Thank you for your analysis of the special interests in this amendment. If this amendment passes the battle on our hands will be pushing for amendments to HB 797 to 1) ensure that our local school districts are protected from an influx of state approved charter schools being placed against our wants or needs by placing caps on the number of charter schools this commission can approve in our state in a year, 2) the charter school boards of these schools MUST include representatives from the local community, 3) fiscal transparency of these schools with check registers posted online, 4) teachers MUST be U.S. citizens... "green card" status should not be acceptable, 5) all contracts for services, construction, maintenance MUST be a bid process and MUST employ U.S. companies if a U.S. company exists, 6) the federal government involvement in charter schools is removed, 7) all sources of private funding, institutional grants, and government funds are reviewed by citizens of the school district(s) of the charter school to ensure that acceptance of funds don't come with mandates that don't agree with the values of the local community, and perhaps 8) this charter commission should be an ELECTED commission.

Dr. Danielle LeSure, Center for an Educated Georgia, highlights three innovative practices taking place in Public Charter Schools that other schools could use! http://www.educatedgeorgia.org/news/press-release-successful-innovations-fuel-state-charter-school-success/

These three schools exist because of the state charter commission (16 of nearly 60 approved over 3 years). Two have taken advantage of management companies, one does not. Not sure what scares the opponents about for-profit companies. They sign a contract with the nonprofit board (our elected local boards are paid, these governing boards are not). The school works with the management company to attract and retain students. What? Ms. Hooper wants you to believe that students are not even part of the equation. If amendment one passes, we'll just throw bazillions of tax dollars to these evil business people and call it a day.

If they don't add value to the school, the school's board can terminate the relationship. We have had schools do that here in Georgia. This just doesn't frighten me. Not nearly as much as our state drop out rate does anyway.

I told you... to vote OUT the Republicans.... and, as this article also points out, they are sneaky and there intentions are to further devide our nation into the very wealthy and the very poor... while they wealthy become wealthier via privitizing everything they can get their hands on - the real folks will become poorer as they have to keep paying more and more to satisfy the 'bottom-line' profit margins... In a few years... I truly believe that if you vote yes on Amendment 1, the ppl will be begging to get not-for-profit Public Schools back !!!

I understand this the Canton-Sixes Patch, but I'm getting pretty tired of seeing an image of Cherokee Charter Academy almost every time something "charter" comes up on this website. Furthermore, if this woman lives in N.Fulton, I don't consider her a "local" voice. Move along.

Thanks for explaining how the picture got there - in other words, I didn't put it there. This was originally posted on The Alpharetta-Milton Patch. To go back to Leon's comment - your point is well taken. The constitutional authority of the State BOE to approve or deny charter petitions is reaffirmed in HB797. Why then is the commission so important to the backers? I feel there is a plan in place that we are not privy to. A huge question still not answered is - where in the state budget is the money coming from. Is there a new source in mind. What is the budget? Other states treat their citizens as if they have brains. This entire campaign has been misleading - facts have been misstated constantly. This is an amendment to our constitution - important voter rights are at stake and we are being treated as if we "don't need to know." I don't care what side you're on. This secrecy is troubling.

It's hard to imagine a less objective article than this in the blog. One instantly wonders what Elizabeth Hooper has to gain by the continuation of the dramatic failure of Georgia schools and its negative impact on our children.

Choice is not some strawman to be bloviated against by Ms. Hooper. Freedom of choice is key to our economic and political systems. If someone wants to push creativity and try something in education which doesn't produce a squadron of failure, let me at it. As long as parents have choice, what is she so afraid of?

In a nutshell:

If you live in Fulton, Oconee, or Jackson Counties (or any other county where public education is ideal and you give your neighborhood school an A+) VOTE NO on this amendment.

If you live in the MANY other counties where your child meets a punitive philosophy where his/her ideas about learning will be formed, has less than 20 minutes per day at recess, has been treated poorly by one of more of their elementary teachers, is cussed at by a middle school teacher, is "progressing" through the end of the year (this means FAILING) or is being bullied and you can do nothing about it - then VOTE YES ON THE CHARTER AMENDMENT!

I have children who have spent 9 years in public education. I am an educator. I have experienced some amazing things in public education, and I have experienced some things in public education that have left me aghast. It's hit or miss. I will vote YES on this amendment to ensure that parents and students have more CHOICES that do not include paying for private school, quitting their jobs, or moving.

I advocate a support of the charter school system. The United States has fallen behind other countries due to our public school systems. Charter schools do better in aptitude scores than public schools and the teachers are paid less.

Who in their right mind advocates paying more for worse education? Make public schools compete with private industry.

UPS and FedEx do a lot better than the government employees of the United Postal Service.

Elizabeth, thank you so much! Please keep up the good work and hopefully deaf ears will hear.

My stance is that this amendment placed on the ballot by our general assembly is a distraction to what they should really be focusing on - fixing ALL our public schools!

However this vote turns out, I am saying prayers for ALL our children in public schools - public AND charter - who, as of this school year, are being educated under Obama's Common Core national standards which is pushing the Type 2 Education Philosophy and indoctrination of the left's social justice agenda with anti-American, anti-family, and anti-capitalist values.

These standards were accepted by our state legislature with NO review of curriculum or the cost of implementation. Our "reward" for the NCLB waiver.

Whether this amendment passes or not, I am praying that all parents and concerned citizens will wake up and do what REALLY needs to be done.... INSIST that our state legislators rescind Common Core national standards, kick the feds out of our schools, develop education standards using Texas as a base model (who is now considered to have the BEST standards in place because they said NO to accepting Common Core), and then ask our state legislators this question...
With the federal government out of our schools WHO is it keeping us from implementing the teaching model of current charter schools into ALL our public schools?

Learn about Type 1 and Type 2 education philosophies
http://libertylinked.com/posts/9703/2-education-philosophies-with/View.aspx

There is good and bad here. If one looks at the private colleges that are sucking up student loan money and not giving a decent education you can get an idea of why these megabillionaires want this to pass. This is a profit move for them, and the money they will get is public money.

I think K12 has only one school here, GA Cyber Academy. It has over 10k students. They provide a service to the non-profit governing board. If they make money in the process, I'm not sure of the problem. I think they were being watched to improve Special Education programs and I understand the board is working with K12 to remedy that situation. If their provider (k12) doesn't do what they're expected to do, the board can move to another provider or pull it in house. I do think that's harder for the virtual schools than the bricks/mortar schools but it's an option.

We've had some schools renegotiate their contracts with EMOs, taking on a little more of the work themselves and paying the EMO less. Some schools have released the EMO entirely. I personally feel like some of our superintendents are the 'for-profit' entities that should be watched more closely but again, he/she provides a service and if Gwinnett County tax payers believe he should be paid more than the president of the US, that's up to them.

I just have a question. I am not understanding the whole thing, but if schools in lower income areas are failing due to drugs, gangs and guns and other issues, if we have more Charter schools, then the kids causing the issues will have the chance to go to the charter schools too? So does this mean the kids in downtown that cause problems get to go to better schools and start issues there. Of course I would want my child in the best school possible and we did just that. We moved from APS to Cumming. The schools here are great and I can say I sure wouldn't the kids that are causing trouble in APS to move to cumming. I think it is the parents that don't teach their kids and show them how to steal, cheat, and bring guns to school. If you take the pople who live in APS district where there is a lot of issues and move them to say a private school, eventually that private school will turn to. I think people need to try to get together to fix the schools that are broken and not take away students so the schools will close due to low enrollment.
I have said how I feel, now someone can explain to me the reasons I should vote yes, if I am mis-understandig the whole issue.

@Bonnie it sounds like your mind is made up but I'll respond anyway. If you moved from APS you know better than anyone some great people live there. Some aren't even 'stuck' but rather want to live there but also want a good education. There are some tremendous charter schools in APS and by following the code of conduct set forth by the system, they keep discipline in check.

If your question is whether a charter school could open in Cumming and draw from APS, it's not likely. There is a school in south Georgia that draws from 5 counties but it's rural and makes sense. The commission heard from one petitioner who wanted to pull from Fulton, Douglas, and maybe Fayette County but that one was denied because they couldn't 'prove' local support. The petitioners must show that residents are interested. The opponents keep saying 'they' can put in a school the community didn't ask for which is just not true.

I think you should vote yes for all the families In Georgia. If a school opens in your area that practices single gender math and science classes, you may think that your child could do better there. He or she may be making low Bs or Cs, which isn't failing but you want to try something different. The option would be there. Forsyth County would get the first chance to approve that school. If they deny it, the petitioners could appeal to the charter commission. That's it.

Thank you Kids first. I now understand a little better.