State Charter Schools: How They Will Be Funded and More

In this second of a two-part interview, Patch talks to Peachtree Corners resident Jose Perez, who is a new member of the Georgia Charter School Commission, about school funding, hiring a director and reviewing applications.

The newly re-established Georgia Charter Schools Commission is just getting started. The work is steep: staff to hire, policies to create, budgets to consider, charter school applications to review -- both new and renewals, and more.  Just last week, the commission hired Bonnie Holliday as its executive director Holliday, a former school teacher, was one of 31 candidates, and she begins on March 1. Now, the commission can begin the task of going through an extensive list of awaiting schools. "We are moving at warp speed," said Jose Perez, a Peachtree Corners resident who is a member of the commission. Readers may recall that debate became contentious here when Peachtree Corners' Ivy Preparatory Academy, tried and failed twice to be …

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Have You Heard About HB 123 Parent/Teacher Empowerment Act?

The bill will allow a simple majority of parents and/or teachers at ANY public school to petition a local board to convert a school to a charter school.

Does anyone remember the constitutional amendment battle last year? The battle where our Republican leadership wanted us to pass an amendment which expanded the role of government in Georgia and removed local control by giving it to an appointed State Charter Commission? We bought that one hook, line and sinker. Republicans convinced Republicans - some, not all - to forget about the other part of the party platform that talks about limited government and local control. The same group is back at it in the legislature trying to pass more bills which will eventually destroy our open public schools (vs. closed charter public schools – try moving here in January and getting into one).  Why? Because promoting charter schools and vouchers is also…

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Improving Education Is Truly A Bi-partisan Issue

Joint op-ed in support of the Charter School issue by Jan Jones, Speaker Pro Tem of the Georgia House of Representatives, and Alisha Thomas Morgan, a Democratic member of the House.

Between now and November, hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising will be spent telling us all the differences between President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney. They will disagree on nearly every issue, but one area where they have found common ground is the need for more public charter schools. We feel the same way in the Georgia House of Representatives. While there are many issues that our constituents expect us to draw a hard line in the sand and oppose much of what the opposition party supports, education reform is frankly too important to let our differences in political parties get in the way. As the Republican Speaker Pro Tem and a leading Democratic voice on education, we are together asking voters …

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EmpowerED Georgia Supports Local and State Charter Schools, Co-Founder Says

But it opposes the amendment creating a state Charter Schools Commission.

EmpowerED Georgia is reassured to have the attention of the Georgia Charter School Association. We can only view a lack of a detailed rebuttal from Mr. Lewis as a verification of the concerns we highlighted in our “Myths” piece.  Mr. Lewis is incorrect in his assertion that EmpowerED Georgia does not support charter schools. We support the authorization of both local and state charter schools.  EmpowerED Georgia’s Charter Schools Blueprint addresses the concerns we expressed in our “Myths” piece and previous pieces.  We support the establishment of an effective system of charter schools that serve all students in the state and will be focusing our efforts in promoting the reforms in our Blueprint up until, and beyond the vote on November …

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Moms Talk

Won't Back Down

Film pulls trigger on education reform.

Imagine discovering that an over-worked teacher locked your crying child in a storage closet at school as punishment for not following the rules. Scenes like this are getting the Hollywood treatment in the 20th Century Fox film "Won't Back Down," to be released in theatres on September 28. The movie touches on parent trigger laws, a takeover movement that grants frustrated parents the right to petition for sweeping changes in low-performing schools. The law is designed so that if 51% of parents in a failing school agree, they will be given the power to replace teachers, change curriculum, close schools, or convert to a charter school. Charters are publicly financed, independent schools that receive waivers from public school districts in …

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Edward

10:55 am on Monday, September 17, 2012

@AM...it's always the teachers fault seems like a bit of a scape goat to me, for the parents out there that use the school system as a form of day care, a way to get the kids out of the house, find a place to hide those bad kids while the work to keep the lights on. Let's face some real facts here folks, kids in school today are not the same as they were 30 years ago. Today kids spit, curse, yell…   more ›

Governor Supports Charter School Amendment

Deal urges voters to pass the amendment when it appears on the ballot in November. Ivy Preparatory Academy in Peachtree Corners would be impacted.

  After its final legislative passage Monday, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal urged voters to support the constitutional amendment allowing the state to create charter schools. The amendment will appear on the General Election ballot in November. “The General Assembly has acted wisely and courageously to give Georgians the choice to implement true local control: parental choice,” Deal stated in an announcement issued by his office. “We must encourage innovation and the pursuit of excellence in our schools. “Starting a state-chartered school is not done easily or without lots of hard work, but we need a system that allows for this option. State-chartered schools help students trapped in underperforming schools and aid communities that want to …

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Charter School Advocate Says It's About Choice

However, money and control are the real issues in the charter school debate not whether charter schools are an effective alternative to traditional schools says the writer.

  Editor's note: The opinions expressed here are strictly those of the writer and do not necessary reflect those of Peachtree Corners-Berkeley Lake Patch. If you have an opposing view to the one expressed here, send your opinion to the Patch editor. Please include your phone number so we may contact you. We are delighted to offer both sides of this very important issue to Patch readers.   By Nina Rubin With deepest respect to Amreeta Regmi, who obviously cares about public education, I want to respond to her factually flawed “Charter Crossroads” letter. http://peachtreecorners.patch.com/articles/the-charter-crossroad  If I could correct only one thing in her letter, it would be Ms. Regmi’s sweeping statement that “charter schools are ‘…

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The Charter Crossroad

The ins and outs of the issue of charter schools in Georgia.

  Editor's note: The opinions expressed here are strictly those of the writer and do not necessary reflect those of Peachtree Corners-Berkeley Lake Patch. If you have an opposing view to the one expressed here, send your opinion to the Patch editor. Please include your phone number so we may contact you. We are delighted to offer both sides of this very important issue to Patch readers. By Amreeta Regmi The State manifested its expansion of authority over public school education on February 22, with the passing of the House Resolution (HR) 1662. This bill approved constitutional amendment to reinstate State’s power in controlling charter schools. The approval raised two contentious control issues. First, the controlling of decisions by the…

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Amreeta Regmi

2:39 pm on Saturday, March 3, 2012

Dear Nina, Thank you for taking time to read my Letter to the Editor and for providing your comments. First and foremost, I appreciate your bringing the errors to my attention. You are correct. I have a tendency to overlook at numbers. When our entire world revolves around numbers, is defined and shaped by numbers - winners and losers, gains and losses, happiness and miseries, wealth and poverty…   more ›

Ivy Prep Gets Tour From GOP Lawmakers

Peachtree Corners charter school among those that would benefit from the proposed state constitutional amendment.

Charter Schools: Do You Think They Are a Good Idea?

Let us know your opinion on this controversial issue.

  After striking down commissioned charter schools as unconstitutional last May, backers have introduced a bill to allow the state to create charter schools. Just yesterday the Georgia House passed legislation favoring charter schools. Resolution 1162 passed 123-48 and now moves to the Senate. There are five charter schools currently operating in Gwinnett County, including one in Peachtree Corners, Ivy Preparatory Academy. Those favoring the speciality schools, which are open to the public, say there is a need especially for those students who struggle in a traditional school environment while those oppose maintain that the use of state funds to pay for charter schools would mean less money for public schools. Take our poll and let us know…

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