Barge breaks rank with his opposition to GOP-backed charter school amendment
Speaking of charter schools this morning on the blog, this is big news as state Schools Superintendent John Barge has been a loyal GOP party member, even endorsing Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, who is one of the chief proponents of school choice in the Georgia Legislature.
Barge’s decision to oppose the charter schools amendment on the November ballot will likely anger supporters of the controversial measure, including Gov. Nathan Deal.
However, Barge’s action confirms what his supporters have said all along about him: He is his own man and will act independently of the Republican party if he disagrees with a stance.
School chief John Barge, who stunned public education supporters with his endorsement last month of Chip Rogers, is full of surprises. Today, he announced his opposition to the GOP-backed charter school amendment.
Barge will announce his opposition to the proposed charter school amendment to the constitution today, becoming the highest profile Republican to break with his party on the issue.
Barge, elected superintendent in 2010, met with Gov. Nathan Deal this morning and later called other legislative leaders so they would not be blind-sided by his position.
The charter school fight was an especially bitter one during the most recent legislative session, when Republicans successfully pushed to place on the ballot a proposed amendment to the constitution that would guarantee the state’s power to authorize and fund charter schools.
Barge had not previously announced a public position on the issue, saying up to this point that he would respect the decision Georgia voters make this fall.
That stance changes today.
“I cannot support the creation of a new and costly state bureaucracy that takes away local control of schools and unnecessarily duplicates the good work already being done by local districts, the Georgia Department of Education, and the state Board of Education,” Barge said in a prepared statement. “What’s more, this constitutional amendment would direct taxpayer dollars into the pockets of out-of-state, for-profit charter school companies whose schools perform no better than traditional public schools and locally approved charter schools (and worse, in some cases).”
Barge said the passage of the amendment, the restoration of the Georgia Charter Schools Commission and state funding for the charter schools it approves would be too costly for the state.
“Until all of our public school students are in school for a full 180-day school year, until essential services like student transportation and student support can return to effective levels, and until teachers regain jobs with full pay for a full school year, we should not redirect one more dollar away from Georgia’s local school districts — much less an additional $430 million in state funds, which is what it would cost to add seven new state charter schools per year over the next five years (the annual average of the Charter Commission that would be revived if the amendment passes),” Barge’s statement read.
Barge’s opposition to the amendment is a boon to other opponents, who have made the same arguments against its passage. Members of Barge’s party, however, aren’t likely to be thrilled.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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71 comments Add your comment
Beverly Fraud
August 14th, 2012
1:34 pm
As long as The Four Horsemen of the Incompetence (Clayton, APS, Fulton, and DeKalb) are reigning educational Armageddon on students in Georgia, it’s hard to not support additional choices, even if those choices are rife with peril.
Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease, but is there a cure that could be possibly worse than the disease of The Four Horsemen of the Incompetence?
Teacher
August 14th, 2012
1:48 pm
@ BF It’s quite an insult for you to lump Fulton in with those other districts. Fulton has done a pretty good job of maintaining fiscal and educational control over its district.
Beverly Fraud
August 14th, 2012
1:53 pm
@Teacher a student at Westlake High PHYSICALLY ASSAULTS a school resource officer, then Westlake lets him back into school three days later so he can become part of a group that brutalizes and hospitalizes another student…this is “educational control”?
I’d hate to see what OUT of control was
Old School Girl
August 14th, 2012
2:57 pm
That took courage, Dr. Barge. My mother always told me that the only difference between public school, and private school was parental involvement. When you are paying for private school, you want to know where your money is going. The public school systems that are doing fine, are the result of parents being involved AND disciplining their children..Those districts with problems…look at how involved the parents are in the school, know about their children’s studies and homework expectations, know the teachers and show up for parent teacher conferences prepared to work as a team with the teacher on behalf of their children. Money will never replace good ole fashion parental involvement.
Now I will also say, that although my children attend private school, I would never dream of taking money away from the public school. Every family does not have the resources, means or opportunity to attend private school. Therefore, I will always do what I can to help public school…why, because these children are our future everyone.
I can not begin to articulate my frustration
August 14th, 2012
3:39 pm
I applaud Dr. Barge for releasing this statement. If he had said it in March, we probably would not be having this discussion because there could possibly have been some Democrats that flipped to Republican to get a “seat at the table” that would have displayed some courgage as well and voted against putting the amendment on the ballot.
Goodforkids
August 14th, 2012
4:46 pm
HOORAY!
I appreciate that he mentions the out-of-state, for-profit charter school companies. Those guys are what this amendment is all about. The parent/community-generated charter school as an alternative to what is offered in the system is not my enemy…the K12 Inc and its ilk are. And this amendment will throw the doors wide open and put out welcome mats for those suits, as I have said before.
ProudFCSParent
August 14th, 2012
4:56 pm
Bravo Dr. Barge!
Matt
August 14th, 2012
4:59 pm
I’m a member of Barge’s party, and I am thrilled. These republicans are not being fiscally conservative with the money entrusted them by the people of Georgia. Redundant bureaucracy in the name of choice and freedom. The choice should be the freedom to spend your money and send your child to a private school or the freedom to send your child to an adequately funded public school. The state is here to provide access to education. They are should be providing the equivalent of a Chevy or Ford. They should not provide a Cadillac to one group and a Chevy or Ford to the majority.
SusanL
August 14th, 2012
5:32 pm
Thank you, Superintendent Barge!! As a life-long Republican, I am gravely concerned about what this amendment’s passage would do to our public school system in the state of Georgia. As long as the Legislature fails to fully fund public education, there should be no consideration given to setting up a parallel system and draining money from existing school systems. We applaud your stand on this issue and appreciate that you have spoken for all of those students in the state who do not have a voice on this issue!
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August 14th, 2012
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Beverly Fraud
August 14th, 2012
6:38 pm
“They should not provide a Cadillac to one group and a Chevy or Ford to the majority.”
A Chevy or a Ford? Try a YUGO.
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August 14th, 2012
8:12 pm
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The Deal
August 14th, 2012
8:48 pm
I am completely confused on which side to support, which is more confusing because I am normally very opinionated. On one hand, I do not like the thought of providing an avenue for misappropriation of more school and tax money. On the other hand, I am disgusted with the state of things in DeKalb, and I do not think that even an entirely new school board could improve the situation. There is no local control in DeKalb that matters. No one is going to be recalled, and we will not get a new superintendent or a noticeably new board for years. We are not going to be able to fix the system without something very fundamental changing. DeKalb in its current form will never be successful. Therefore, anything, ANYTHING that will provide more options and take money that DeKalb normally receives for my child would be preferable to what is happening today.
Support Public Education
August 14th, 2012
10:16 pm
Thank you Dr. Bardge! It is time we take a stand against politicians that look to destroy public education. Educators take enough criticism as it is. Our lawmakers should support public education. I am certainly voting NO for the charter amendment!
LD
August 14th, 2012
10:19 pm
@BF – I thought it was a Schwinn!
@ The Deal – that is one system out of 180. And why it may take awhile, you still will have the opportunity to replace your entire school board soon, based on last years’ legislation restructuring Dekalb’s board. This amendment would impact the entire state (including Dekalb) for a very long time.
Ulyanov
August 14th, 2012
11:57 pm
Finally, a republican governor with a heart!
Amazing News from Georgia « Diane Ravitch's blog
August 15th, 2012
8:53 am
[...] is the amazing news: the state superintendent of education, a loyal Republican named John Barge, has come out in opposition to the measure, which will be on the ballot in [...]
Dawg
August 15th, 2012
11:05 am
Who is being scammed here? Any of Georgia’s 159 County Boards of Education, as well as the Georgia Department of Education, can authorize a charter school. Why is there a need for the taxpayers to pay for another government bureaucracy – The Charter Commission – to authorize a charter school? Someone is being scammed – and it is the GA voters if they pass this constitutional admendment!
PHILIP M.
August 16th, 2012
1:09 pm
I believe the Charter School increase will force public educators to take a strong look at what education and what quality of education they are providing for the VAST amount of money taxpayers give them. I hope the public educatoers will rise to the challenge Charter Schools provide.
show me the money
August 16th, 2012
3:00 pm
Mountain man forgets that we should make decisions based upon student achievement and charters have not been shown to increase student achievement. In fact, in most cases they do worse. Look at the work from Michael Marder in TX. Only a handful of charters in that state beat traditional public schools and that is because they cherry pick students. If you allow me to cherry pick students, no matter than the demographics, I can get them to achieve.
doctor priciple
August 19th, 2012
7:28 pm
Why do good effective teachers like charters and tenure ruled teachers hate them?
Go think.