MARIETTA - Cobb education leaders are not happy about a bill that would allow local school boards to be overruled when it comes to rejecting charter school applications.

Marietta Board of Education Chairwoman Jill Mutimer questioned the constitutionality of House Bill 881, which has yet to be signed into law by Gov. Sonny Perdue.

The bill is consistent with the ongoing legislative efforts to shift control and accountability from locally elected boards of education to the state level, she said.

"I don't think this is the answer to educational issues. I feel that local control is best for everyone. The public is free to, and should, vote any locally elected board members out of office if they aren't serving their students and community well," she said.

If a school board denies an application for a charter school, applicants may obtain approval from the state school board, but will only receive state, not local, funding, said Andrew Broy, state charter school director.

This bill creates a seven-member state commission that can order local school boards to provide funding for the charters approved by the commission as well, he said.

Members of the commission are to be recommended by the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House, and approved by the state school board, Broy said.

Cobb Schools Superintendent Fred Sanderson said he disagrees with any attempt to remove authority from Cobb's school board.

"A local school board is elected by the community and has the best understanding of the educational needs of that community. I don't see how the citizens of Cobb County are best represented in that scenario," Sanderson said.

Bill supporter state Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) said the goal of the legislation is to create more educational choice for parents.

"Why would we ever want to stand in the way of giving parents more options to best meet the needs of their children? All across the nation, charter schools are doing extremely well and we should encourage them in Georgia," Rogers said.

Cobb Board of Education Chairwoman Betty Gray's answer to Roger's question is "academic standards." For a charter petition to be approved by Cobb's school board, it has to meet the Georgia Performance Standards. Applicants who fail to meet those standards are denied, she said.

Former Marietta High School principal Herb Garrett, who is executive director of the Georgia School Superintendents Association, called the bill "bad legislation," not only for allowing a state commission to overturn a local school board, but because "it creates a shell game to allow commission-approved charter schools access to local tax dollars, again without the approval of the very body authorized to levy those taxes - the local board of education."

In addition, Garrett said the bill contains a never-discussed provision that provides extra money to charter systems without saying why such systems would receive or need such extra money or where it would come from.

"Charter management companies ought to be salivating over an opportunity to start charter schools in systems that make a huge local contribution to the education of their children," Garrett said.

Cobb Board of Education Vice Chairman Rev. Dr. John Crooks opposes the bill because he is against anything that expands government, as he says this bill would do.

"I think the school board has a constitutional right to provide free and public education for children, and I'm not in favor of any political body or commission overriding that authority," Crooks said.

Cobb school board member Dr. Teresa Plenge, a special education teacher at Woodstock Middle School in Cherokee County, says if the state is going to overturn her board, then there is no need for her board to be involved in the first place.

"I would like for us to be bypassed altogether," Plenge said.

"They can take the phone calls; they can take the significant legal fees incurred in each application. It's an incredibly time-consuming process and if, as this bill suggests, we're apparently not competent to make decisions, they can do it all. Have at it. We'll be happy to hand over everything related to charter schools" - except control of existing charter schools and existing regular schools that opt for a charter status, she said.

Plenge referred all questions to where the General Assembly is headed in its move to expand charter and voucher programs over the last couple years to the legislators who support them.

"We're just left with the responsibility of cleaning up the mess after they complete whatever it is they do under the Gold Dome," Plenge said.

State Sen. Judson Hill (R-East Cobb) said he voted for the bill because charter schools have been a great success for many children and school systems.

"Charter schools help bring competitive forces into education which, in turn, benefits students as both public charter and non-charter schools strive for excellence. The best interest of our young people should be truly our only objective in education," Hill said.

Rogers said the current law, which allows charter schools to be denied, is not working. Of the 28 charter school applications last year, 26 were denied, he said.

"This is quite troubling. HB 881 will help create a system where more public charter schools can be created to help meet local educational demands," Rogers said.

Hill also mentioned how "a substantial number of charter school applications have been denied which, in many instances, leaves those students no alternative to their traditional public schools. This legislation provides a viable option for students from school systems which are anti-public charter schools instead of creating a ceiling on student opportunities and achievement."

All of Cobb's 14 state representatives voted for the bill, except for Sheila Jones (D-South Cobb) and Bobby Franklin (R-East Cobb), who voted against it, and Matt Dollar (R-East Cobb), who did not vote.

All of Cobb's five state senators voted for the bill except for Steve Thompson (D-Powder Springs), who voted against the bill, and Doug Stoner (D-Smyrna), who was excused from the vote.

jgillooly@mdjonline.com

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