What you see in John Abraham, the chairman of the Cobb County Board of Education, is what you get - intense, self-assured, argumentative and ardent. Not bad qualities to have if you are overseeing something as complex and complicated as the Cobb County School System.

We met for coffee the other day on the Square in Marietta at his request after I had "dissed" his lawyers and PR staff in this column for their involvement in the board's decision to hold more sessions behind closed doors than Tom Sawyer has freckles. The people's business should be conducted in the open, not behind closed doors and his lawyers and PR people should have told him that.

Abraham thought I had been a bit harsh on them. I disagree, but it is nice to see somebody defend their people and not pass the buck. I suspect he is taking the blame for something not totally his fault. He inherited a bad policy and has since suspended that practice of meeting in secret, as well he should, but he is impatient with people who want to continue to dwell on the matter.

"We made a mistake," he says. "We have addressed the issue and moved on."

Abraham had an impressive career in the U.S. Public Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So why would he run for the school board and be a javelin-catcher for wiseacres like me?

"It was an opportunity make a difference in the lives of young people and focus the system on significant achievement," he says, "Plus, my wife wanted me out of the house."

He has his buckets full. He and the other six members represent a total of six years experience on the board, compared to the previous board's 56 years. He is quick to say that his predecessors left them in good shape in many ways, including the system's financial health. While the present members are relatively new to the job, Abraham says they are gaining a mutual respect for each other. "We all understand that we are in the 'kid business.'" It is also a big business - about a billion dollars worth with 106,000 students and 15,500 teachers and staff.

Abraham is bursting with enthusiasm over the possibilities for improving what is already a pretty good school system. (Fourteen out of 16 Cobb high schools were cited by Newsweek magazine as among the top high schools in the nation.)

He rattles off ideas like a machine gun: A strategic plan that will align all the schools in the system toward a common goal; technology that would tailor a particular subject to an individual student's learning abilities; and getting the community more involved in the education process. He also intends to get the board members and staff out in front of the community through town hall meetings and civic club speeches.

The school system is working with the Cobb Chamber to have chamber members serve as teachers for a day in October.

"In the past," he says in his typical blunt style, "we had people act as 'principal for a day' and all they did was walk around and get their picture taken. This time we are going to have business people go into the classroom and teach all day."

Hurrah and hurrah! Perhaps later I can talk the chairman into getting some of Neal Boortz's Kool-Aid drinkers to do the same thing. That should shut their yaps.

With two teachers in my family, I was pleased to hear Abraham say that he wants to involve teachers more in the school system's decision-making.

"We've got great teachers in the Cobb System and I want them to challenge us with new ideas and not be afraid to speak up."

How important are the teachers?

"Despite Gov. Perdue's directive, we chose not to furlough our teachers," he says. "Education is too important to do that and so are our teachers." Amen.

As diplomats would say, the chairman and I had a "spirited discussion." We left agreeing to disagree on a number of things, but on one issue we have no disagreement. Public education requires passion. John Abraham is nothing if not passionate.

You can reach Dick Yarbrough at yarb2400@bellsouth.net or P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139.