Up for grabs is one constitutional amendment which basically brings two bills into action:
- Authorize the state to approve new charter school charters (and not just appeals).
- Specify alternate (non QBE) funding levels for state charter schools.
That's it.
What is not up for grabs…
- Vouchers (using county tax $ to fund state charters & private schools)
- Lots of $$ and forces well trenched on both sides of this argument.
- A specified increase or decrease in charter school funding and approval.
- Sometimes billed as a "blank check for new charters", but the reality is that here is only so much $$ to go around – and Gov. Deal has other priorities he must fund, like healthcare & transportation).. (But not ethics – let’s be clear)
- Increase school performance measures, parental involvement, technical alternatives to college, or other meaningful changes.
Now, most of the vitriol and baggage comes from two events:
- A Supreme Court ruling saying the State doesn't have the authority to approve new charter school applications. (They can only weigh in on appeals.) That should be left to the "level of government closest and most responsive to the taxpayers"
- Source: AJC Get Schooled 5/16/11
- A cut of 12.5 percent in state funding of K-12 Schools between FY09 and FY12.
So, to me, I do not consider the charter school amendment an election issue, because then you lose sight of how the BOE spends its money on such items as lobbying, technology, business development, central office expenses, all of which lead to more furlough days, shorter school years, and group think.
This amendment would give the DOE the authority to evaluate new charter school charters, and it would put pressure on the local school boards to incorporate charter schools into their capacity planning, curriculum planning, discipline measures, and data to measure their performance against. Also, there are already protections for only Georgia based not for profit management companies, so the bigger conspiracy is still only with those manipulating the issue.
We really need to be focusing on the BOE races, rather be distracted by this issue which has been perverted by non-Georgian interests.
On a side note, I wouldn't have had the point of view that I have if there weren't people like Elizabeth Hooper championing the voice of the "little guy" and trying to cut through the spin, hype, and agendas. Although I think we've reached different conclusions, my hat is off to you.
With respect, diverting taxpayer funds from existing public institutions to private entities is the very definition of privatization. Given the state of QBE funding in Georgia, this is exactly what the state seeks to do via the charter school amendment. Of course, I'm not saying that local schools boards are not infallible. But given the fact that state-wide, they are dramatically underfunded leading to deteriorating school facilities, fewer teachers, larger classes, shorter school days, and shorter school years, you can't exactly blame the public school system. In other words, you can't underfund public school systems, and then reasonably blame them when they can't succeed. Charter schools are saying, "Give us money, and we'll have clean, well-maintained school buildings and amenities like good libraries, smaller classes, longer school days, and longer school years." Instead, why not give our existing public schools the money they need to have clean, well-maintained school buildings and amenities like good libraries, smaller classes, longer school days, and longer school years? Why not fight with the same passion for all schools? Why not fight with the same passion for all students? Again, the silence on the Georgia's refusal to fully fund all of Georgia's schools, as required by QBE, is deafening.
Where does the 1/3 statistic come from? Just curious. That seems very high. That may very well explain why I see so many kids walking around on my lunch break, during a school day.
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/under-new-formula-georgia-graduation-rate-reset-to/nQSwk/ "Neighboring South Carolina and North Carolina went to the new formula several years ago and have 73.56 percent and 77.9 percent grad rates, respectively."
Atlanta Metro System Percentages: Forsyth County 86.27, Fayette County 78.23, Paulding County 76.0, Coweta County 74.85, Cherokee County 74.82, Cobb County 73.35, Henry County 72.35, Douglas County 70.98, Fulton County 70.05, Gwinnett County 67.56, Bartow County 66.22, Rockdale County 66.20, DeKalb County 58.65, Atlanta City 51.96, Clayton County 51.48.
Districts Above 90 Percent: Chickamauga City 97.44, Bremen City 93.18, Oconee County 91.57, Rabun County 90.4. Districts 80-to-90 Percent: Union County 88.69, Decatur City 88.40, Towns County 88.37, Wheeler County 87.5, White County 86.45, Forsyth County 86.27, Morgan County 86.09, Clinch County 85.53, Pike County 84.65, Pierce County 84.23, Commerce City 83.96, Hancock County 83.51, Miller County 83.33, Gilmer County 82.39, Fannin County 82.18, Stephens County 81.99, Screven County 81.94, Gordon County 81.76, Pickens County 80.74, Dalton City 80.57, Glascock County 80.0.
The state cannot approve charter schools - I make it seem like they can approve ones which have appealed. The state can approve "special" schools - some charters which are denied by local BoEs can then be approved as special schools under the current constitutional authority. The amendment at hand expands the state's constitutional authority to approve appealed charter school charters. That is, where a local BoE doesn't want to share their revenue or other dubious motives, the applicants (representing lots of parents and students who are not satisfied with local public or private schools) then have an appeal process. That is all.
On that note - So is the charter school amendment #1 on your issues for a BoE candidate? Is curriculum? School counselor / special ed (parapros funding) / redistricting / apportionment? Using tax dollars to fund chamber of commerce activities?
I have to wonder why the GCPS board doesn't support the existence of some charter schools (Ivy Prep) - going so far as to file a lawsuit with public funds that should be spent on putting teachers in classrooms - while supporting other charter schools (specifically the Math and Science school). I don't understand why "thinking out of the box" and "changing the way things are done" is being argued about. Charter schools are trying to offer an alternative to parents when their current school doesn't meet their child's needs. The charters will be observed and have to report results (which is more than private schools have to do and no one is advocating we get rid of them) and are not diluting public school funding. If our kids benefit, if graduation rates go up, if Georgia rises in the ranks to "world class" public education.... Isn't that the point?
This amendment IS negatively impacting the school budget. The state is withholding funds from public schools while simultaneously seeking to divert those funds to charter schools. Complaints about our public school boards while remaining silent on the fact that the state isn't fully funding our schools as required by the Quality Basic Education (QBE) law is like sawing a leg off of a chair and then complaining about the company that made the chair. "...state-approved charter schools will get more money per pupil under the proposed amendment than traditional public schools. " http://www.politifact.com/georgia/statements/2012/sep/11/herb-garrett/charter-school-funding-claim-hits-close-mark/ Again, this charter school amendment is nothing more than an attempt, at the state level, to divert taxpayer money from publicly-operated schools to privately-operated schools. In short, the phrase "school choice" is a back door to "privatization." It's that simple. If you support that, then fine. But nobody should operate under the false impression that this is about school choice, when the real goal is to shut down the public schools and replace them with a privatized system.
Now those same state leaders are back, telling us that this amendment will result in or restore freedom of choice. But I can't quite trust their statements as much as I might care to because they define real life tax increases as "tax cuts" as late as 2012. These same folks haven't had a great record funding education as it stands now but found funds for the Go Fish! center and many other items from somewhere ... You can be for school choice, you can even be for privatization of the system, but this amendment may not be best vehicle to achieve that goal. The fiscal controls to ensure counties/cities get what they are forced to pay for aren't there yet (call it taxpayer protection plan after the sale). We are told they will come AFTER the amendment passes... We always hear a little is better than none, but that thinking has put us where we are now. We have a hard enough time getting county school leaders to explain funding to the chamber with county tax dollars. Just imagine getting that information from a state board with NO elected officials involved, a quote from the movie Taken comes to mind, "GOOD LUCK" click, static, nothing...
In this case, I'm favoring local control. I think that it is up to me and the other parents in Barrow County to decide what is best for our children, and for our school board to decide how to allocate the funds, as they are elected to do. If I think they aren't doing their job, then I'll advocate against them in the next election. I don't believe that any state-level official is going to have the same understanding and grasp of those issues unique to Barrow County (or whatever County in which you happen to live) that a local official would have, and there is a better chance of my voice being heard at the smaller level of government.