[intro]
According to WSB-TV, which released the first public poll on the school takeover amendment, 41 percent of Georgians oppose the takeover while just 39 percent support it.
In short, we are winning!
As a parent of two Clarke County Schools students, I understand the importance of strengthening public education. That’s why I’m focused on fighting the growing corporatization of our public schools and speaking out against the school takeover. It’s nothing more than a political power grab that would silence parents.
Amendment 1 is so misleading that Georgians have declared that it violates voting rights. An Atlanta parent, a reverend and a public school teacher filed a lawsuit on behalf of all Georgia voters, challenging the deceiving ballot language.
Kimberly Brooks, mother and plaintiff, sees through the scam.
From the AJC: “You have to ask, ‘opportunity for whom?’ If you read the fine print, you’ll see this is an opportunity for the state to take our voices away.”
Question: If the amendment language is rigged to deceive voters, how do we beat it?
Answer: We beat it by talking about the state takeover district, informing people of what is really at stake and advocating for real solutions to the problems with our schools that are struggling, not creating expensive and destructive false cures that will enrich corporate and political interests and do very real harm to the children it purports to “help.”
Getting involved and spreading the word are vital if we want to stop this takeover. Our efforts will make all the difference on this issue. It is up to us to help voters know that “No on Amendment 1” is the only way to go when they get to that part of the ballot…regardless of the tricky language.
The more people know about this proposal, the less they like it — which is why we can win. Voters react with alarm at the prospect of giving power to an unelected political appointee who can close schools, fire teachers without cause or hand our schools over to out-of-state, for-profit corporations.
Janet Kishbaugh, an Atlanta parent, is voting “No” on Amendment 1 for this very reason.
From a recent video: “For every parent, the most import thing… [is] to have direct input into the decisions made about our kids, and we shouldn’t allow the state take that away from any community.”
Though we are pulling ahead, we must stay involved as the fight continues until November 8. Stay informed, spread the word and show your opposition.
Early voting begins on Oct. 17 in most parts of Georgia. Vote “No” on the school takeover.
Sincerely,
Bertis Downs
P.S. Volunteer with Keep Georgia Schools Local and keep the momentum going. Email volunteer@ keepgeorgiaschoolslocal.org to learn about their volunteering opportunities.
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Diane Ravitch's blog 
We need a law that requires all amendments to be written clearly with the actual intent of the law explicitly represented in the wording of the amendment. Too many amendments are deliberately misleading. Since the purpose is for citizens to express their views, voting should not be about trickery. Here in Florida there is a “solar energy amendment” written by oil and gas whose intention is to suppress solar energy. Ballots should be fair and honest.
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Easier said than done. Reasonable minds will almost always be able to disagree about how proposed legislation should be described. And the concept of “intent” often doesn’t really apply to legislation with language that is the product of negotiation.
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FLERP,
It is not hard to see in plain sight when a constitutional amendment is deceptively written. Why deceive voters? Why bother with a vote at all?
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I think it may be quote hard to see it in plain sight if you haven’t read or don’t understand the future language of the proposed legislation. This is one of the inherent problems with legislation through referenda. It asks voters to make specific policy decisions that they don’t understand, and gives extraordinary weight to the wording of a one-sentence title that is almost always weighted in favor of one option and against the other. It’s a terrible way to make policy.
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Andrew Young and Hank Aaron held a press conference to speak out against OSD and Amendment 1…
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I became involved in Georgia public education in the fall of 2004. First as an active-parent, and by the next school year, it included research and data tracking. In a previous election cycle Georgia amended its constitution changing our approval process for charter schools. I opposed the first amendment because I realized at the time the next step would:
And then there is this…
Deal was given the powers to remove district school board members from office. He has used that power. The question I have yet to get an answer to:
Why won’t he fire the School Board members in the communities identified, and hold their replacements responsible for fixing the problem?
Isn’t this supposed to be all about the children?
I am voting NO!
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