Keep Georgia Schools Local Hosts Forum about Proposed Georgia Constitutional Amendment

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At 6:30 pm on Tuesday, August 23, Keep Georgia Schools Local will host a forum about the upcoming Constitutional Amendment Georgians will be voting on on the November 8th ballot. The amendment states “Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to allow the state to intervene in chronically failing public schools in order to improve student performance?“  If Georgia’s citizens vote yes, then the state will establish a new state-wide district, the Opportunity School District (OSD).

The OSD will have the authority to take over public schools that, for the past three years, have scored under 60 on Georgia’s College and Career Performance Index, the state’s tool for measuring the quality of individual public schools within Georgia.  The OSD will supervise these schools for five to 10 years, depending on the school’s progress.  The OSD can take over no more than 20 schools per year and have no more than 100 schools under its authority at any one time.

Governor Deal will appoint the OSD Superintendent without any confirmation process in Georgia’s General Assembly.  The OSD will select the individual schools, not school systems, to enter the program.  OSD will hold community hearings about the matter, but the ultimate decision rests with the OSD not the local community or school board.  The OSD will have the authority to make direct changes at the school without consulting the local school board or a vote by the school board.  The OSD will also have power to transfer funding within the district to improve a failing school. To pay for administrative expenses, the OSD can withhold up to 3% of school’s operating budget .  It will also have the power to move a school into the category, OSD charter schools.  The OSD charter school can contract with a for-profit education management company to run the school.

The OSD will operate under Gov. Deal’s and future Georgia governors’ oversight.  Governor Deal has not given any indication of whom he would appoint as OSD Superintendent or if he will appoint a for-profit education management company to run the office.  The OSD Superintendent answers directly to Gov. Deal and not a locally-elected board

Currently, 127 schools in Georgia qualify for OSD takeover (click here to read list). Richmond County, where Augusta, has several schools on the list.  Recently, every member of the school board pledged to oppose the OSD constitutional amendment.

Fannin County School System is not on the list.  College and Career Ready Performance Index score for Fannin schools in an average of 71.6 for the elementary schools, 75.3 for FCMS and 85.8 for FCHS.

There is a mixed-message about charter schools throughout the United States.  Some statistics point to great school turn-arounds.  Other statistics point to selective expulsion of low-performing and developmentally-delayed students by charter schools in order to increase a school’s test scores.  There are also stories from around the United States about for-profit education management companies running charter schools as a revenue making business, putting profit above education and suddenly shutting schools down when the company hits hard times, even if it is in the middle of a school year.

Opponents of the Opportunity School District constitutional amendment cite loss of local control of schools, potential use of for-profit companies and muddy explanations about the administration of OSD as reasons voters should say no to the constitutional amendment.

One of the hallmarks of America’s public education is that local taxes fund locally-controlled school districts. The belief is that a community knows how to educate its future leaders and local funding shows a community’s support for its future.  This ideal can work well in middle- to high-income communities, but communities with a low property tax base often don’t collect sufficient money for to have well-funded system.

Opponents also say that OSD will let for-profit companies continue to creep into America’s public school systems, upending the traditional American belief that public schools are a resource to build a community’s value not build the value of a particular business.

Supporters of OSD point to New Orleans public schools improvement through Recovery School District.  RSD grew out of the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina 11 years ago.  With the influx of federal funding into New Orleans, the state used the opportunity to bolster New Orleans’ dismal public school system.  It worked.  High school graduation rates increased from 56% to 73% at the 52 RSD charter schools.  This year RSD schools are re-joining the Orleans Parish School System, but will still be operated as individual charter schools.

Supporters also point to the great diversity which a large-scale public charter system allows.  Within a charter district, there can be multiple types of schools like performing arts school, science and technology school or health studies school.  Charter schools also offer the flip side.  Since charter schools don’t answer to all state regulations, the schools can form a curriculum and identity which better suits its local community.

Fannin County is its own public charter school system and answers to a locally-elected School Board.

 

 

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