Cherokee school chief: Lawmakers are no friends of county’s highly rated school system
Dr. Frank R. Petruzielo (Cherokee schools)
The gloves are off in the Legislature where lawmakers are going after a school district and board they perceive as hostile to charter schools.
What’s surprising to me is that they are going after Cherokee, a system that is among the state’s high performers and where the majority of parents would probably express confidence in the schools. That does not mean all parents are happy, but Cherokee has an enviable record of achievement.
House Bill 978 would realign the Cherokee county school board and effectively remove the elected school board chair and vice chair, according to the Cherokee Tribune. Now, the school board has seven members elected county-wide and members elect their own chair and vice chair.
An angry Cherokee Superintendent Frank R. Petruzielo is firing back at lawmakers, and he is not mincing his words about what he deems their lack of support for the schools and their efforts to undermine them:
Cherokee County Legislative Delegation members, who frequently extol “local control” as a value of their political ideology, have introduced legislation (HB 978) that will significantly limit voters’ ability to elect members of the Cherokee County School Board, despite input collected by the Cherokee County School District from thousands of citizens through a survey open to the entire community and a series of public meetings indicating that the vast majority prefer the current methodology of electing all seven School Board members countywide.
This ill-advised legislation makes it clear that our State lawmakers believe they know better than Cherokee’s registered voters and the School Board what is best for this community’s public schools… despite the fact that none of these legislators have children enrolled in our schools. Parents of the 38,600 students whose children are educated within the CCSD should question why State lawmakers want to reduce the number of School Board members for whom they can vote… from seven representatives down to two!
We have heard vague reasoning that this change would make things “easier.” Easier for whom? The current methodology is absolute — every citizen can vote for every School Board member; it does not matter where a line has been drawn by the Delegation. Maybe it would make it “easier” to run for office in a small segment of the county; but that should be the last consideration.
The fact is: the Delegation knows it is difficult to unseat School Board members who are proven champions for public education through a legitimate political challenge at the ballot box; so they have chosen to usurp the power of the people and simply draw School Board members who refuse to bend to their will out of their posts.
Long gone are the days when the Delegation supported and advocated for our award-winning, high-performing schools and School District. They have stood idly by while the State has cut $118 Million of our State-earned funding over the last seven years; while teachers have been furloughed and class sizes have had to grow larger every year; and while funding for textbooks, school nurses and transportation are whittled away. Instead of supporting and helping their community’s public schools, they have actively pursued and advocated for vouchers, private school “scholarships,” for-profit charter schools and various other efforts that continue to shift funding and local control away from one of the highest-performing public school districts in the State and Nation!
Regarding the new post boundaries created by the Delegation as part of HB 978, we have serious concerns about the impact on the community and the future equity of education in CCSD. Residents “below the Sixes line” will have the ability to control the election of five of the seven seats on the School Board – returning the county to the dysfunctional North vs. South political system of its past. Additionally, two of this area’s mega neighborhoods – Towne Lake and BridgeMill – each are split between two posts, giving them the opportunity to each decide two post elections, as well as make a major impact on the chairman election. Additionally, the four southern posts and two northern posts reflect major disparity as it relates to racial and socio-economic diversity; and all of the posts are significantly varied as far as population – one post has 686 more people than the targeted one-sixth of the county’s population.
It’s clear from reviewing the new post boundaries that deliberate gerrymandering efforts were made in order to draw two incumbents up for re-election this year – Chairman Mike Chapman and Vice Chairwoman Janet Read – into posts with incumbents not up for re-election, thus precluding Chapman and Read from running for post seats on the School Board. Their residences are on the edges of boundaries, and those posts’ boundaries were drawn without respect to standard principles of reapportionment… including setting equal populations, keeping precincts and communities intact, using geographical boundaries and making efforts “to avoid the unnecessary pairing of incumbents.”
In drafting HB 978, the Delegation disregarded input from the true community survey conducted by CCSD and the map drafted by CCSD and approved by the School Board. Instead, the Delegation funded a political organization, Grassroots Conservatives of Cherokee County – already known to oppose the current governance model and impacted incumbents — to conduct an unverifiable “poll,” the results of which the Delegation touts in its press release as evidence of community support. When a majority of those in attendance at a town hall meeting called by the Delegation didn’t voice support for change, the Delegation appointed a Blue Ribbon Committee in an effort to create more “evidence” in its favor, and when the Committee didn’t vote the way it wanted… a new vote with a different result was required! All of this is a slap in the face to the School Board and community after members of the Delegation told local media they would not make any changes to the governance model unless the School Board requested it.
The future quality of education in Cherokee County is endangered by the Delegation’s actions; and it is my sincere hope that its members will rethink this politically motivated, ill-advised legislation for the sake of our community’s children.
This is my personal opinion; it is not necessarily the opinion of the Cherokee County School Board.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled board
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134 comments Add your comment
GiveChipTheBoot
February 17th, 2012
5:49 pm
Steve maybe you should be more concerned with how our state representatives are enriching themselves from the huge money they receive from ALEC corporate members each time they vote for legislation that brings down our public school districts. The goal is to bring our schools down so that we will all embrace the notion of privatization of our public schools. They do not care about the children it’s all about the money to be made!
CherokeeTaxpayer
February 17th, 2012
5:50 pm
As a Cherokee taxpayer with no kids in school I think that Dr. P has done reasonably well improving the quality of the schools, but has little regard for the taxpayers and has spent too much money. Basically he is starting to overstay his welcome. I am certain he can do well for another district somewhere else.
All that said, Dr. P. is absolutely right about two things:
1) There is no way in the world we should spent any taxpayer money on any private schools (charter or whatever you want to call them). If parents want to send their kids to private school then they should pay for it themselves, above and beyond whatever they pay – like every property owner does even if they have no kids – to support the public schools.
2) The local legislative delegation is playing with fire when they try to gerrymander the school board districts. Every citizen should be able to vote for every board member (and that goes for the county commission as well). Local control depends upon accountability to the voters, something that Chip and his gang ought to be thinking about about themselves.
OnlytheLonely
February 17th, 2012
5:50 pm
Chip’s gonna get his soon. Word is, that fancy FBI group in Atlantta is investigating him as we speak.
td
February 17th, 2012
5:51 pm
GiveChipTheBoot
February 17th, 2012
5:42 pm
Let us please have a moment of reality here. You test scores are up because you have more two parent households, more involved parents and are at a higher medium income then the most counties. It has nothing to so with how you elect your board members in the county. This will not change when you are voting the way the rest of the state votes in next years election.
td
February 17th, 2012
5:57 pm
CherokeeTaxpayer
February 17th, 2012
5:50 pm
Should you also be able to vote for every Georgia house member and Senator? Should you be allowed to vote for the John Lewis, although he lives in Atlanta or for Jack Kingston in Savannah? What you are saying is the same thing.
reality
February 17th, 2012
5:57 pm
td– Cherokee County’s percentage of kids on free-reduced lunch has doubled in the last 10 years, while test scores have increased. That’s the reality. Try again.
td
February 17th, 2012
6:03 pm
reality
February 17th, 2012
5:57 pm
It is really in the past 5 years and it is the same in every school district in Georgia. It is called a recession and that the USDA has changed the rules to allow more people to qualify.
Maureen Downey
February 17th, 2012
6:13 pm
@td, It has risen, but not doubled: From Augusta Chronicle:
Behemoth
February 17th, 2012
6:14 pm
Seems like Dr. P. is a little worried about his $250,000 salary. His are the words of a scared, little man.
td
February 17th, 2012
6:17 pm
Maureen Downey
February 17th, 2012
6:13 pm
Has it doubled in Cherokee county in the past 10 years?
Maureen Downey
February 17th, 2012
6:17 pm
More from the AJC:
Peggy
February 17th, 2012
6:24 pm
Remember when Mr Laurens didn’t get get his way last year and publicly said that the members that didn’t vote his way were not Republicans, never came to Republican meetings and he would deal with them. The people spoke then but ,Mr Laurens , Mr Jeurgson and Mr Rogers are still going to keep pushing this issue until they get their way. Check who is supporting their campaign.
Centrist
February 17th, 2012
6:24 pm
One sided piece without any viewpoints from the legislators.
While both legislators and school board members are voted in by the electorate, it is the legislature which sets school board alignments/ districts – not the other way around. Nothing has changed – the voters will pick their school board representatives. If school board members don’t like it – they can run for the legislature.
reality
February 17th, 2012
6:25 pm
According to Department of Education data reports (available online), the free/reduced percentage for Cherokee County was 14.8% in 2000, was 30.05% in 2010. It’s 30.64 this year.
Maureen Downey
February 17th, 2012
6:25 pm
td,
In Cherokee, free and reduced lunch eligibility went from 14.8 percent in 2000 to 27.9 in 2009. Don’t have 2010 and 2011, but I am sure it increased in those two years. (See poster below me who was faster and more current than me.)
Maureen
Researcher
February 17th, 2012
6:36 pm
Google Dr. P see what he has done to Broward County Fla and Texas! Just Saying!
Concerned parent
February 17th, 2012
6:37 pm
I think it is time for parents and teachers to stand up to the Cherokee delegation and VOTE them out of office! This a clear attempt at payback because of the Charter School being voted down. Where is the outrage?! It needs to be squarely on Chip Rogers and his minions!
Bender
February 17th, 2012
6:38 pm
Yeah, this guy has voted for Republicans in every primary election in the past decade. So, you reap what you sow.
If you cared about these issues, why’d you vote these jokers in for the past ten years?
reality
February 17th, 2012
6:40 pm
Interesting note, the same data reports show the free/reduced rate for the charter school in cherokee county is 16.48%.
Centrist
February 17th, 2012
6:44 pm
Concerned parent posted “I think it is time for parents and teachers to stand up to the Cherokee delegation and VOTE them out of office!”
Yup, that’s how it works. But I think you (and many others here) will be disappointed come next November when the legislative delegation from Cherokee remains largely the same and the school board gets reshuffled. The voters will get their voices heard above this liberal blog and newspaper.
Watching
February 17th, 2012
6:44 pm
There is a town hall meeting Saturday at 11:30 am at the Hickory Flat Public Library for anyone interested in hearing what our delegation has to say for themselves. I believe it will be Senator Rogers and Calvin Hill.
Centrist
February 17th, 2012
6:55 pm
Watching posted “There is a town hall meeting Saturday at 11:30 am at the Hickory Flat Public Library for anyone interested in hearing what our delegation has to say for themselves.”
Evidently that is the ONLY way you will hear their side. If the AJC covers it, look to hear from their detractors and be left with the impression they are not popular – then AJC true believers will be shocked when they are re-elected.
Behemoth
February 17th, 2012
7:17 pm
Dr. P. has proudly admitted to being insensitive to the will of the citizens of Cherokee County.
Dr. P. regards his post in Cherokee County as his own personal business, not the business of the citizens of Cherokee County.
Dr. P. knows that this legislation will create an environment that fosters citizen involvement and citizen authority over the School Board.
Dr. P. knows that this legislation will mean the loss of his job.
concerned parent
February 17th, 2012
7:46 pm
We all just need to face the fact that being one of the best school sytems in a state that is the worst in the country is nothing to brag about. Maybe we just have less to fix than the majority of the other systems in a state of national embarrasments. Drastic change is still needed.
A. DeAngelo
February 17th, 2012
8:06 pm
Georgia ranks 45th based on SAT scores
(source: http://gaeducation.blogspot.com/2008/08/2008-sat-results-released-georgia-ranks.html)
Georgia ranks 41st based on Morgan Quinto Smartest State (2006-2007)
(source: http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank.htm)
Georgia ranks 47th based on Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate for Public High School Students
(source: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2007/section3/table.asp?tableID=701)
So what’s so great about being the fly at the top of the dung heap — still stinks! Just sayin’.
Concerned Parent
February 17th, 2012
8:14 pm
What is happening here in Cherokee County is exactly what happened in Clayton County. New Board members with a personal agenda to oust everyone. The new board members destroyed the Clayton County system and I see the very same thing starting to happen here. We must stand up and stop this. Most all parents will tell you how pleased they are with our system. The teachers are very grateful to work in this system. Let’s face the truth. I am going to say what most people have been afraid to say. Most of the complaints you hear concerning our schools and Dr P. are from disgruntled parents whose children have had some type of academic or behavior issue in school. They think that moving their child to the Charter School will solve their problems but the problems will simply follow them or they think they are too good to attend our schools. Apples don’t fall far from the tree!
td
February 17th, 2012
8:26 pm
First I need to say that I am one of the few conservatives that does not believe in charter schools. I believe that all charter schools do is to pull out the best and brightest students and the hardest working most dedicated parents. With little voice and few peer role models then education as a whole will drop. If these supporters want private schools for there children then they need to pay for it and send their children to private schools.
With the above said. The county delegation is doing what the are Constitutionally required to do and if I know politicians they are supported by the majority of their constituents. It sounds like to me that this Superintendent has been playing with fire for a long time and a true educator should know better then to play to much in the political arena.
Gabrielle
February 17th, 2012
8:38 pm
Let’s be realistic: #1. The lifespan of any Superintendent is short-lived and change is good. #2. Cherokee County schools are no better than any other system in GA. except that parent involvement is massive as are expectations from parents, unfortunately, unlike other communities. #3. Truth be told, Cherokee’s strategies are quite antiquated, but since negative school discipline and attendance issues are limited, they are called a high-level system. Do you really believe that this Superintendent are any better than other schools or is it the demographics and the socioeconomic backgrounds of Cherokee’s residents? When you have a system that is highly diverse, low socioeconomic situations, families that struggle to find work, non-documented students, students with limited English language acquisition, then talk to me.
Think about it.
cheri curtis
February 17th, 2012
8:47 pm
My children attended school in Cherokee from k through 12. I long rmember the days when the scholl board did not listen to the parents. I worked long and hard to collect signatures on a recall petition when the district faced lose of accreditation. We now have a system that can be improved on but is far better then what it was when I moved to Cherokee County in 1991. If every parent would take a part of their child’s education, then this county could be the “BEST”.
DT
February 17th, 2012
8:49 pm
@Steve….When teachers face furlough days EVERYONE in the CCSD employment faces furloughs!! That includes bus drivers, lunchroom staff, custodians, teachers and county office personnel including the superintendent!! Compare his salary against other county superintendents with the same standard of achievement and we have a bargain! He HAS turned this county around from the disaster it was 13 years ago….I know. I witnessed and experienced it.
Proud Cherokee Parent
February 17th, 2012
8:58 pm
If these goons truly believe that the parents of over 38 THOUSAND students will ignore this obvious slap in the face to our public school system in Cherokee, I sincerely hope that they all have a ‘Plan B’ for when they are voted out of office. In a way, this bill is a good thing. We are long overdue a shake up and a WAKE UP as CCSD parents that these reps DO NOT have our kids’ best interests at heart. If I hear one more work about charters, vouchers, and private school ’scholarships’, I am going to puke.
Adios, gentleman!
Proud Cherokee Parent
February 17th, 2012
9:00 pm
If these goobs truly believe that the parents of over 38 THOUSAND students will ignore this obvious slap in the face to our public school system in Cherokee, I sincerely hope that they all have a ‘Plan B’ for when they are voted out of office. In a way, this bill is a good thing. We are long overdue a shake up and a WAKE UP as CCSD parents that these reps DO NOT have our kids’ best interests at heart. If I hear one more work about charters, vouchers, and private school ’scholarships’, I am going to barf.
Adios, gentleman!
Cherokee parent -- the original
February 17th, 2012
9:02 pm
You know the minions are really mad when they start co-opting screen names and accusing people who disagree with them of being liberals. Just because I’m an informed parent who loathes this kind of bullying by legislators doesn’t mean I’m in any way liberal… I’ve voted for several of these legislators repeatedly, but never will I do so again. It’s clear that these nasty posters don’t actually know Dr. P but rather are political hacks jealous of his power. Maybe they’re even among the group paid by these legislators to blog for them?
OnlytheLonely
February 17th, 2012
9:05 pm
@td, I’m afraid you’re wrong about the Cherokee delegation being Constitutionally required to change the way citizens vote for their school board. The only requirement is to redistrict.
Nostradamus
February 17th, 2012
9:09 pm
This will all mean very little come 2012 when Janet Read is sworn in as Board Chairman, a PTA mom wins the new post and Dr. P smiles as he is only a couple of months into his new three-year contract. These “grassroots conservatives” have awakened the silent majority and it will be hilarious to watch this backfire on them. Dare I say, Senator Chapman?
Maureen Downey
February 17th, 2012
9:09 pm
@Cherokee parent, I took down the poster’s comments. Sorry about that.
Maureen
Proud Cherokee Parent
February 17th, 2012
9:14 pm
@Nostradamus, AMEN! This was just the stir up that the silent majority needed. And trust me… we are STIRRED UP.
Nostradamus
February 17th, 2012
9:14 pm
That should have read 2013! Even Nostradamus makes a mistake every now and then!
Centrist
February 17th, 2012
9:17 pm
Once again, Proud Cherokee Parent – the “goobs/reps” who get you want voted out and bid adios is more likely to be school board members than the current legislative reps who have a history of being quite popular by their election margins. It is not the legislative districts being proposed to be redone, but the school board members.
CherokeeTaxpayer
February 17th, 2012
9:19 pm
TD: I think we agree on most major points that Dr. P has outstayed his welcome and that parents who want to send their kids to private schools should pay for it themselves. The only point of disagreement is how we go about making changes.
I favor electing school board members who will carry out the will of the majority of citizens in the county. You seem to favor gerrymandering and rigging the system to meet our goals.
Your argument about everyone voting for John Lewis or Jack Kingston is a very pitiful straw man. The conventions of elections by congressional district and elections by school district are well established and should not be changed willy-nilly for the sake of winning the argument of the day.
Centrist
February 17th, 2012
10:02 pm
td – You are dead on about the new voting plan.
Kindergarten CCSD Mom
February 17th, 2012
10:55 pm
The best thing we can all do is to let our opinions be known to our elected ‘voices’ on this issue – Hill, Jerguson, Rogers and Byrd. I have personally emailed them in regards to my absolute opposition and disappointment in their political shenanigans and putting their personal agendas ahead of our public school students here in Cherokee. I implore you to do the same!
Additionally, I urge you to attend one of the many Town Hall Meetings coming up tomorrow (2) and next week. These are advertised on Chip Rogers’ FaceBook page:
Two tomorrow:
11:30 Hickory Flat Public Lib
1:00 pm Rose Creek Public Lib
More to come the following week:
Thursday, February 25, 2010 from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Hickory Flat Library
2740 E Cherokee Dr
Canton, GA 30115-9250
(770) 345-7565
Saturday, February 27, 2010 from 9:00 am to 10:00 am
Mt. View Library
3320 Sandy Plains Road
Marietta, GA 30066-4743
(770) 509-2725
Saturday, February 27, 2010 from 10:30 to 11:30 am
Woodstock Library
7735 Main Street
Woodstock, GA 30188-1691
(770) 928-9945
Saturday, February 27, 2010 from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Rosecreek Library
4476 Towne Lake Parkway
Woodstock, GA 30189-8133
(770) 591-1491
Enough is enough and the elephant in the room needs to be addressed. I want to know why Charters and dismantling our school board outweigh fighting for the $118 million that CCSD has earned – but not received – from the state….?? And why our county is paying above the 20% maximum in ‘fair share’ mils by several percentage points….?? We need to elect people who TRULY represent our children – not those who won’t even send their children to our schools!! I know who I won’t be voting for next time.
Mark
February 17th, 2012
11:36 pm
You Cherokee voters should wise up. Chip Rogers is corrupt to the core. He bugs out on his debt. He bashes public schools. He does whatever Grover says is okay. And clearly, this dirt bag is looking for his next highest office.
td
February 17th, 2012
11:47 pm
CherokeeTaxpayer
February 17th, 2012
9:19 pm
My point about the current voting system in Cherokee county and the analogy of it being the same as voting for US house members all over the state is very legitimate. When Roy Barnes attempted this same thing by creating a super district with multiple house members in 2001 was ruled unconstitutional by a Federal court. In addition the county is probably in violation of the voting rights act. If there is an area in the county where minorities could make up a majority for a independent district then the current system violates the voting rights act.
Truth in 2012
February 18th, 2012
12:24 am
Way to go Dr. P. Fight the establishment. Fight the political machine. I hope your parents support you.
Concerned Cherokee Citizen
February 18th, 2012
6:04 am
Certainly, I disagree with the fact that our school board and superintendent are making sound financial decisions for the taxpayers of Cherokee County. Too many buildings, which are structurally sound, could be renovated/repurposed rather than imploded. In addition, we are busing students great distances from their local residential areas. (One of many examples here: Students who live in the Canton Market Place area are being transported daily to Avery Elementary, Creekside Middle, and Creekview High.) How can anyone, who is concerned about the financial staus of our system, justify this when Hasty Elementary is one minute away, Cherokee High is less than five minutes away, and Teasley Middle is less than ten minutes away? There are numerous other areas where the taxpayer’s money is not being utilized in a sound manner, and this is widely recognized throughout our county. That being said, however, I do feel that we must take a stand against current legislation which seems very anti-public schools. The path leading to voucher education would, in my opinion, destroy our public schools as we know them.
cherokee granny
February 18th, 2012
7:45 am
Yes it is true that Dr. P. is abrasive and pompous but it’s the results that matter. For those that do remember school board policy demanded we notify the school board two weeks in advance in order to speak on any issue, we had to detail what it was that we wanted to speak on and it had to be approved prior to our being listed as an agenda topic. This managed control was eliminated when Dr. P. became superintendent. This policy among others was something he could change without board approval. This is one example of how citizen input was encouraged and boy did it work!
Having lived here as long as I have we have tended to have a one party system. 35 years ago the Democrat party had a stranglehold on the elected positions and I longed for the day when we would have a choice, well we now have the Republicans and they behave no differently. The decent, good Republicans have headed for the hills and cower at the “Chipper” and his self righteous crusade.
Many years ago a statistican named Gerald Bracy wrote a book on how there were groups ready to dismantle the public education system. This has been in the works for quite some time. Of course their ultimate goal is profit. Which makes me wonder how much these guys will directly benefit
Chaos
February 18th, 2012
7:56 am
It is interesting to me, as someone not from Cherokee Co., that so many of the comments center on Chip Rogers. I don’t care if you vote for him or not, but this is as House Bill that is co-sponsored by Reps Hamilton, Jerguson, Byrd, and Hill. Is Senator Rogers so powerful that he can get his Reps to do his dirty work over in the House? If that is the case, you guys need a full new delegation in both chambers that is more responsive to, and interested in, the local issues that they are supposedly representing.
I think the proposed system would be better if the Board members qualified by district, but ran county-wide. That system would ensure that all people in Cherokee are represented on the school board. But let’s be real, there is no decision that is made by a school board that only affects a certain district within the system. Almost all, if not all, decisions will affect the entire system. Hence, all voters should have a shot at voting for, or against, board members while being represented by someone from the district.
Your rallying cry should be to change the legislation in committee.
crankee_yankee
February 18th, 2012
7:57 am
The Republican mantra of “local control” can be defined as the locus of control resting with whomever is wanting to make the rules, the local community be damned. The sooner people wake up to that, the better off we will all be.
mark
February 18th, 2012
8:02 am
I thought the Repubs were for local control? I thought they were for local Rights? I guess Chip is nothing but a wolf in republican corporate clothing. He wants to give our tax dollars to out of state companies. No wonder Ga is last in many categories, high unemployment, low wages, low education, high poverty rate and many more. Vote the Repubs out! or continue this downward spirl.
As a liberal, educated, yankee, i find this whole education issue humorous. As a parent and teacher if find it disgusting. I have two more years until I am vested in TRS. I will then seek a job in the privated sector. I can not deal with the Repubs control of education. Go teach them your mythology in church, not in a science class room. Go teach them Santorum’s and Rodgers view of the world and continue the sterotype of the south for years to come.