Tackling some more false claims about the charter school amendment
(Note: The Rev. Joseph Lowery isn’t the only person making dubious claims about the charter schools amendment. I wrote about some other misleading and/or false claims in my Thursday column in the AJC’s print edition. While we’ve covered some of these items in previous comment threads, I almost always try to post my print columns here.)
Georgia offers few election surprises this year. Mitt Romney will take our electoral votes, there are no races for U.S. senator or any of the state’s constitutional officers, and just one U.S. House race — Georgia’s 12th District, where incumbent Democrat John Barrow is trying to fend off Republican Lee Anderson — is competitive.
The only exception is the charter-schools amendment referendum.
There’s been little public-opinion polling about the amendment, which if passed would affirm the state’s role in creating charter schools. But the polling we have suggests a tight race.
How to account for this tightness, given the amendment won the backing of two-thirds of the Legislature and the governor, and addresses a public-education system that Georgians have long considered sub-par? Based on responses I’ve received to columns and blog posts I’ve written about the amendment, I believe the race is so tight because opponents have fed Georgians some misleading, even patently false, notions.
Today, I’m tackling some of the worst of them.
Claim 1: State charter schools are private schools.
This is patently false. Charter schools require government approval and receive public funding.
Claim 2: Unlike traditional public schools, state charter schools can select their students.
False. State law requires charter schools to admit all applicants unless there are too many applicants. In that case, the students must be chosen at random: through a lottery, for example. Neither Amendment One nor its accompanying legislation, HB 797, changes this.
Claim 3: State charter schools don’t have to give the same standardized tests as public schools.
False. State law says charter schools must annually report “state academic accountability data, such as standardized test scores and adequate yearly progress.” If anything, charter schools may be held to a higher standard as a condition of the increased flexibility they receive. Again, HB 797 does not change this.
Claim 4: State charter schools do not perform better than traditional public schools.
While we don’t have a long history of results for making such a comparison, the data we do have indicate this is false. As I reported in a previous column, tThe Governor’s Office of Student Achievement found that, in the most recent year available, 75 percent of state charter schools made adequate yearly progress (AYP) as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Law. Only 67 percent of traditional public schools in the same districts — the most relevant comparison — made AYP.
Claims 5 and 6: This amendment a) is redundant and b) would expand government.
These contradictory claims are both wrong. The redundancy claim rests on the argument that, because the state school board can authorize charter schools, we don’t need a state commission to do so. But the reasoning in the 2011 Supreme Court ruling, which threw out the old state commission and prompted this amendment, leaves no room for the state to approve charter schools. This state school board power relies on the good will of the same local districts that sued to overturn the old state commission and are opposing this amendment; I doubt such good will exists. The amendment is needed to affirm this state authority.
If you do buy the idea the state school board could continue to authorize charter schools despite the court ruling, you can’t very well argue the re-created state commission would represent an expansion of government.
Claim 7: Allowing the state to authorize charter schools would represent a centralization of power.
The opposite is true. Local districts would still have the power to create charter schools. This would grant the state the same power. That’s less concentration of power. That’s decentralization.
Claim 8: All we need is an appeals process.
Essentially, that’s all we’d get. HB 797 says the state can create charter schools to serve the entire state (think online learning) or to serve a specific district. In the latter case, the law says the state can act only after the locals have already declined a charter application. That is an appeals process.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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121 comments Add your comment
Phil Lunney
November 2nd, 2012
5:25 pm
http://blogs.ajc.com/mike-luckovich/2012/11/02/114-mike-luckovich-cartoon-gift-horse/
Please address this.
You are absolutely correct and this is a graphic representation of what the ‘for profit’ charter schools companies are financing. Please show it to Kyle Wingfield who had a rather incomplete column on ‘follow the money’ criticizing the state and county school districts for their activism against this Amendment but said nothing about who is paying for the ad campaign.
Kyle Wingfield
November 2nd, 2012
5:28 pm
roswell mom @ 4:52: I couldn’t find one link, so I pulled the numbers from the Ga. DOE website. The most recent year for which all these data are available is FY2011.
First, I pulled the total per-pupil funding from all sources (note that this does not include capital expenditures). For all public schools in Georgia that year, this figure was $8,594. Click here to see for yourself (you want the “Expenditure Report” for “All Districts”; the “Funding Report” shows $9,000 per pupil, fwiw).
But that report does not break out the figures for each state charter school. So I went to the QBE allotment reports for FY11, pulled the report for each state charter school, and divided the total funding number by the number of FTE students. Here’s what I got for each of the 11 state charter schools operating that year (in ascending order of funding):
Odyssey (a virtual school): $3,876
Scholars Academy: $4,896
Ivy Prep: $5,855
Pataula: $6,011
Mountain Education Center: $6,493
Coweta Charter Academy: $6,588
Peachtree Hope: $6,855
CCAT: $7,544
Fulton Leadership Academy: $7,625
Museum School: $7,654
Atlanta Heights: $9,773
So, only one of these schools was above the state average, and it doesn’t have nearly enough students to bring the state charter school average above the state average. (I probably should have written down the total funding and total number of FTEs for these schools so that I could do that, but it didn’t occur to me until I was finishing this comment and I’m not inclined to go back and do it now. If someone else wants to do that, knock yourself out. But the per-school breakdown clearly indicates the SCS average would be below the overall state average.)
Kyle Wingfield
November 2nd, 2012
5:37 pm
yuze @ 5:23: Two points, quickly:
First, I said “decentralization,” not “devolution.” I really don’t see how you can argue that taking a power that only one body currently has, and sharing it with another body, results in more centralization. Back to Webster’s: “Centralize: 1. to make central; bring to or focus on a center; gather together 2 to organize under one control; concentrate the power or authority of in a central organization.”
Second: What more clarity do you need? I’ve said many times that I don’t think local school boards alone should decide this question. As to “community involvement”: This commission would spend state funds, not local ones, so I don’t see the need or the right for the local school board to be the only entity qualified to decide which kinds of schools these state funds can be spent on.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 2nd, 2012
5:41 pm
“give me one reason why I should trust the politicians who are supporting this”
Why do you support the politicians (your local school board) who are against it?
“Tell me how if this amendment passes, my taxes won’t go up.”
Your taxes are going to go up anyway. This won’t change that one bit.
mountain man
November 2nd, 2012
6:53 pm
“Finally, WHY NOT give the freedom from bureaucracy and state mandates, the innovations that charters promise, to ALL students?”
They HAVE, already. ANY traditional school can become a conversion charter school. They don’t do this because they don’t WANT to address the issues that face them (then they would have to face the WRATH of the PARENTS). Or they would have to have gonads. I don’t know why they won’t address discipline, attendance, social promotion, and the host of other issues that plague traditional schools.
Pride and Joy
November 2nd, 2012
7:19 pm
My children attended an APS school where the teacher could not speak and refused to speak common, correct, standard English.
She/he wrote and said “The principal HAVE INFORM me ….”
IT is has informed….this teacher could not write nor speak English correctly and she dared to call her/himself a teacher…
I am not worried at all about charter schools “deselecting” students because charter schools WILL have the authority and willpower to DESELECT ignorant school “teachers.”
Kyle tackles the naysayers perfectly. Thanks, Kyle!
I didn’t vote yes for amendment one — I voted He)) YES!
Truth is
November 2nd, 2012
7:23 pm
@Tiberious…my final question was any politician, but as for my local school board, I trust them because I know them. In a county of 17,000, we know everybody else. We can speak directly to our local politicians, their phone number is in the book. I can’t speak to a state politician. I am not a lobbyist, so I have no direct contact. I have left messages and emailed state politicians and the only reply I receive is their standard generalized response emailed back. Even if I only halfway trust my local board, I know that I can speak with any of them and voice my opinion. That will never happen at the state level, especially with an appointed board.
Beth
November 2nd, 2012
9:49 pm
If you are unhappy with your local school, go to the principal, go to PTA, volunteer, go to school board meetings. Get involved–just you have to at a charter school.
If you want to send your kids to private school, be my guest. Just don’t ask the taxpayers to pay for it.
And please stop the advertising with black kids on the ads. Everyone knows this is a racist move to re-segregate. When they say it’s not about race, you can be sure it’s abt race.
JDW
November 2nd, 2012
9:59 pm
@Kyle…the real reason the Amendment is struggling is the facts….
FACT 1…it is redundant. Charter schools can be approved locally and there is a state level appeals process already in place.
FACT 2…the Amendment will cost more money than is currently spent today…up to $430 million annually as estimated by John Barge, Fulton County School Superintendent.
FACT 3…another unregulated, unaccountable state level board usurps local authority and risks the abuses that have occurred in other states such as Florida and Louisiana.
It’s like math…just facts.
yuzeyurbrane
November 2nd, 2012
11:08 pm
Kyle, I don’t think you understood my 2nd point because you were not responsive. I simply pointed out that the community involvement you were talking about was a community of parents of charter schoolchildren only and the state appointed commission. Whereas the community involvement for traditional public schools involves the entire community’s voters and the local elected school board. I asked for your position and you gave me a response to a different question I did not pose. Hate to compare that to politicians but that is how they usually avoid answering questions. Like I said, maybe only schoolkids parents should be the local community which has input but maybe it is better community response to have the whole community involved through locally elected school boards since the administration of public education is important to the whole community, not just the parents. It is the real question and should be subject of debate on a new proposal replacing the proposed Amendment now before us.
Kelly Cadman
November 2nd, 2012
11:50 pm
Dear Roswell Mom,
I recently responded to a post on FB talking about bureaucracy and inefficient… and below is what I posted. Something to know is that 157 districts in Georgia serve LESS than 15,000 students, and ALL have central administrations. I think you are in somewhat of an uncommon situation living in Fulton County. Consider the rest of the state. I am interested in your thoughts on all this.
———————————————————————————————————————————————-
It is so interesting to hear school district superintendents spout about the charter “dangers” and the loss of funding that is surely coming (nonsense, of course, because the law prohibits it.)
Check this out:
Early County
2154 students.
$1,079,677 on their central office and board
$501 per pupil on general administration
CONTRAST:
The Georgia Charter Schools Commission
15,000 students
$650,000 on central office (board was volunteer)
$43 per pupil on general administration
Just think – if Early County operated as efficiently as the Georgia Charter Schools Commission did, there would be $986,532 MORE dollars going into classrooms!
One more interesting thing… In their 2nd year, the Charter Commission voted to REDUCE their own general administration budget (by 2/3 over 2 years) to put MORE money in the classrooms.
Below is an interesting study recently conducted nationwide – you can pull the state-by state information. In Georgia, our central office expenditures have more than doubled the growth of students. Quite a testament to district bloat.
If anything is going to destroy the school districts, it certainly won’t be the charters who are models of efficiency – able to operate on significantly less and produce greater outcomes. Districts are self destructing all by themselves.
The School Staffing Surge: Decades of Employment Growth in America’s Public Schools
http://www.edchoice.org
America’s K-12 public education system has experienced tremendous historical growth in employment, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics. Between fiscal year (FY) 1950 and FY 2009,…
Mary Elizabeth
November 3rd, 2012
1:12 pm
“It’s going back to a dual system — not based on race but based on economics, and this is harmful,” said Eugene Walker, chairman of the DeKalb County school board and a vocal opponent of the constitutional measure.”
============================================
I have often stated this possibility as an outcome of Amendment 1. Please read the full article, entitled, “Data Show Relatively Fewer Students In Poverty Served in Charter Schools,” in the link, below:
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/data-show-relatively-fewer-students-in-poverty-ser/nSwh7/
Vote NO on NOvember 6 to Amendment 1.
yuzeyurbrane
November 3rd, 2012
1:53 pm
Kyle, I am sorry that your colleagues at the AJC through fact-based reporting by your investigative journalists and as described in Maureen’s blog today have rained on your parade this week-end. It looks like one of your pro-Amend arguments is just plain bs.
Mary Elizabeth
November 3rd, 2012
2:35 pm
This is about the privatization of public education. There is much money and power outside of Georgia behind this effort in Georgia. Part of that privatization agenda will entail, in future legislative sessions, the effort to create bills which will remove teachers in quasi-private public schools from the Teacher’s Retirement System of Georgia. There are long-ranged, and societal transforming, goals within this national Republican agenda regarding the privatization of America’s public instiutions and of America’s public programs, such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Don’t be fooled and do not fail to see into this long-ranged agenda, even if it is not as blatantly stated as it should be for citizens to weigh without propaganda. Vote NO on NOvember 6 for Amendment 1
Paddy O
November 3rd, 2012
11:24 pm
Queer. I’ve never heard any of these assertions. However, one thing is clear – this amendment will usurp local control – something that GA republicans have had little respect for, and one which Tom Murphy and his Democrats were far more conservative than this bunch of repubs. The oddity is, AJC conservatives seem blind to key motivator for most home grown Georgians – home rule and local control; the other oddity is disliking state functions/projects/problem solving being funded by direct fees – which should NOT be diverted into the general fund, as has also been done by this horde of faux conservative masquerading as “good” republicans. I wish the Tom Murphy fiscally conservative Dixiecrats were back. They had a much better pulse of the people.
Paddy O
November 3rd, 2012
11:33 pm
aquagirl: normally, I disagree with you, but on this – remember, Kyle and his predecessor wooten are not true blue conservative closer to libertarians; they are generally conservative with some illogical beliefs (which I believe are fictional when it comes to caring about families in fictionally failing schools) – which ideologically, are not conservative as Georgians typically perceive conservativism – which is home rule is paramount, and unelected boards are a smoke screen. Deal is now showing his true crooked colors via widespread cronyism.
Paddy O
November 3rd, 2012
11:44 pm
after reading kyles comments, it is quite obvious he is as big a BS artist as Obama is about Benghazi. He is NOT to be trusted – he is simply pushing an idea that I don’t think Georgian believe in – putting the decision making in the hands of unelected bureacrats in that cesspool which is Atlanta. I hope Amend 1, in all its deceptive glory loses by a negative vote of at least 65% – Georgians rejected a profoundly faulty trauma care amendment, and now we must reject this pile of manure. Here it is: If you don’t like your kids school – either get involved and make it better, or friggin move. How many elementary schools in GA are failing 100% of the students who attend there? If the answer is none, then this entire process is simply academic. BTW, i’m a fiscal conservative and RARELY vote Democratic – due to the party having a strange addiction to perversion, murder and irresponsibility.
Paddy O
November 3rd, 2012
11:46 pm
Kelly – you cherry pick date like a standard liberal lemming. Were you BORN in GA, or just a damn Yankee?
Paddy O
November 3rd, 2012
11:48 pm
Kelly – is the state charter commission in charge of 100% of charters, or just those it approves? also, due to the fact that I don’t think the Charter commission should exist, I would assert that the $650,000 was completely wasted funds – and, what taxpayer has any say in how that board operates?
Paddy O
November 3rd, 2012
11:51 pm
I hope all vote no, as the only thing it will definately do is usurp local control of schools – which are utterly a local gov’t function. I would guess most cost increases at the central office were due to the need to hire No Child Left Behind experts to address all the additional paperwork. The amendment is a lot like free trade agreements – despite all the bluster, the only thing free trade is guaranteed to do is LOWER blue collar – union and non -union – wages. Both are popular, but BAD ideas. However, if you like liberal centralized states like NJ, sure – vote yes for this power grab.
Paddy O
November 3rd, 2012
11:53 pm
why would those who serve on the commission do so voluntarily? they live right in Atlanta, or get a healthy per diem? Will that volunteer status be in perpetuity, or just a nice public manipulation tool to get folks to vote for this monstrosity? Most state board members get compensated in the 6 figure range. How is the membership distributed geographically?