Amendment One: A chance at a choice for students who today have neither
No one among us, if faced with a persistent disease and a physician who’d failed to cure it, would be content to continue consulting only that doctor — and, especially, to be told we could not seek a second opinion.
None of us believe we could live in a place with only one grocery store, selling only junk food, and be expected to maintain good health.
Nobody I know would want to learn a trade but have the opportunity to work for only one employer.
And I’m certain no American would stand for living in a country where just one name, the same name, appeared on the ballot year after year.
Yet that’s exactly the situation we expect thousands of students, parents and even teachers in Georgia to accept. We can take one small but important step toward changing that by approving Amendment One and increasing their educational choices.
This amendment, which would affirm the state’s role in creating public charter schools, is neither a magic potion nor an indictment of all traditional public schools. Many traditional public schools do a fine job educating many of their students, and nothing about Amendment One would change that.
This amendment is, however, a recognition that our system of offering a single public school to any given student, based on nothing but that student’s place of residence, has squandered the potential of too many kids who needed a different approach.
It is true that some people manage to overcome educational adversity. We rightly celebrate those parents, many of them single parents, who take on additional jobs, who drive long distances, who uproot their families — who do anything it takes to ensure their children can attend better schools. We are justifiably proud of those teachers who transcend red tape and a lack of support to help kids beat the odds.
These stories are truly extraordinary, some of them seemingly superhuman. But it defies these words’ definitions to expect the extra-ordinary and super-human of every person who faces such daunting circumstances.
In a sense, the Rev. Joseph Lowery was right when he recently warned against modern-day school segregation. What he missed is that we’ve already segregated our students — into those who have good public schools, those who have the means to escape the bad ones, and those who have neither — and that the radio advertisements he recorded placed him on the side of those who have given us that segregation.
What he missed is that, in a land where opportunity is supposed to be as close to equal as we can make it, the civil rights issue of our time concerns that third group of students, who are ensnared in a system that diminishes their opportunities.
Opponents of Amendment One have cast it as a partisan, race-based measure, when support for this measure has united Georgians of various ideologies, backgrounds and colors in a way few recent political issues have. They have conjured all manner of supposition about the motives of those who support state charter schools or would approve them (or those who would appoint the approvers), about the numbers of schools that would be created and what their student bodies would look like, about what would happen to those who didn’t attend these new schools.
What they haven’t done is advance a persuasive defense of the system they seek to protect, the one that has left so many people so desperate for another choice.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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246 comments Add your comment
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
November 5th, 2012
11:06 am
I don’t get the leftards wingnuts’ Trojan horse analogy. What’s inside it? We’ve already documented that it isn’t any of the things the defenders of the failed status quo are claiming.
Vote American.
Aquagirl
November 5th, 2012
11:08 am
So in your world, I not only have to pony up for my own kid’s education outside of the system, I have to pay for the crappy one others get
Yes. I realize this comes as a shock to someone whose concern begins and ends with their wallet, even if they benefit from other people’s wallets. You benefit from educating other people’s children. If you think your tax dollars are being misspent, you complain to the school board, which disburses your tax dollars.
If you don’t like your local roads, you contact your elected representatives. You don’t demand tax-free gas so you can build your own roads. (Unless you’re insane, and let’s not go there.
) If you maintain your own driveway you still have to pay for public roadways. And even if you never own a car you still pay for public roads, because without them you’d be living in a log cabin and eating whatever you could find within walking distance.
Are YOU really that dumb? Actually I don’t think so, I think your main impediment is sheer selfishness and inability to reason past yourself and your immediate environment.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 5th, 2012
11:11 am
Answered your post earlier when the time changed on the server, Aquagirl, but the bottom line is that if you cannot answer my questions fully, and have to parse my words to make your point, you’ve lost the argument.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 5th, 2012
11:12 am
And the same goes for you as well, JDW.
Junior Samples
November 5th, 2012
11:22 am
Tell me Kyle,
How committed are you to this amendment?
Are you willing to compromise, on say… your view on the failed t-splost tax?
How about, for the sake of your kids, letting Marta receive state funds (like other large cities), without state control, without privatization?
Or maybe increasing taxes to reduce the deficit?
After all, it’s for the children. Right?
JDW
November 5th, 2012
11:24 am
@Tiberius…”And the same goes for you as well, JDW.”
I have parsed nothing. I find your entire argument, as posted, selfish and short sighted. Schools are a function of society at large and should be supported by the entirety of society. It makes no difference if you have kids, don’t have kids, send your kids to private school, are a senior or any other perceived loophole.
teaching taxpayer
November 5th, 2012
11:31 am
Gotta love that Charters Starter Too’s reasoning: Since we already have one unelected body spending taxpayer dollars on education, we must also vote to approve another. And unless I can somehow conjure 120 state house members to propose an amendment making the State Board of Education an elected body, I can’t oppose Amendment 1.
The State Board of Education is not on the ballot this year. Nathan Deal’s CRONIES being appointed to GIVE TAX DOLLARS to their well-connected friends is. Vote “No” to unelected, unaccountable cronies, and demand a better amendment in 2014!
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 5th, 2012
11:34 am
No, JDW, you’ve parsed nothing. You’ve just AVOIDED the questions you don’t want to answer.
Just as bad.
But entirely expected.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 5th, 2012
11:35 am
Where is the Tea Party?
OWS support for those affected by Hurrican Sandy:
• Thursday, Nov. 1. Meals: 5-6,000. Volunteers: 400. Cars: 25.
• Friday, Nov. 2. Meals: 10-11,000. Volunteers: 700. Cars: 50-60 (including several bio-diesel buses).
• Saturday, Nov. 3. Anticipated meals: 15-16,000. Anticipated volunteers: 1,500. Anticipated cars: 80-100.
The numbers were astounding; the group was nearly doubling every day. By Friday night, Occupy Sandy had set up 37 pickup/dropoff locations all over the city where people could leave supplies, food, water, or clothing to be brought to one of three distribution centers: St. Jacobi church in Sunset Park, the Red Hook Initiative in Red Hook and a community center in Gerritsen Beach. By Saturday morning, the group expected to add three more distribution denters: one in Clinton Hill, one in East New York, and a second, with a massive kitchen, in Sunset Park.
Tea Party?? Hello?
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 5th, 2012
11:36 am
oops, here is the link:
http://www.alternet.org/occupy-wall-street/how-occupy-sandys-relief-machine-stepped-post-superstorm-void
CharterStarter, Too
November 5th, 2012
11:41 am
@ Teaching Taxpayer –
Perhaps since it is 11:35 and you’ve been on here more than an hour, perhaps you should, TEACHER, go do your job and teach. Anyway, I digress…
Actually HR 1162 (which is the amendment and the ballot language) ONLY deals with giving the state shared authority to approve charter schools. It does not define who or how.
HB 797, which was drafted by ELECTED OFFICIALS – LOCALLY – actually sets up the Commission.
southpaw
November 5th, 2012
11:42 am
St. Simons @10:42
Which species of dinosaur was it? A thesaurus?
I guess if the amendment should be re-worded the way you suggest, then the answer to “Who cannot start a charter school in Georgia?” in the link below should be re-worded as well. Since the topic is schools, you may want to educate yourself.
http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/External-Affairs-and-Policy/Charter-Schools/Pages/Frequently-Asked-Questions-for-New-Petitioners.aspx
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 5th, 2012
11:42 am
Tea Party members were busy:
A) Donating money to relief efforts as they actually earn money (OWS people don’t)
B) Taking care of their own problems instead of waiting for government to fix them
C) All of the above.
JDW
November 5th, 2012
11:49 am
@Tiberius…”You’ve just AVOIDED the questions you don’t want to answer.”
What is it you think I have missed…or did you use invisible type?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 5th, 2012
12:01 pm
Oh, just the stuff about why you and Aquagirl think that I shouldn’t get MY money back from the government if I think their crappy school system isn’t going to educate my kids properly.
And why, if my kids aren’t causing an expense to educate them in the school system, why the school system still needs that money?
Are you saying that schools can’t be run efficiently? If the amount of kids are reduced the expense to run the schools shouldn’t be?
teaching taxpayer
November 5th, 2012
12:03 pm
CharterStarter, Too, I have to give you credit for making one true point: “I digress.” Anyone who doesn’t believe Nathan Deal will APPOINT cronies rather than allowing us to ELECT the members of the Charter Board is deluded. Vote “No” to Deal’s CRONIES, and demand a better amendment!
question
November 5th, 2012
12:08 pm
So is this what the states in the top 3rd of the educational rankings are doing? If not, then what’s the point? Seems like we should be following the model of the states that provide the best education, which seems to be happening somewhere in this country. Being ranked 47th means that we need to look past the liberal / conservative name calling and start figuring out how to improve our situation.
mike
November 5th, 2012
12:13 pm
Again! with the charter school amendment! Can you say T-SPLOST?
If you:
* want to take control of your schools away from your local county and hand it over to some state bureaucracy
* want to see your property taxes rise to fund private Christian schools for the rich
* want to see the quality of education diminish as for-profit “education” companies squeeze out profits by hiring unqualified, uncertified, part-time teachers with high turnover because of low pay and benefits
then, by all means, vote for Amendment 1 the “Charter Schools” amendment.
You get what you pay for!
JDW
November 5th, 2012
12:14 pm
@Tiberius…”Oh, just the stuff about why you and Aquagirl think that I shouldn’t get MY money back from the government if I think their crappy school system isn’t going to educate my kids properly.”
What you get is the opportunity to get off your butt and down to your local PTA to be part of the solution rather than someone that just whines. You also get the opportunity to elect your local school board and encourage them to create solutions.
“And why, if my kids aren’t causing an expense to educate them in the school system, why the school system still needs that money?”
In case you haven’t noticed more kids come along every year. Your responsibility to our society is continue to participate…yes that means pay you taxes even if your kids aren’t in school.
“Are you saying that schools can’t be run efficiently? If the amount of kids are reduced the expense to run the schools shouldn’t be?”
Nope not saying that at all. In fact I think they can be run a great deal more efficiently and better than they currently are. That’s why between my wife and I we probably spend 20 to 30 hours a week on school related activities. As for the number of kids…its not really going down…if it were to decline then then variable costs should as well.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 5th, 2012
12:21 pm
“If you:
* want to take control of your schools away from your local county and hand it over to some state bureaucracy”
Already debunked many times. Control remains with the local school system. This is just an appeals board if the local system denies an application. Why must you continue to lie?
“* want to see your property taxes rise to fund private Christian schools for the rich”
Already debunked numerous times. These are STILL public schools and cannot teach religion. Why do you continue to lie?
“* want to see the quality of education diminish as for-profit “education” companies squeeze out profits by hiring unqualified, uncertified, part-time teachers with high turnover because of low pay and benefits”
Already debunked numerous times, mike. Why do you continue to lie?
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
November 5th, 2012
12:24 pm
Five hundred retired generals and admirals are running an ad in Monday’s editions of The Washington Times calling on the country to elect Republican Mitt Romney on Tuesday.
Any questions?
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 5th, 2012
12:24 pm
Yes, Tiberius, you can debunk a lot of that with this one measure. The problem is, this isn’t the final goal. This is just a step on the way to making fat cats rich with taxpayer dollars while diverting money away from public schools where it is needed..
mike
November 5th, 2012
12:25 pm
Tiberius: I think the good people of Georgia have more common sense than you give them credit for. Amendment 1 will go down to humiliating defeat just like T-SPLOST did. You cite that the points I have made have been debunked but you don’t post any link or quotes from links to back it up. Why is that?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 5th, 2012
12:25 pm
“What you get is the opportunity to get off your butt and down to your local PTA to be part of the solution rather than someone that just whines.”
A non-answer, otherwise known as a deflection. Always used when one cannot anser the question without looking like a fool.
And I never whine.
“In case you haven’t noticed more kids come along every year. ”
As do more parents and more tax dollars. Are you sure you’re in business?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 5th, 2012
12:26 pm
“The problem is, this isn’t the final goal. This is just a step on the way to making fat cats rich with taxpayer dollars while diverting money away from public schools where it is needed..”
Your opinion, no matter how mistaken, is noted, Finn.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 5th, 2012
12:27 pm
Any questions?
It’s not the military’s place to try to persuade voters to either direction. The military is supposed to serve the commander in chief with disregard for any party. These guys have stepped out of bounds so why would I even consider their choice?
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
November 5th, 2012
12:27 pm
MICHELLE: ‘Imagine what Barack can do in 4 more years’…
I did.
Why do you think I’m voting for Romney?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 5th, 2012
12:28 pm
“You cite that the points I have made have been debunked but you don’t post any link or quotes from links to back it up. Why is that?”
Because anyone can simply go to the side of this blog and re-read Kyle’s evisceration of your points over the past couple of weeks by clicking on previous columns, mike.
JamVet
November 5th, 2012
12:29 pm
Kyle, what the hey?
No 11th hour expose on how Morphing Mitt and Lyin’ Ryan have gaffed their way to another embarrassing White House loss for the neocons?
But then maybe unicorns do exist and these frauds will win!
KEEP HOPE ALIVE!
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 5th, 2012
12:34 pm
“It’s not the military’s place to try to persuade voters to either direction. The military is supposed to serve the commander in chief with disregard for any party. These guys have stepped out of bounds so why would I even consider their choice?”
Spoken like someone who has never actually served in the military, Finn.
Here’s the deal, Finn – these are RETIRED military, not active duty. Once retired, they may engage in any activity protected by the very Constitution they swore to defend (something you never bothered to do).
Of course, defending this nation from enemies both foreign and domestic is simply above your pay grade, so your judgement on THEIR judgement really doesn’t matter.
Darwin
November 5th, 2012
12:34 pm
Incorrect Kyle. They have a choice today from the local school boards. Interesting how the right wing always talks about local control, eh?
Rush
November 5th, 2012
12:35 pm
Let’s have a shout out for JDW and the explanation on variable costs….Woo Hoo
Aquagirl
November 5th, 2012
12:41 pm
Your responsibility to our society is continue to participate…yes that means pay you taxes even if your kids aren’t in school.
Y’all don’t get it. When Tiberius pays education taxes, that’s HIS money. When other people pay education taxes, that’s also HIS money to be spent educating HIS kids in HIS preferred style.
If you think it’s other people’s job to pay for your child’s education (but the reverse doesn’t apply) then you need some WIC voucher cheese to go with that whine. They pair so well.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 5th, 2012
12:44 pm
Where is CC today? Did he not buy a cable long enough to receive teh interwebs in his bunker?
Hopefully, he is at his DR office getting a prescription for anti-depressants. It’s gonna be a long 4 years. (err, 8 years if you ask Newt.)
Rush
November 5th, 2012
12:45 pm
Watergirl:
Why don’t senior citizens have to pay for education on their local taxes? It’s for the good of the group, right? How do they avoid these payments to benefit society? What makes them so special?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 5th, 2012
12:46 pm
“When Tiberius pays education taxes, that’s HIS money. When other people pay education taxes, that’s also HIS money to be spent educating HIS kids in HIS preferred style. ”
Liar. If you can’t make the case without lying, I suggest Bookman’s.
I have already stated I merely want the school portion of my taxes given to me for my children’s education while they are in a private school. Not before or after, just during their educational years.
Why can’t you stay on topic, Aquagirl, instead of lying to try to make a phony point?
Oh, that’s right – you’re a liberal. That’s all you’ve got.
JDW
November 5th, 2012
12:46 pm
@Tiberius…”non-answer, otherwise known as a deflection. Always used when one cannot anser the question without looking like a fool.”
You mean an answer you don’t like…much easier to whine than to work…it is an answer just the same.
“And I never whine.”
Just to limit myself to the last 10 minutes…
WHINE—”my kids aren’t causing an expense to educate them in the school system, why the school system still needs that money”
WHINE–”I shouldn’t get MY money back from the government if I think their crappy school system isn’t going to educate my kids properly”
Now for this gem…”As do more parents and more tax dollars. Are you sure you’re in business?”
Really I missed the tide of rising revenue lately…must be why Fulton County has slashed spending per child from $9943 in 2008 to $8784 in 2012…maybe you want to rethink that slight error in the obvious. While you are doing that you might contemplate your own mortality because along with the new taxpayers coming in there is an exodus as well.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 5th, 2012
12:46 pm
What makes them so special?
They already paid their dues to society?
Rush
November 5th, 2012
12:48 pm
Finn:
Careful poking fun at others…..try the spell check in Word before sending your posts….and the 4 year comment….do you really think zero bama will win? If so, what will he do different than the prior 4 years that will improve upon the past 4 years?
Aquagirl
November 5th, 2012
12:52 pm
Why don’t senior citizens have to pay for education on their local taxes? What makes them so special?
They aren’t exempt everywhere, sounds like you live in Deadbeatville. If you want to suck up those extra taxes so grandma can go on a cruise that’s between you and your elected officials.
Rush
November 5th, 2012
12:52 pm
Nice attempted dodge….What is the $ threshold for paying your dues to society? Or is it a % of your lifetime earnings? Or is there a certain group of people that decides at what point you have paid enough of your dues irrespective of $ amount or % of earnings? Just curious to understand the rational.
JamVet
November 5th, 2012
12:55 pm
If so, what will he do different than the prior 4 years that will improve upon the past 4 years?
Great question, meat!
I voted against him last time and will do so again tomorrow.
And I told my lib friends in November 2008, “prepare to be disappointed. This guy is NOT who you think he is”.
His first administration was MUCH too similar to the loser who preceded him. Pro-war and pro-corporations uber alles.
Chances are slim, but maybe, just maybe, the liberal BHO will show up in the next four years.
Then your already insane teeth gnashing will grow exponentially.
Which would be even bigger and better entertainment…
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 5th, 2012
12:59 pm
Only in JDWville does asking questions (that remain unanswered, btw) constitute “whining”.
Streetracer
November 5th, 2012
1:00 pm
JDW:
If Fulton County is spending 8700+ per student, don’t you think that ranking 40something in the country is less than optimal?
Rush
November 5th, 2012
1:04 pm
Glad to return the amusement, Jam. Tell us again how you dutifully served “our” country and that you deserve no question about your interpretation on what this country needs. As stated in a previous posts….you will be on a street corner with a tin cup in your hand (if not so already).
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 5th, 2012
1:04 pm
Rush,
first of all, don’t tell others how to blog, lose some weight, lay off the oxycontin.
Now, I expect Obama to:
1) address immigration reform
2) put liberal judges on the supreme court
3) Maybe reform the tax code
4) continue implementing ACA Obamacare
That’s a start
Rush
November 5th, 2012
1:06 pm
$8700 per student, Streetracer? Are you sure that number isn’t much higher? Either way an excellent point is raised about what we are really paying for and the results derived.
Rush
November 5th, 2012
1:09 pm
Study hard, Finn. Study hard. As you age the liberalism disease currently infecting you will subside. Appears you may be afflicted with delusional thoughts at this point also.
Aquagirl
November 5th, 2012
1:11 pm
I have already stated I merely want the school portion of my taxes given to me for my children’s education while they are in a private school. Not before or after, just during their educational years.
You’ve clearly stated you don’t want to pay taxes, we get that. Again, not surprising. If school taxes aren’t for YOUR child, why should you be exempt? Aside from your grandiose feeling of entitlement? Lots of men today seem to feel like they should get all sorts of butt-kissing for supporting their own children. My dad set a different standard so I consider it normal behavior and it’s what I expected of my husband. The men in my life have thought it routine and not reason for a parade or government kickbacks.
If you go to the grocery store and *don’t* use a SNAP card you don’t get a special award cookie either. You’re choosing not to use taxpayer funds to support your child. If that makes you feel special and massively important and entitled to tax breaks then it’s your god-given right to puff your ego out. I’m not even bothering for a golf clap.
Of course if you do use a SNAP card to feed your kids you’ll take a large ration of judgmental yakking from folks who resemble yourself. In that case taking taxpayer money to spend as you see fit on your child makes you an unAmerican parasite worthy of derision.
Mmmmmm, I love me some conservative hypocrisy, as long as it’s a way downwind.
Rush
November 5th, 2012
1:12 pm
Finn:
Forgot to compliment you on using spell check for those tough words like oxycontin. Well done and you are a quick learner. Kudos.