In Georgia, the Republican party has lined up to support a constitutional amendment this fall that would give the governor power to override the decisions of local school boards and open charters whether the local boards like it or not.
Obviously, such a law would eviscerate local control and also raid the local school budget to fund the charters.
Where did this idea come from? Not surprisingly, from the rightwing organization called ALEC, which values privatization over local control.
But here is the amazing news: the state superintendent of education, a loyal Republican named John Barge, has come out in opposition to the measure, which will be on the ballot in November.
This is from Maureen Downey’s blog in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
“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).”
Barge said the passage of the amendment, the restoration of the Georgia Charter Schools Commission and state funding for the charter schools it approves would be too costly for the state.
“Until all of our public school students are in school for a full 180-day school year, until essential services like student transportation and student support can return to effective levels, and until teachers regain jobs with full pay for a full school year, we should not redirect one more dollar away 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.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
First, Michigan gave the state power to overrule municipalities. Now Georgia is giving the state power to overrule school boards. The right-wing bastions of small government and federalism sure are hard to figure out sometimes!
There has often been a need to force local school boards to change policies in order to improve schools. Local control is not without it’s problems.
Where has there been a need? How prevalent is that need?
School desegregation, educational rights for the disabled, and the separation of church and state come to mind first. Do you want other examples?
Explain these examples with research to back your claims.
I am trying to keep my posts very short. A long history of federal interference with stae and local public school practices, often following federal court decisions. Brown v Board of Education of Topeka Kansas is probably the best known.
Local control is always best. What if the local control is inadequate or ineffectual, though?
The state always has the power to step in if local control fails. But the constitutional amendment in Georgia establishes a process to override local control in every instance where a charter is rejected by the local school board. The presumption is that local control is never right.
Georgia loves the word “furlough.” I know the state university system furloughs faculty members for one day here or there to “save money.” Surely there is a better way to manage finances at an institution of learning than to temporarily lay off an instructor so you can legally pay him less.
My three nieces went to a GA charter pre-school, but they moved to public school in Kindergarten. They love their school, and they are doing quite well. Let’s hope that this amendment never bears fruit.
What the newspapers keep leaving out is that the Charter Schools that have already been approved by the State of Georgia which over rode vetos by local boards have done a very poor job. The ones approved by local boards have done very well. The last one approved at the state level has only had a 73% pass rate on the 5th grade writing test, compared with an 84% pass rate from the public schools in the same county. And, they have had a lower pass rate for state mandated test for promotion from 5th to 6th grade and from 8th to 9th grade (CRCT) compared with the public schools in the same county. This is not a wise use of tax payer money or is it a good place for parents to choose to send their children. Parents are putting their children’s education at risk just so they can feel like they have a choice of where their children attend school. Shocking.