young, confirmed that the litigation would continue.

"They have made a false statement about following policy - 100 percent false - and we're going to prove that. Our attorney will call the judge tomorrow, find out when the next hearing is," Young said.

During the public comment part of the meeting, Charlie Parks, who lives off Lower Roswell Road next door to the school, noted his wife bought their home in 1955.

"I'm here to speak to the conscience of you board members and also to Mr. Crooks because I feel that Dr. Crooks got you in this mess of voting again. I want to speak to your conscience. Do you feel that you are more obligated to Dr. Crooks than you are to the community? I think you know that the community does not want it. We're all saying no. Now you know that and now is the time for your conscience to come forward and vote different because you know that the people are who you're representing," he said.

Abraham said after the meeting he voted in favor of the tower after asking Associate Superintendent Dr. Gordon Pritz if the correct process was followed, to which Pritz said yes it was.

"It's an unfortunate incident and I think we need to take a look back and review our policies. We'll take a look at our polices to see if we can do a better job," Abraham said.

As for whether he was concerned about the legal ramifications of his vote, Abraham said, "We'll just have to address it as it comes."

Banks said he abstained because, "That's what I felt like I should do to send a message to the community - that we do care. Eastvalley is still a fantastic school, the community is still fantastic, I have friends on the opposite sides. I'm just sorry that it got to this point where neighbor was against neighbor."

Morgan said he voted against the cell tower because it was clear to him most residents didn't want it.

"The people in that community seemed to be overwhelmingly opposed to it. They showed up at the meeting, they made their concerns heard, and the proof was in the pudding," Morgan said.

Crooks remained silent during the meeting, but when a Journal reporter approached him after the meeting to obtain a comment as to why he voted the way he did, Crooks, a minister at Roswell Street Baptist Church, began yelling angrily at the reporter, issuing a stream of derogatory comments, before warning the reporter to "watch out" in the future.

And board Vice Chairwoman Lynnda Crowder-Eagle, during a break in the meeting, refused to comment after saying that she was very upset about a comment she made that was published in the Journal's Thursday paper, referring to how she was too nice for the job of board member.

T-Mobile will pay the Cobb School District $150,000 in rent to build the cell-phone tower at Eastvalley, according to the contract district leaders signed with the company on Sept. 9. The term of the lease is five years, and the lease will also automatically renew for another five-year term at the same rent unless written notice is given. The tower will be able to accommodate at least three wireless communication providers, and if T-Mobile sublets any part, the school district would get at least $800 per month under that deal, according to the contract. The five-year rent works out to about $30,000 per year. T-Mobile will pay a $5,000 "contract consideration fee" to Eastvalley's Parent Teacher Association upon execution of the deal, according to the contract, and there were a half dozen or so Eastvalley PTA members in the audience in support of the tower.