VALDOSTA — The charter school amendment is a hot-button topic that will appear on November’s ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. Essentially, the amendment gives the state Legislature the right to create special schools known as charter schools.

The measure developed following a May 2011 ruling by the Georgia Supreme Court which ruled that the state’s involvement in the establishment of public charter schools was unconstitutional. The court ruled that the Georgia Charter School Commission — formed in 2008 as a reaction to local school boards rejecting charter petitions — was illegal because it approved and funded charter schools despite objection by local school boards. The ruling did not apply to charter schools that were not opposed.

Enabling funding for the state charter schools, House Bill 797 was signed into law on May 3 of this year by Gov. Nathan Deal and will only take effect if the Georgia Charter Schools Amendment gains public approval in November.

Whether that approval will happen or not is up in the air as those in favor and opposed have strong candidates backing the bill.

Georgia State Superintendent Dr. John Barge announced his opposition to the proposed charter school amendment on Tuesday, Aug. 14.

“I cannot support the creation of a new and costly state bureaucracy that takes away local control of schools and unnecessarily duplicates the good work already being done by local districts, the Georgia Department of Education, and the state Board of Education,” Barge said in a prepared statement. “What’s more, this constitutional amendment would direct taxpayer dollars into the pockets of out-of-state, for-profit charter school companies whose schools perform no better than traditional public schools and locally approved charter schools

 (and worse, in some cases).”

Until all of the state’s public schools are in a full 180-day school year, Barge said, until services like student transportation and student support are restored to effective levels and until teachers regain their jobs with full pay for a full school year, not one dollar should be redirected from Georgia’s local school districts.

“Much less an additional $430 million in state funds, which is what it would cost to add seven new state charter schools per year over the next five years (the annual average of the Charter Commission that would be revived if the amendment passes),” Barge’s statement read.

Like Barge, local education leaders such as Lowndes County Schools Superintendent Wes Taylor also oppose the amendment.

“Our goal is to provide a quality education delivered by highly qualified, caring teachers in first-class facilities in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment for each child in the Lowndes County School System,” said Taylor. “Cumulative state funding cuts over the last 10 years have resulted in the loss of more than $40 million for the Lowndes County School System while we have experienced consistent growth in the number of students we serve.”

Taylor said the exorbitant “austerity reductions” have resulted in increased class sizes, shorter school years and forced teacher furloughs and layoffs.

“If the charter school amendment is approved, we will certainly experience more state funding cuts and increases in local property taxes to fund these new state-run charter schools,” said Taylor.

Taylor is also troubled by the way the amendment is worded on the ballot.

“The deceptive wording of the ballot question masks the intent of its proponents — to take control away from local boards of education and local communities,” said Taylor. “A no vote on the state-controlled schools constitutional amendment is a vote to preserve our public schools for our students.”

Valdosta City Schools Superintendent Bill Cason is also opposed to the charter school amendment.

“I am against charter schools as currently proposed,” said Cason. “I do not like the idea that a commission will be formed to govern charter schools from Atlanta.”

Cason said there are just too many unanswered questions about the funding mechanism.

“I feel that this initiative will only further deplete state funds needed to operate our current schools,” said Cason. “In my opinion, it is not the right time for a new initiative that has the potential to harm education in a state that is already struggling to keep up.”    

State Rep. Jason Shaw is not necessarily opposed to the idea of charter schools, but feels it is not something needed in our community. He voted against the bill.

“I’m not against charter schools, I just have some issues with the funding mechanism,” said Shaw.

Aside from money potentially being funneled away from local school systems, Shaw also opposes the idea of local school boards losing authority.

“It all boils down to who has the authority to get the yea or nay on the charter school appointment,” said Shaw. “I think the local school boards should have a voice in this because it will affect them financially.”

Shaw stated that when you take into consideration that our local school systems are already struggling with budgets, passing this amendment could potentially deepen that struggle.

Shaw believes there is merit in charter schools, but over all, this was something that his constituents did not support and he listened. Really, he feels in a rural community, the way education is approached is different than in a city like Atlanta.

“I don’t think you’re going to see a big push for charter schools in our area,” said Shaw.

State Rep. Amy Carter supported putting the issue to a vote. At a meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 14, with local school officials and state representatives including Carter, Lowndes County Board of Education member Fred Davis made sure she knew he opposes it.

“We’re talking about money going to private schools,” said Davis. “That’s money we’re throwing away.”

Carter said she didn’t necessarily vote yes for the charter schools amendment. She voted for the public being able to make the decision.

“It was more of a decision of allowing the voters to decide whether or not they wanted it,” said Carter.

The Times asked if that meant she actually opposed charter schools.

“It’s not that I don’t support them,” said Carter. “I think that some charter schools are good for a community ... there are some that are outstanding.”

The Times asked “so you support the charter school amendment?”

“I support giving the citizens the vote,” said Carter.

State Rep. Ellis Black also voted yes for the amendment vote.

“I voted for it because it’s an issue that’s not really relevant for South Georgia,” said Black. “It’s something that has been going on for 10 years and has not been abused.”

The Times asked if there is a possibility that private schools could re-classify themselves. “Anything is possible. The world could end tomorrow,” said Black. “We need to focus on the probability, not the possibility.”

Black said there are local school boards that have turned a deaf ear to the idea of a charter school.

“[The amendment] would take away their absolute control,” said Black.

The charter school amendment has the potential of affecting the 2,300 public schools in Georgia that have already experienced a cut of $4 billion since 2008, according to information from Barge. While there has been much of political back and forth between opponents and supporters in the media, the decision will ultimately come down to the voters in November.



Here is some clarity on the ballot question.

“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to allow state or local approval of public charter schools upon the request of local communities?”

Voting “Yes” means you are in favor of ratifying the proposed amendment which would mean that local school boards no longer have the say so in the formation of public charter schools.

Voting “No” means you are against ratifying the proposed amendment and believe that the formation of a charter school shall be left to the discretion of a local school board.

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