Voters in Georgia passed an amendment to the state constitution enabling the governor to set up a commission to approve charter schools over the objection of local school boards.
The margin of victory was 58-42.
This is an ALEC-inspired model law, meant to strip away the powers of local school boards.
It had major financial support from Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst, Alice Walton of the Walmart fortune, a member of the Gap family, charter school operators, and other supporters of privatization.
Critics fear that charters will restore racial segregation.
One certain result is that public schools’ budgets will be cut to pay for charter schools of uncertain quality across the state.
Chalk up a big win for the rightwing privatizers.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Critics fear that charters will restore racial segregation”.
NSS! It’s the deep south (which doesn’t mean that there isn’t a hell of a lot discrimination north of the MD line also.)
Guess I’ll start stashing flashlights in my desk and stockpile candles…
ALEC is buying away the real local choice in schools in order to bypass local school boards. Why would big business want to make competitive bids to thousands of school boards nationwide when they can concentrate efforts on laws that allows them to co-opt school boards? Sure, charters seem like non-profits, but the board members know where contracts will be awarded without bothering with bids – to their for-profit sponsors.