State Sen. Jason Carter on charter schools amendment: Shifts power from local elected officials to state bureaucrats
State Sen. Jason Carter opposes the charter schools amendment and says language is meant to deceive.
Earlier today, we heard from a Republican state senator from DeKalb on the charter schools amendment on the Nov. 6 ballot. State Sen. Fran Millar of Dunwoody wrote a column on why he supports it.
Now, here is the other side from state Sen. Jason Carter, D-Atlanta. Carter is from the 42nd District, representing DeKalb.
By Jason Carter
This year, Georgia voters will be confronted with two proposed amendments to the state constitution. Regardless of their substance, the system for approving amendments is broken, and this threatens the principle that our Constitution draws its power directly from the people.
Proposed constitutional amendments appear on the ballot in the form of a question, drafted by the legislature. The ballot question is also “introduced” with a statement drafted by a committee of three: the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker of the House. Rather than honestly frame this year’s most controversial constitutional question, Georgia’s current leadership decided to play politics on the ballot itself.
This year’s Amendment One would amend the Constitution to take away local school board control of charter schools and give the state government sweeping new powers. This transfer of ultimate control over certain schools from elected local boards to state bureaucrats is the fundamental change requiring a constitutional amendment and is the amendment’s purpose. Unfortunately, your ballot will not even mention this issue.
Instead, politicians drafted the ballot question to ask: “Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to allow state or local approval of public charter schools upon the request of local communities?” This question is intentionally misleading on the fundamental issue of whether local control should be preserved or subverted. In fact, local approval of charter schools already exists, and local school boards have approved more than 200 charter schools in Georgia. The state’s new powers would primarily be meaningful only if a local elected school board had already rejected a charter school’s application. Finally, requests under the proposed system need not, and likely would not, arise organically from “local communities”—they could originate from anywhere, including from groups seeking public money for schools to be run by private, for-profit companies.
The politicians’ “introduction” on the ballot is even more misleading. It says that the amendment: “Provides for improving student achievement and parental involvement through more public charter school options.” Who could be against that? Well, in reality, there is little evidence that the amendment would “improve student achievement.” In fact, a nonpartisan Stanford University study showed that about 20 percent of charter schools performed better than comparable local schools, almost half performed the same, and 37 percent were “significantly worse.”
This manipulation demonstrates that our constitutional amendment process is broken because it allows politicians to put whatever they want on the ballot—with no oversight to prevent abuse. And this has become a habit, no matter who is in power.
In 1988, voters were faced with an amendment that would allow the state government to limit its exposure to lawsuits. When the ballot presented the amendment plainly, the voters rejected it 70 percent to 30 percent. Two years later, an identical amendment appeared on the ballot. But this time, state leaders used a confusing ballot question that made it seem that the amendment would make the state more accountable, not less. The amendment passed. Same amendment. Different ballot language. Opposite result.
In that case, based on legal fictions with no basis in reality, the Georgia Supreme Court failed to intervene. Since then, courts have refused to review ballot language even to ensure basic honesty or an accurate reflection of the proposed amendment’s substance.
Our Constitution is too important to be amended through trickery. To preserve the Constitution’s integrity, we have to demand that our leaders stop designing ballot language to mislead. And when those leaders attempt to bias the vote with false ballot wording, Georgia courts must protect the Constitution by forcing the politicians to rewrite the ballot to reflect the truth.
I personally support charter schools, and I encourage local boards to expand them. But no matter what we think about the state government creating charter schools, or local control of education, we cannot tolerate the ballot being used to mislead voters. The bottom line is this: if an amendment were truly necessary, and if the state’s leadership truly respected Georgia citizens and their right to self-government, then the leaders would tell the truth on the ballot and let Georgia’s voters decide for themselves.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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122 comments Add your comment
State Sen. Fran Millar on charter schools amendment: Inject competition into system with mediocre results | Get Schooled
October 22nd, 2012
3:42 pm
[...] up is state Sen. Fran Millar, R-Dunwoody, writing in favor of Amendment 1. For the other side, see the companion post by Millar’s fellow DeKalb senator, Democrat Jason Carter. By Fran [...]
Beverly Fraud
October 22nd, 2012
3:55 pm
Sen. Carter here’s why your argument isn’t resonating; the local officials are acting EXACTLY LIKE state bureaucrats…if state bureaucrats were trained by the North Korean government.
Put it this way; your average Joe right about now would probably have more confidence in a charter school run by Bain Capital than they would schools run by APS, Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton, aka The Four Horsemen of the Incompetence
In other words, I think the voters are ready for Educational Armageddon, if that’s what it comes to.
bc
October 22nd, 2012
3:58 pm
He actually makes some pretty good points, this coming from somebody who’s been planning on voting for the amendment.
D
October 22nd, 2012
4:00 pm
http://www.economist.com/node/21558265
This article has points to make about the number cited by Mr.Carter.
D
October 22nd, 2012
4:00 pm
numbers, rather.
Ed Advocate
October 22nd, 2012
4:04 pm
@ Bev, I think Senator Carter’s point is that drafters of Amendment #1 are manipulating the vote by use of a misleading ballot question and an even worse preamble. It is unethical and unfair to GA voters to allow these tactics.
Senator Carter, who publicly stated last session that he believes the state should provide an appellate process to approve high-quality charters unfairly denied by local school boards, is not an apologist for the status quo or disfunctional and obstructionist local school boards.
bc
October 22nd, 2012
4:07 pm
@D
Thanks for a link to a great article with great points that are often overlooked on this blog and by the predictable education benefactors and their barrage of bully tactics
ProfD
October 22nd, 2012
4:11 pm
It is just hard to understand why would a democrat like Sen. Carter oppose an amendment that gives local communities more choice. If a local school board is dysfunctional, as manifested for example by massive cheating, or for example by firing an entire administration in a school, agains the wishes of the local community, then this amendment provides a different avenue for the local community to take action on public education in the community. It really gives people more choice – however, these democrats seem very anti choice. While I am a huge Obama supporter, as well as I like Kasim Reed and John Lewis, I will vote for republicans in state elections and democrat in national elections, and certainly vote for the amendment.
DeKalb Inside Out
October 22nd, 2012
4:21 pm
Ed Advocate
OCGA says the state can commission state charters. The GA Supreme Court says they can’t.
Dunwoody Mom,
I am assuming Barge was correct when he estimated 7 new state chartered schools every year to get to $430 million after 4 years. I am open to the possibility that Barge was WAY off on that estimation.
What do you think?
Ray
October 22nd, 2012
4:28 pm
Question to the amendment supporters: if this charter amendment is so great, why is it worded so deceptively?
Attentive Parent/Invisible Serfs Collar
October 22nd, 2012
4:28 pm
Speaking of what is going on locally, beyond the must defer to the Super mandate imposed on local school boards now by the accreditors, I think Cobb voters really ought to ask Michael Hinojosa why he signed on to a document issued in 2008 called “Creating a New Vision for Public Education in Texas.”
I wrote about the document here http://www.invisibleserfscollar.com/the-intentional-insurrection-in-texas-supers-override-governor-legislature-and-taxpayers/. Basically Hinojosa, as Dallas Super, agreed to push for Equity Education and Education fit for a democracy (very troubling definitions of what they have in mind) regardless of the wishes of the Texas legislature, Governor, or taxpayers.
So where precisely is the scrutiny if you have already declared you do not really answer to anyone but Mark Elgart of SACS?
Jimmy crack corn and I don't care
October 22nd, 2012
4:35 pm
Jason Carter is a useless as his Grandpa. Really fellow Georgians, haven’t we learned our lesson about this family?
Roc
October 22nd, 2012
4:53 pm
@Jimmy crack corn – you, my furry-feathered friend, are an imbecile. The Carter family is an asset to this state and, one day after you imbeciles fade into obscurity, this state will thank the entire family for their service. Jason Carter is my State Senator and he is one of the smartest, humble guys that I’ve ever met in life. You, my friend, are the useless one. What have you ever done with your life to even allow the Carter name to come out of your mouth? Show some respect!!!
Roc
October 22nd, 2012
4:54 pm
@Jimmy crack corn – you, my furry-feathered friend, are an imbecile. The Carter family is an asset to this state and, one day after you imbeciles fade into obscurity, this state will thank the entire family for their service. Jason Carter is my State Senator and he is one of the smartest, most humble guys that I’ve ever met in life. You, my friend, are the useless one. What have you ever done with your life to even allow the Carter name to come out of your mouth? Show some respect!!!
Ben
October 22nd, 2012
4:55 pm
Jason I agree with you on this matter. Leave it to the school boards to say yes or no and then only when there’s enough money to go around and not take away funds from the public schools.
DeKalb Inside Out
October 22nd, 2012
4:56 pm
Ray
The wording was obviously crafted to give this amendment the best chance possible of passing. Not the first or last time this will happen. I’m not saying it’s right, but it’s legal.
Eddie Hall
October 22nd, 2012
5:10 pm
@ProfD there is no LOCAL choice in this amendment!
If the Gov and Speaker and Lt Gov will go THIS far just to mis represent the amendment on the ballot, Do you want them to be in charge of appointing the committee and the budget that goes with it?! VOTE NO!! Don’t give up your right to ELECT local representation on your school board!
Ray
October 22nd, 2012
5:20 pm
DeKalb: Thanks for your honest answer. I’m not an expert on the history of ballot issues in Georgia, but I can’t quite wrap my mind around how changing the constitution — which is a pretty big deal — can be done in such an underhanded and deceptive way. How can something like that be “legal”? It seems to me that there should have been some reasonable agreement on how to word it — something that would have been fair to both sides, and to voters. This completely one-sided wording — which as you say is “to give it the best chance possible of passing” — to me is really just a method of tricking people into voting for it.
So again, if this charter amendment is such a great idea, so great for education in Georgia, why have its proponents resorted to hoodwinking people into voting for it? Why not just state what it is fairly and let the people decide? Obviously the drafters felt that people would prefer local control on this sort of an issue, and so they just stuck “local control” in their to fool people. What a travesty.
Ray
October 22nd, 2012
5:22 pm
there
Ray
October 22nd, 2012
5:26 pm
They stuck “local approval” in there to fool people. The amendment is to change to the constitution to allow the opposite — state approval. What a con job.
Ron
October 22nd, 2012
5:29 pm
This is why citizens are so upset over our gov. deception. deception. Everyone should vote NO! plain and simple, just like T-PLOST was a vote NO.
mountain man
October 22nd, 2012
5:40 pm
“Don’t give up your right to ELECT local representation on your school board!”
I didn’t know that this amendment took away your right to vote and elect your local school board members (it doesn’t). What is more, it still allows local BOEs to approve charter schools. What it ALSO does is eliminate the local BOE’s stranglehold on approving charters that would compete with their existing monopoly on school systems. It allows parental choice where sometimes none exists now – where local BOEs REFUSE to approve ANY charter not of its creation; where students are TRAPPED in failing systems with no way out unless their parents have the financial means to send them to private schools or home-school them.
mountain man
October 22nd, 2012
5:42 pm
All the teachers on here are upset that a “deceptive” amendment that they oppose might pass. If it were an amendment that they wanted passed, they would be the ones creating the “deceptive” language. It is all about what they want.
mountain man
October 22nd, 2012
5:46 pm
“Senator Carter, who publicly stated last session that he believes the state should provide an appellate process to approve high-quality charters unfairly denied by local school boards, is not an apologist for the status quo or disfunctional and obstructionist local school boards.”
He sure sounds like an apologist for the status quo and the obstructionist local school boards. He doesn’t want an amendment fixing the situation to pass.
Ray
October 22nd, 2012
5:48 pm
I’m not a teacher mountain man. I’m a citizen who thinks that ballot questions should actually say how they are changing the constitution, rather than trying to fool people into voting for them.
mountain man
October 22nd, 2012
5:50 pm
Ray – you know this would not have been an issue if the local school boards had not taken the State to the Supreme Court over the last State Charter School Commission. So as you sow, so shall you reap.
Ray
October 22nd, 2012
5:52 pm
Tell us about those “obstructionist loacl school boards” that “refuse to approve ANY charter not of its creation”, mountain man. Please name one local school board that has refused to allow any charter schools.
Ray
October 22nd, 2012
5:56 pm
Mountain Man: So because someone pointed out that state approval of charter schools was unconstitutional, and our conservative state supreme court agreed, its ok to “fix” that by tricking people into voting for a constitutional amendment?
Sen. Jason Carter: Charter school amendment weakens local control
October 22nd, 2012
6:05 pm
[...] Senator Jason Carter (D-Decatur) has weighed in with his opinion on Amendment 1, the charter school amendment. Sen. Carter highlights how our constitutional [...]
mountain man
October 22nd, 2012
6:08 pm
Ray – try Cherokee County. The only charter school had to be approved at the state level.
Also, no one is “tricking” anyone – there has been plenty of discussion of this issue. I believe that most people in the state want to see more parental choice – and the only way to give it to them (since the last lawsuit) was to amend the constitution so it would be “constitutional”.
mountain man
October 22nd, 2012
6:14 pm
So for all of you that think that “trickery” is involved – if the amendment had said “to provide additional parental options for education by allowing for State approval of charter schools in addition to local BOE approval, with no local tax money being taken from the local system” would you have been OK with that? It is all true. No, you wouldn’t, because you really just are against any charter school competing with your local monopoly because you are afraid they might do a better job than you are doing.
alm
October 22nd, 2012
6:19 pm
“…schools run by APS, Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton, aka The Four Horsemen of the Incompetence”
I don’t think the whole state, with more than 150 school systems, should be changed for four problem districts. I live in DeKalb and the BOE meetings make me want to pull my hair out.
Ray
October 22nd, 2012
6:25 pm
Are the people of Cherokee County really up in arms about their local school board and clamoring for this charter amendment? I seriously doubt it. The school boards that you are really talking about, mountain man, are APS and DeKalb, and they’ve approved several charter schools. The Atlanta school board just overrode its superintendent, Erroll Davis, a former Sonny Perdue appointee, to approve Drew Charter High School.
How about: Should the state constitution be amended to allow a State Charter School Commission to approve a charter school application where the local school board has rejected the application.
Fair enough? We can dispense with all of the ideology, and the out of state interests in this — ideological and financial — which is apparently what this is all about.
crankee-yankee
October 22nd, 2012
6:37 pm
Follow the money, do you want outsiders (not just out-of-state but from outside the country) crafting our state constitution?
Ed Advocate
October 22nd, 2012
6:39 pm
@ Mountain Man, Amendment #1 is being sold to frustrated parents as a fix for bad school boards and bloated school administration systems. As a public school parent myself, I also feel this frustration. Taking an aspirin for heartburn will not solve the problem. Amendment #1’s passage won’t fix disfunctional boards and administrators either and is likely to further compound the miserable budget cuts most accutately felt by students and their classroom teachers.
If it enables you to sleep better at night to portray those of us who oppose Amendment #1 as apologists for the “status quo,” I certainly can’t stop you, but I want other readers here to understand that many of us opposing the amendment want effective education reform and we know this amendment ain’t it.
heartofdarkness
October 22nd, 2012
6:39 pm
Georgia Education. A system only Rube Goldberg could love.
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming...
October 22nd, 2012
6:40 pm
@Mountain man “If it were an amendment that they wanted passed, they would be the ones creating the “deceptive” language. It is all about what they want.”
No, this “teacher” wouldn’t. Unlike too many of our politicians, I believe in something called INTEGRITY.
Tired
October 22nd, 2012
6:42 pm
ProfD, the people of any community can vote their school board members out. And frankly, they’re obligated to if there are significant problems. Thus, the charter request can be presented again to new board members a few years down the road.
Ed Advocate
October 22nd, 2012
6:48 pm
I am not an apologist for the status quo but I am an apologist for my terrible spelling. Sorry y’all!
Silence Dogood
October 22nd, 2012
6:52 pm
Any bets that Jason is related to James Earl?
mountain man
October 22nd, 2012
6:55 pm
Ed Advocate – No, this amendment won’t solve all education problems. It won’t be as bad as it is touted, either. It WILL give parents some more option when the local school system is dysfunctional. It will end up giving traditional schools MORE money per child in local tax money (less students with the sme local tax. It MIGHT cost them a little in STATE funds, but I think they will end up on the positive side. It will create some segregation – positive segregation of the parents who care from the parents and students who don’t care.
I have posted repeatedly about the main problems (as I see them) of traditional schools: discipline, attendance, parental (and student) apathy, social promotion, too much spending on SPED and ESOL. Traditional schools spend four times what they spent in 1960 (adjusted for inflation) and their performance s worse and they look everywhere except at the main issues.
You cannot teach an empty desk. At least I believe charter schools would never tolerate a student absent 30 days out of the year.
mountain man
October 22nd, 2012
6:57 pm
“the people of any community can vote their school board members out. ”
That has worked out well in Clayton County and Dekalb County.
mountain man
October 22nd, 2012
6:58 pm
“do you want outsiders (not just out-of-state but from outside the country) crafting our state constitution?”
I didn’t know they were voting on this amendment.
mountain man
October 22nd, 2012
7:02 pm
“Are the people of Cherokee County really up in arms about their local school board and clamoring for this charter amendment?”
Check back with me on November 7th and I will tell you what percentage of Cherokee voters voted for the amendment. I will bet a Coke that it is more than 50%.
Ron F.
October 22nd, 2012
7:08 pm
“How about: Should the state constitution be amended to allow a State Charter School Commission to approve a charter school application where the local school board has rejected the application.”
You know, if I honestly thought that the amendment was just about that, then I might just vote in favor of it. As it stands, and considering actions on both sides of this issue, I see that this is more about politics and giving the state a point of control it shouldn’t be trusted with right now. While I agree with many that systems like APS, Dekalb, etc. need gutting of leadership, I don’t think allowing this much power at the state level is, in the long run, a good alternative. The governor removed the entier Miller county BOE for much less than we’ve seen in several metro systems, yet refuses to even comment on such a possiblity when it’s clearly needed and warranted. Why? Because it serves his purposes to have upset parents and crumbling leadership as it encourages votes for the amendment. Couple that with clearly misleading ballot language, and it just seems like something is very, very rotten here. I support the work of many of the state’s charter schools and truly hope they do succeed for the kids they serve. But I can’t get past the politics in this issue to grant any more authority to the state government, especially the big three at the top who will appoint the members of this commission. I have a feeling those members won’t be as nonpartisan and genuine as the previous commission.
DeKalb Inside Out
October 22nd, 2012
7:10 pm
85% of the state chartered schools in Georgia operate in counties where the local boards won’t approve local charters. Often times, they refuse to even look at the charter application.
This amendment is in no small part about giving those parents and children choices.
Charles Douglas Edwards
October 22nd, 2012
7:15 pm
We urge Georgia voters to reject the charter school amendment and vote NO !!!
We support public schools.
catlady
October 22nd, 2012
7:22 pm
Given the friends, family and contributors hiring practices lately, we cannot afford to have more opportunity for graft and greed residing at the state level! Look around, folks! Look who has been given the keys to the kingdom recently–last 10 years or so. Education money is very big bucks! You want to allow more pounds of flesh to be taken from YOUR backside and given to the politically connected?
mountain man
October 22nd, 2012
7:29 pm
“Given the friends, family and contributors hiring practices lately, we cannot afford to have more opportunity for graft and greed residing at the state level!”
Catlady – the ‘friends and family” hiring is at the LOCAL level – one of the reasons we need the ability to go beyond their control.
catlady
October 22nd, 2012
7:31 pm
I repeat: IF there is political will, the recalcitrant school board members CAN be voted out. Happened up here, mountain man.
catlady
October 22nd, 2012
7:32 pm
I do think SACS is part of the problem, however, with his emphasis on everyone on the board agreeing. THAT is NOT NATURAL!
Mary Elizabeth
October 22nd, 2012
7:36 pm
“Our Constitution is too important to be amended through trickery.”
——————————————————————-
I agree totally with state Sen. Jason Carter’s statement, above. Furthermore, thinking citizens must ask why trickery was needed in the word choice within the presentation of Georgia’s Constitutional Amendment 1, because trickery reeks of politics and of stealthy political intent.
I have written previously that it is my opinion that there are forces interested in obtaining the billions of dollars of tax money that have gone to traditional public school education of all students for the profit self-interests of profiteers. I am totally against this. I do not believe that students should be used for profit. We must sustain traditional public education, with the support of charter schools that are authorized either by local school districts or by the state Department of Education.
Below are words from the Miami Herald that will show how the charter movement in Florida has morphed from one that originally had educational purposes of innovation to one of personal profit and greed. What is to keep this transition from also occurring in Georgia? Link provided below.
—————————————————–
“For-profit education companies are becoming serious players in lobbying the Florida Legislature. In the current election cycle, charter school companies, school management firms, online learning outfits and for-profit colleges have lavished more than $1.8 million to statehouse candidates, electioneering organizations and political parties, according to a Miami Herald review of Florida campaign finance data. Most of the money went to Republicans, whose support of charter schools, vouchers, online education and private colleges has put public education dollars in private-sector pockets.
Some observers say the big dollars foreshadow the next chapter in a fierce fight in Tallahasse: the privatization of public education.”
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/22/3061509/with-political-money-charter-schools.html#storylink=cpy
—————————————————————————————–
Vote NO in NOvember to Amendment 1.
DeKalb Inside Out
October 22nd, 2012
7:48 pm
Catlady
Change can happen if there is county wide political will. I imagine many counties around the state are like DeKalb. There are horrible BOE members that are beloved in their communities. It is not possible to vote out the tyranny of the majority in South DeKalb. For Example:
DeKalb District #5 BOE Race in 2010:
Kirk Nooks – B.S. and M.B.A from Mercer and Ed.D. from George Washington
Jacques Hall – Perimeter College student
Cunningham – functional illiterate and convicted felon with high school education
2010 BOE election results
Jay Cunningham – 64%
Jackques Hall – 24%
Kirk Nooks – 12%
Wilbur
October 22nd, 2012
7:53 pm
Lining up Jason Carter might be helpful in some quarters but in most quarters, we just consider the source.
Ron F.
October 22nd, 2012
7:55 pm
“I repeat: IF there is political will, the recalcitrant school board members CAN be voted out.”
Happened in my district too, and happens in any election when a board member hasn’t lived up to expectations. That’s because most voters actually vote in local elections, instead of leaving it up to 10% or less as is the case in many larger counties.
@Dekalb: one BOE district vote in Dekalb doesn’t exactly show a need to provide an automatic override via the state commission. Those districts with functional boards elected by eagerly participating voters in the districts don’t need the state commission override. In many systems across this state, voters participate in large numbers. The solution is to get more people proper information on candidates and get them to vote. I’ll bet you in the election you noted, voter participation was pitifully low. Do you know what percentage of eligible voters bothered to vote?
Attentive Parent/Invisible Serfs Collar
October 22nd, 2012
7:58 pm
Ray-two points. I have never seen a charter out of APS or Dekalb that I would not characterize as enshrining a largely nonacademic policies and practices once you know the terminology.
And the State Supreme Court is decidedly not conservative. That really is factually true as any liberal lawyer who has come before it will tell you.
One more point-in its most recent standards SACS, through its holding company AdvancED, puts an obligation on both school boards and school governance councils to defer to the super or principal in case of any dispute. It’s a consultative role.
When it comes to education Elgart and SACS control Georgia without any real oversight.
Unless there is the out. And Catlady I say that without any faith in the Gold Dome crowd. I just know what is really going on with the districts and what they are trying to do. As this all washes out, heck, everyone school may well end up wanting to be a state approved charter to escape SACS.
Ron F.
October 22nd, 2012
7:59 pm
Having spent fifteen years in Clayton county, I can attest to the low voter turnout in local elections where BOE members were often voted in by less than 10% of eligible voters. The board there is a mess in no small part due to often low voter turnout. When enough citizens care and educate themselves on the candidates, the process works and dysfunctional boards can be fixed. No amount of school change is going to improve that, and the ruse of “local control” will be subverted even more when the commission, chosen by the governor, lt. governor, and speaker of the house get into power.
Old timer
October 22nd, 2012
8:02 pm
I saw your grandfather’s creation……the department of education is worthless.
Old timer
October 22nd, 2012
8:03 pm
And this information is best for low information voters.
Ron F.
October 22nd, 2012
8:04 pm
Attentive parent: so it’s better to give an appointed commission, chosen by the governor, lt. gov., and the speaker of the house power without any real accountability to voters? I don’t trust those three one bit to be “nonpartisan” in their appointments. I agree that boards like those in some of the metro counties aren’t working, but voters have the option to make changes they won’t be able to make to the appointed commission. That’s like trusting the devil as an “out” when demons have wreaked havoc in my opinion.
Peter
October 22nd, 2012
8:06 pm
The Stanford research that he quotes has been misinterpreted so many times it isn’t even funny. Here’s a good analysis that contradicts everything Carter has said: http://www.economist.com/node/21558265
mountain man
October 22nd, 2012
8:16 pm
“In its first year of operation, Cherokee Charter Academy exhibits remarkable results in the 2012 Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). Highlights of this year’s CRCT results:
•100 percent of students met and exceeded standards in seventh grade language arts
•99 percent met and exceeded standards in third grade reading.”
This is the Charter school that Cherokee County BOE rejected, but then was approved at the State level. I can see why Cherokee County did not want this school.
DeKalb Inside Out
October 22nd, 2012
8:17 pm
Ron
Good question. Frankly, I’ve given up on South DeKalb. I really liked that Kirk Nooks guy. I do know that 4 other seats are controlled by New Birth Church. They turn out in big numbers and vote for whomever Eddie Long tells them to vote for. It’s everything I can do to keep some of the North DeKalb seats from going to Eddie Long’s candidates.
In many rural counties, the Supers are the dictators and run the town. The boards are made up of whoever they say.
I believe all these cities breaking away from their counties is indicative of this problem.
MiltonMan
October 22nd, 2012
8:22 pm
Jason is a moron. The clown wants to penalize “rich kids” who happen to be top-notch students. DeKalb, please keep this idiot in your county – the county who has just wonderful schools.
Ron F.
October 22nd, 2012
8:52 pm
“In many rural counties, the Supers are the dictators and run the town. The boards are made up of whoever they say”
Actually, if you were out here with us, you might not think that. The super can build some power as long as he and the board agree, but that relationship can end quickly without all the fuss that you have in Dekalb. Smaller boards in the rural counties tend to be very involved in what goes on and very aware of who hired who. Believe me, I feel for you up there and when I left Clayton I took a big paycut and got the heck out Dodge. I think the local cities in the metro counties that want to break away should do it and as soon as possible. It’s tough in the current economy, but I bet we’ll see more of it in the next few years. Smaller systems with more participation locally would help solve a lot of problems in my opinion.
Ron F.
October 22nd, 2012
9:10 pm
Actually, mountain man, if I’m reading the data correctly, Cherokee Charter had 94% pass Reading in 5th grade CRCT for 2012, no data for 2011. Cherokee system had 96% pass in first time testing in 2012 and 98.53% pass the same test in 2011. Seems a bit better, especially considering the number of students in the academy vs. the county system.
alm
October 22nd, 2012
9:52 pm
“I didn’t know they were voting on this amendment.”
They don’t vote but how much money are they spending on lobbying?
Pride and Joy
October 22nd, 2012
10:43 pm
There is no control more local than the parents with kids in school. More power to the people is exactly what amendment one gives us.
yuzeyurbrane
October 22nd, 2012
11:25 pm
Preamble: For the purpose of enhancing government efficiency and eliminating the corrosive effect of false and misleading political ads, should we replace an elected legislature with one appointed by the Governor?
Private Citizen
October 22nd, 2012
11:52 pm
Describing metro school districts as The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse That’s funny. ha.
Private Citizen
October 23rd, 2012
12:02 am
Yo Jason, What’s up with no health care in Georgia (or the rest of the U. S.)? Is it going to take us 50-100 years to join the first world? Seen lots of Georgia school children without eyeglasses and not getting them anytime soon. I revere you grand daddy and you look like him, but we have failed in the care of children in this state and continue to do so. The challenging part is that the general populace seems content with the health care status quo like a chicken sitting on an egg. It’s disconcerting. I’ve been to the local speciality doctor, the guy who owns the nice new three story building and signed me up for a second go-around (double checking) so he could charge me again, and his accounting lady informed me that none of the employees there have health insurance. I’m sure his kids will be rich when he kicks off, but this is ridiculous.
Private Citizen
October 23rd, 2012
12:07 am
In many rural counties, the Supers are the dictators and run the town. The boards are made up of whoever they say” I’d say they run the town together, usually in arrangement with the local newspaper. It is a tremendous power / poser routine all the way around, coordinated message, same icons. Completely vertical power structure with a steel door at the mid-point.
mountain man
October 23rd, 2012
6:49 am
It is funny to watch the spinning taking place on this issue. Lots of opposers are saying the State BOE will continue to be able to approve charters at the state level even though the Supreme Court has ruled against state approval once – just not that particular method. They say that because they know that the argument that local BOEs often turn down qualified charters is true… and parents don’t like it. They say they don’t oppose charters (but they really mean we DO oppose all charters since they compete with our beloved employers, the local traditional school).
catlady
October 23rd, 2012
6:58 am
mountain man–SURE there is the local friends and family program, but that PALES in comparison to what is happening at the state level!
Mountain Man
October 23rd, 2012
7:30 am
Carter – if you can’t argue against the Amendment on its content, then argue against it because of the way it was presented.
Mountain Man
October 23rd, 2012
7:36 am
Sometimes I think teachers and the education establishment ends up shooting themselves in the foot. Look at what happened with Roy Barnes – he upset teachers so they voted in …Sonny Perdue!
The School Boards took the State to the Supreme Court and won … so now we are looking at a Constitutional Amendment. The scool boards probably still think it was worth it since it allowed them to keep ALL their local taxes under their control.
Eddie Hall
October 23rd, 2012
7:53 am
@ Mountain Man, “a little segregation” ? Do we REALLY want to go down that road? At least you admitt it, I have been saying that all along.
Why don’t we just segregate the kids male/female? Then, by the eighth grade, those who show no promise, whose parents are not “involved”, or who just simply can’t pass the test, we send them to a tech school to be trained for menial labor? IF after two years of tech school, they still are up to par on evaluations, or their parents are not “involved” then we kick them out all together? Is that not you REALLY want? VOTE NO!!!!
Private Citizen
October 23rd, 2012
9:07 am
Eddie Hall Great idea. I agree with you.
Private Citizen
October 23rd, 2012
9:08 am
pardon the html. did not mean to make it all bold
Private Citizen
October 23rd, 2012
9:11 am
There’s nothing menial about learning a trade. There are a whole lot of skilled trade people who earn more than teachers and have a lot more ownership over their lives and no school debt.
Some parts of the country the government can do not do big public works projects because there are not enough available trained specialty welders.
Private Citizen
October 23rd, 2012
9:19 am
Especially in middle grades, girls and boys seem on completely different tracks developmentally. There is no doubt tons of scholarship on this and how separate schools for girls and boys works out. I would like to know more, thanks for bringing it up. Years ago, a high end professional said to me about the idea of trade-path and professional-path schooling is compassionate for non-professional types because it gives them a way to earn a living and support their family. This sounds a lot better than having to decide whether to work at Krystal or Church’s. Or maybe I should say Zesto’s. Point is there is nothing wrong with these type jobs, but skilled trade can earn a lot more money. Plus, this whole fast-food thing that has taken over much of the country is really bad news for health and nutrition. I went on a car trip and in every remote town the cafes were closed down and all there was to eat was fast food from franchise locations. Saw this in several towns. For a worker, a person needs to be able to have some choice where they work. Hey- great ideas, Eddie.
Eddie Hall
October 23rd, 2012
10:12 am
Private, I was being facetious, scary thing is I don’t know if you knew it! I will say, I agree that tech jobs are great, my son goes to tech school, his siblings go the traditional route. The scenerio I described is what is practiced when the government runs our lives, not in a democracy. This amendment is what happens when people lose at the polls, in the legislature, and in the courts. As others have said, and I agree, reform is needed in SOME places. This ain’t it! VOTE NO!!
sneak peak into education
October 23rd, 2012
10:16 am
I think that most people have already made their mind up on how to vote but for those who are still undecided, you need to understand that this amendment is NOT about children; it’s the work of the policy writing group ALEC whose agenda is to privatize our public education system and put it into the hands of profiteers and big corporations. It’s not because they truly care about educating our children-the bottom line is that they see this venture as a huge cash cow for them and their investors. And who is the chair of ALEC’s education committee: Jan Jones (R-Milton), the very person who put the bill forward and fought tooth and nail to have it passed in our golden dome.
They are doing this under the guise of “it’s for the children” but it’s about getting their cronies rich.
Look at who the out-of-state donors are to confirm this point.
I don’t understand why anyone with a conscience would vote to allow for the decimation of our education system. If you think I am exaggerating, you only have to look at Louisiana to see what an unmitigated disaster ALEC;s policies have had there on the schools. This is only the beginning of their quest-vote for this amendment and it will open the floodgates.
I also have to disagree strongly with those who are saying that this amendment is the epitome of local control. You are kidding yourselves if you think so. Forgoing your vote and putting it into the hands of a non-elected board that is selected by the very people who have shown to be poor guardians of our public education system should be a big red flag to you straight away How does giving up your vote at the local level give you more local control? Sounds like an oxymoron to me.
We all want great schools for our children and please remember, by voting NO for this does not mean you are against charter schools. After speaking to many friends and reading endless blogs, it seems that the opponents are mainly against changing the constitution in order to add another layer of government and duplicate a process that already exists and has been shown to work.
Vote NO in NOvember.
Private Citizen
October 23rd, 2012
11:04 am
Eddie Hall On that’s funny. No, I did not at realize you were making a pun. I think you should get out more, travel some outside of the US. I know it is pointless to say these abstract things. In the US they keep telling us how wealthy we are but most people I know are broke-ass broken. I was in Atlanta and saw some girl I know, saw her car and in the back seat is an application for employment at Pier 1. Now isn’t that something? A grown adult with no career who is fishing for a retail job. Looks pretty desperate to me, Eddie. Let’s see, you got no health care and the majority of your populace has no profession and no trade. Yes, I am serious. Yes, it pains me to say it. Some places they’ve got this stuff figured out. You should do there and see. But it will put the hurt on you when you step off the airplane and take the the Marta train back into town. Eddie, I think your subconscious is talking to you, and there is some truth in humor.
Private Citizen
October 23rd, 2012
11:07 am
And I got a teacher friend, about 15 years experience and his roof is going bad on his home. Of course, he has $50k in school loads, like so many, and at his rate of pay he can’t afford to put a roof on his house, and with the hours he puts in teaching, he can not do it himself. Charming situation, eh? …. and that roof is just going to keep getting crispy….
Private Citizen
October 23rd, 2012
11:11 am
Eddie Maybe you think that no one builds anything and people just go work at Pier 1 and stuff. -no disrespect meant. A lot of city people do not realize there are thousands of laborers in India blasting away at sewing machines making the clothes for the people in Georgia to wear. We have so little manufacturing now, it is like people don’t even know anything or how to do anything. Maybe we can teach video production. ha ha.
Private Citizen
October 23rd, 2012
11:21 am
Eddie and everybody else I will now make a basic lesson in social structure. Pardon if I seem pompous. Years ago a very smart woman told me the term “Democratic Socialism.” Where this is practiced, it means that a portion of the economy is used to make support services so that the general populace is healthy and capable. For those who know economics, technically it is called “an economic system for inefficient markets.” This is very serious. Socialist support services are limited to certain markets and are not applied outside of these services where there is real advantage to be gained by efficiency.
In the USA, we are brainwashed by the likes of FoxNews etc. so that the corporate or even private entities can screw you out of every last dime. In countries with Democratic Socialism, the populace is a little more protected from being exploited. These countries sell us a lot of the finer things of life that we enjoy. End of story. That’s all there is to it. In the first world, kids have eyeglasses. In Georgia, they don’t. End of story.
Make the Nobel Prize out to “Private Citizen.” Thank you.
jim ponsoldt
October 23rd, 2012
12:21 pm
carter may be a democrat, but sometimes democrats can spot a scam. FOLLOW THE MONEY.
do we really want to spend hundreds of millions of georgia taxpayer dollars to enrich out of state dealmakers? do we really want to transfer control of our schools from local government (where we can more easily vote people out of office who shouldn’t hold office) to a state bureaucracy?
if you don’t like or trust big government, VOTE NO on the charter school amendment.
usually lurking
October 23rd, 2012
12:52 pm
The charter school in Cherokee County is held up by many posters on this blog as a reason that this amendment is needed. How, then, does this school exist without the amendment? You can still have your state chartered school under current law. No need for the amendment. Voting NO.
Eddie Hall
October 23rd, 2012
1:27 pm
Private, the BIG difference in those countries you refer to and the US is the kids are pigeon holed at an early age into what they are going to do. Here you will always have a chance and a dream.You can be what you make of yourself, not what you are told to be. I will never be sold on a socialist system my friend. Again, VOTE NO!
DeKalb Inside Out
October 23rd, 2012
1:32 pm
Usually Lurking.
How does Cherokee Charter Academy exist without this amendment?
Excellent question.
In 2011 the GA Supreme Court effectively said the State Charter Commission was unconstitutional. They majority report said the 1877 Constitution of Georgia granted local boards of education the exclusive right to establish and maintain K-12 education.
If this amendment fails, it is safe to say the same local school districts that sued to overturn the original state commission and are actively opposing this amendment will pursue the state board’s power to commission state chartered schools.
Supreme Court Justice Nahmias said in his dissent that the state board would lose the authority to commission state chartered schools if contested. The rest of the state chartered schools will be forced to seek local approval or close down.
So, where do we stand? OCGA says the state board can commission charters. The GA Supreme Court said the state board cannot. If the OCGA is ever challenged, Nahmias said the state board will lose. Amendment 1 addresses this problem giving the state explicit authority to commission state chartered schools.
Please correct me if I’m wrong or need to go deeper into anything.
sneak peak into education
October 23rd, 2012
1:45 pm
@DEKALB INSIDE OUT: your argument does not hold water. To seek a change of our constitution and ask people to give up their voting rights and agree to add another layer of government because of hearsay is a poor argument. If we wanted to change the constitution every time we felt that a future lawsuit may or may not happen we would spend all day at the ballot box.
Vote NO in NOvember
usually lurking
October 23rd, 2012
2:03 pm
@Dekalb Inside Out: I’m not willing to vote to change our state constitution based on the threat of a lawsuit that may or may not happen. I might consider supporting an amendment if that does happen. But I sure would hope that the language used on the ballot actually represented what I was voting for (or against as the case may be). Meanwhile, working to make sure we have a new school board representative in our Gwinnett County district after November 6.
MAY
October 23rd, 2012
2:39 pm
@Dekalb Inside Out. Thanks for being out here. I will vote Yes. Actually on my way to vote now. It’s time for parents in Georgia to have some options. When 300 children walk from a non-charter public school to the public charter down the road, the traditional school will improve. It will be reluctant and angry but it absolutely will improve.
DeKalb Inside Out
October 23rd, 2012
2:41 pm
Usually Lurking & Sneak Peak
Please explain how we’re supposed to believe the same local school districts that sued to overturn the original state commission and are actively opposing this amendment would sit idly by while the state school board continues to wield virtually the same power.
Either the opponents of this amendment are hypocrites, or the State Board is next. Look at the opponents arguments. How do those arguments not apply to the State Board as well?
* Local control
* funding
* non elected people approving charters
* multiple layers of bureaucracy
Ultimately the OCGA conflicts with the 1877 Constitution. The GA Supreme Court majority and minority report say the role the state has in commissioning state chartered schools cannot be cleared up without a constitutional amendment.
I like clarity.
Usually Lurking – I feel for you on the language on the ballot. It’s home court cooking.
Eddie Hall
October 23rd, 2012
2:54 pm
If avoiding a lawsuit was the only item on the agenda, why not do as the wording implies, simply allow the state BOE to grant charter status to schools? Why the politically controlled committee? Why the new state agency and the expenditure of funds? Why set up an education agency with NO ELECTED official anywhere in site? There are MANY agendas at work here, the LEAST of which is avoiding a lawsuit OR doing what is best for children. VOTE NO!
sneak peak into education
October 23rd, 2012
3:02 pm
See this link to show what happens when state money is provided to charter schools. This is happening just a few states away in Louisiana and please don’t be fooled into thinking it will not happen here. Passing this amendment is going to open the door to ALEC’s plan to PRIVATIZE PUBLIC EDUCATION. The whole gist of this article is the funding of charter/voucher schools. Remember, the powers to be in Georgia have failed to say where the money will be coming from, especially when it has been cutting funding to traditional schools with severe austerity cuts.
http://dianeravitch.net/2012/10/23/bobby-jindals-little-white-lies/#comments
Just A Teacher
October 23rd, 2012
3:06 pm
This amendment is not considered a big issue outside of Atlanta, but it should be. Many rural counties have no charter schools or any desire to form them. But, if this amendment passes, the rural voters will have to pay for the Charter School Commission just like the imbeciles in metro Atlanta who can’t even elect decent school boards or hire superintendents who don’t cheat on standardized tests. I say “VOTE NO!” rural Georgia. Let those dummies in Atlanta sort things out for themselves and keep their hands off our wallets.
Private Citizen
October 23rd, 2012
3:11 pm
Eddie Boy Eddie, You are really mixing it up. Professional and trade school routing is not the same issue as people being able to go to the doctor. These are two separate things. and I’m going to go have some lunch.
Mountain Man
October 23rd, 2012
3:17 pm
“Many rural counties have no charter schools or any desire to form them. But, if this amendment passes, the rural voters will have to pay for the Charter School Commission just like the imbeciles in metro Atlanta”
You are right, we should not expect the rural counties to have to pay into metro charters through their Georgia State Income Taxes. At the same time they cannot expect us metro people to send them state money. So lets just let them rely on local property taxes alone and do without the State funding of their schools.
Mountain Man
October 23rd, 2012
3:21 pm
“I’m not willing to vote to change our state constitution based on the threat of a lawsuit that may or may not happen.”
Neither am I. I am voting YES because of a lawsuit that has ALREADY happened. The county BOEs took the State to the Supreme Court of Georgia and won. We need the amendment to be sure that the State can continue to approve charters that the counties turn down.
Private Citizen
October 23rd, 2012
3:26 pm
Eddie Now I remember what I was going to tell you. Somebody posted they had done Advanced Placement a long time or somesuch, knew what they were talking about it, were good at it, etc. and they said the key thing was flexible grouping or something. Nobody is trapped or made to do something, can transition about as they see fit. Seems like as Americans we should be combining and re-shsaping the best methods and making our own rules based on what is most productive, not confining.
Which reminds me. This place absolutely kills me. Just anybody you ask now thinks Americans invented the motor car, Henry Ford, etc. Well, Karl Benz in Germany invented the motor car and then 20- years later Henry Ford invented the assembly line. We’re also taught that Edison invented moving pictures but at about the same time, the Lumiere brothers from Lyon, France Lumiere invented a portable motion-picture camera, film processing unit and projector called the Cinematographe, three functions covered in one invention. The real whopper is that US students that the US defeated Germany is WW2, but the truth is the Russians are the ones who did the heavy lifting and defeated the Germans. Who beat the Germans? The US? no. The Russians are the ones who defeated the Germans, even if some of the US army showed up and walked about and made films like they took credit for it.
DeKalb Inside Out
October 23rd, 2012
3:29 pm
Eddie
Good question. I can see where this is all confusing. Here is a link to HR 1162 – the amendment on which we will be voting. It just clarifies the states authority to establish K-12 schools. It doesn’t say anything about new state agencies or anything else you mentioned
http://www.nancyjester.com/hr1162.aspx
1 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Georgia so as to clarify the authority of the
2 state to establish state-wide education policy; to restate the authority of the General
3 Assembly to establish special schools; to provide that special schools include state charter
4 schools;
Private Citizen
October 23rd, 2012
3:32 pm
Being raised and schooled in the US, I didn’t know anything about the Lumiere brothers until I visited Lyon and saw work commemorating them. I was, like, Who’s this? what? In the US they tell you Edison invented moving pictures, end of story. Being raised and schooled in America, I thought the US defeated Germany in WW2 but now with the internet, in online discussion threads like this one here, anybody from Europe will tell you that the Russians defeated Germany, not the US.
DeKalb Inside Out
October 23rd, 2012
3:39 pm
Just A Teacher
Why do you say that the voters will have to pay for the Charter School Commission?
http://www.nancyjester.com/hb797.aspx
House Bill 797 (lines 312 – 316) discusses how the Georgia Charter Schools Commission is funded. Up to 3% of that charter’s funds are withheld to fund the Georgia Charter Schools Commission. The charter commission operated on 2% historically.
Essentially, the charters fund the commission.
MAY
October 23rd, 2012
3:48 pm
I can’t wait to see charter schools in the rural areas of Georgia. They can’t get one without proof of local support. With the awareness this amendment is raising, I foresee teachers meeting at the kitchen table to discuss ways they can help their community through charter schools. I also see those districts turning them away without even reviewing the petitions if this amendment doesn’t pass. If it passes…..I think they’ll at least look at it. Can’t wait!
Just A Teacher
October 23rd, 2012
3:50 pm
“So lets just let them rely on local property taxes alone and do without the State funding of their schools.”
As long as I don’t have to pay any state income tax, that sounds like a plan to me. But, if I am required to pay state income tax, I want some of it back to run our schools out here.
Just A Teacher
October 23rd, 2012
3:56 pm
@ Dekalb . . . Start-up funds necessary to establish and operate the commission may
48 be received by the State Board of Education in addition to such other funds as may be
49 appropriated by the General Assembly.
From the same house bill you sent a link to.
DeKalb Inside Out
October 23rd, 2012
4:14 pm
Just A Teacher
“Start-up funds” …. oh … I see.
It’s a little vague on what that means. You’re a lot more familiar with this part than I am. Do you know from where in the state budget “Start-up funds” come or how much money we are talking about?
Thanks.
FairLady
October 23rd, 2012
5:54 pm
As a parent, I am so GLAD to finally see something on the ballot to give me hope about education in GA. I will vote YES because parents deserve options when their children are forced into failing schools based upon their zip codes. Not all of us can afford private schools or can afford to move. I don’t really care if there is an additional commission or an educational company involved. We parents need help now!! If this amendment just helps me, it’s worth it. Aren’t we tired of always being in the bottom three in the nation in drop-outs? Georgia and Mississippi are always fighting it out for the worst education in the nation. If these state charter schools can just help a few of us, it’s worth our vote!! Thank goodness, someone cares about the children!! Govenor Deal and 2/3 of the House and Senate thought this Amendment was a good idea, so I think they deserve my support.
Eddie Hall
October 23rd, 2012
7:52 pm
@ fair lady You may want to poll your Rep and Sen if that is what you base a “yes” vote on. Many thought it was a bad idea, but found their arms being twisted off by party leadership. They got a pass because they we going to let the “people” decide. Politics at it’s worst.
Pride and Joy
October 24th, 2012
10:10 am
Ed Advocate says something important “many of us opposing the amendment want effective education reform and we know this amendment ain’t it.”
What I want to know is how long Ed Advocaet would allow his or her own children to languish in a failing school? “education reform” has been going on in Atlanta for decades with miserable results. I couldn’t wait another year. I broke into my 401k and got my kids out pronto. A child, a human, my own flesh and blood, I will never waste.
John Konop
October 24th, 2012
3:29 pm
From a tax payer prospective we are moving in the wrong direction by creating more overhead not less. I have made this point for years, we should be consolidating overhead not creating more. The best way to achieve this is by having high schools consolidate with colleges, JC………to increase options, quality and lower overhead. We should be coordinating facilities, administrators, staff…… We should be waving No Child Left Behind college prep requirements for vocational based. Students.
If done right we could open this option up to home school, public school, private and charter school. Finally school systems should be rated on graduation rates with job skills and or entrance into 4 year college not some mean level score that creates this crazy teach to the test………
The following are important taxpayer protections that should be added to the charter school amendment:
• School board members are forbidden from being a consultant, owner, or employee of the charter school management company or its vendors within the past two years. They must provide full disclosure of any such prior affiliations.
• Officeholders that vote on public or charter school legislation and/or funding must fully disclosure any affiliations with any charter school and/or vendors providing services to charter schools. They must also disclose any relatives that are affiliated with charter schools and/or vendors.
• No charter or public school board member and/or officeholder may have any interest in the real estate underlying any charter or public school.
• Charter school board meetings must be publically listed 30 days in advance and must be held after 7 pm (note: short-term notice, unannounced date changes, and inconvenient meeting times have been used to reduce public participation and oversight).
• Every privately managed charter school with over 750 students must secure a bond that compensates the school district if the charter school closes before the end of a school year.
• If a charter school’s private owners/management company owns an interest in the real estate underlying the school, that property must be put up as security to repay any free taxpayer money the school received (e.g. grants or loans) in the event the school fails.
• The contract between the private management company and the charter school must be fully disclosed.
Taxpayers have too often been left holding the bag for failed publically funded private businesses. The above are, for the most part, common requirements in the private sector. We taxpayers deserve these minimal protections.
Mary James
October 25th, 2012
7:52 pm
Thanks Jason, I had already decided to vote no on this one but the wording really did confuse me. I had to do some research to figure it out. thanks for the good explanation. I agree completely.
Mr. Snarky
October 26th, 2012
10:20 pm
Sounds like another Shady Deal to me. If you have to load it up with slanted language, there’s probably a reason for that.
Vote No
October 27th, 2012
11:20 pm
Vote no. This is an unnecessary piece of legislation meant to give the good folks in Atlanta more control over local schools. In no way does this increase the options given to parents. The lobbying dollars coming from outside the state to pass this amendment tell the story. It’s not about the children, it’s about making money and doling out favors to friends if this thing passes.
Vote no! It isn’t necessary and it will do the exact reverse of what its supporters are claiming. I don’t want a goofball bunch of legislators in Atlanta exerting control over our local schools. Our leaders in the statehouse haven’t proven to be real effective on the other tasks on their plates…
Anna Hilde
October 28th, 2012
11:17 pm
I must agree with Beverly Fraud. It would be a valid argument – if it were a valid argument. Sounding the alarms over the shift of power would have been commendable assuming these local boards were indeed representing their local citizens; however, the days of local bureaucrats being any different from state bureaucrats have long since passed and suggesting otherwise is quite frankly, insulting. Kudos to highlighting the very politicized language on the ballot itself. Though it’s worded in a way that bends closer to my own position; it’s quite disheartening to see. I expect facts alone and have enough faith in people to make their own decisions regardless as to whether it’s opposite of mine or even if it’s chosen thru an any-minni-mine-e-mo style. This is after all what a free election is about. I find the wording on the ballot particularly disgusting. It shows no faith in the public. Yet I wouldn’t expect anything less.
R
October 30th, 2012
3:52 pm
Like his grandfather before him Mr. Carter cares little for the truth and has little respect for the knowledge of the Georgia parent who sees every day that the system he so desperately tries to protect has failed and continues to fail millions of children each day.
Concerned Parent
October 30th, 2012
9:06 pm
This amendment is a joke. There is nothing wrong with the way Charter Schools and Charter Systems are managed right now (seriously… what is the problem with Charter Schools the way they are currently structured and managed?). This is just a wolf in sheeps’ clothing to get around the student voucher debate. Politicians know that a referendum on vouchers would never pass. So they conjure up a ballot that any unknowing citizen would vote yes. And the net result will be a state board that caters to all of their private school cronies.
Concerned Parent
October 30th, 2012
9:07 pm
If you ask a Charter System about the amendment, they will privately tell you that they are against it. I promise you.
DeKalb Inside Out
October 31st, 2012
10:23 am
Concerned Parent
What is the problem with Charter Schools the way they are currently structured and managed? – There is nothing wrong with the way charter schools are structured and managed. The amendment is about who can approve the petition to create a charter school. 85% of the state chartered schools operate in counties that refuse to approve charters locally. This amendment is in no small part about giving those parents and children choices.
the net result will be a state board that caters to all of their private school cronies. – I think the parents and children attending Ivy Preps state chartered schools that service 95% minorities would disagree with that statement. Fortunate communities as well as the less fortunate communities are welcome to petition for charters.
Charter System people are against this amendment – Superintendents, administrators, traditional school employees and the organizations that support said groups are generally against this amendment. Charter Systems, LEA Startups and Conversion Charters are all dependent Charter Schools that are part of the traditional school structure, but with some flexibility.
State Chartered Special Schools are independent charter schools and are thus independent of the traditional school structure. I’m guessing most of them support this amendment.
Rock the Vote…Georgia Edition « Klein & Co.
November 5th, 2012
1:58 pm
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