State charter school commission stirs up controversy

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November 18, 2009

Anonymous The Union-Recorder Wed Nov 18, 2009, 08:00 AM EST

This past spring the state legislature passed a bill to establish a Georgia Charter School Commission that could approve charter school applications rejected by local school boards. That action is now causing a storm of controversy in legal circles and in districts such as Baldwin County.

The public school systems of Atlanta, DeKalb County, Gwinnett County, Bulloch County and Candler County have filed a joint lawsuit, claiming that the Charter School Commission is illegal. Plaintiffs argue that the commission constitutes a kind of “independent school system” and would thus be prohibited by the Georgia Constitution.

Bringing the contentious matter closer to home, the Baldwin County Board of Education (BOE) recently adopted a resolution in support of retaining local control when approving charter schools in the county.

School Superintendent Geneva Braziel recently noted that the burden to align with federal education laws still exists for charter schools and that the local school system, not the state Charter Schools Commission, is best suited to navigate those requirements. In brief, Braziel and the board contend that the local board is responsible for managing and controlling its district’s public schools. Furthermore, she questions the constitutionality of allocating and spending local school tax dollars for funding a state commission.

Several years ago, the Baldwin County BOE rejected a proposal for a charter school, largely on the grounds that the originators of the charter school idea lacked a solid financial plan for the proposed school. One of those who proposed the Baldwin charter school now sits on the state Charter School Commission.

Such circumstances lead to the next issue. All seven persons appointed to the Charter School Commission were selected by the most powerful state leaders from only one political party — the present majority party in Georgia state politics. That party is one of the leading proponents of the charter school movement. The governor, lieutenant governor, and state House speaker, made all of the commission’s appointments. One can make an educated guess as to the political and educational proclivities of most all the appointees.

It is indeed difficult to separate politics from education, but this web of connections should give us substantial pause. It should also prod us to question such linkages when we explore educational policies in the present and future. Until the legal wheels have run their course, it seems that Baldwin County is wise to follow the advice of its Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools. Only nine states have created charter school commissions. We should wait and see how legal they are before determining how they will impact local schools in Baldwin County.

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