By Jon Gillooly
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer
MARIETTA - Until now, public schools in the Marietta City Schools system each had their own school council - an advisory board made up of parents, teachers and the school principal. By the end of the month, these school councils will be replaced by a board with actual decision-making authority, called a school governance team.
The switch from school council to school governance team is the result of the Georgia Board of Education approving Marietta City Schools as a charter system on June 12. The state board approved Marietta as one of four such charter systems in Georgia, the others being Gainesville City, Decatur and Warren County.
The Marietta school board received an update on rolling out its charter status during a Friday meeting.
Each school governance team will be made up of the principal, two teachers, one school employee such as a librarian, two parents, and one community member, such as a pastor or business person. The parent positions are elected by other school parents and the teacher positions are elected by other teachers to two-year terms. The community member and certified staff position is appointed by the principal and approved by the school governance team.
The composition is not that different from that of the school council, which the Georgia Legislature requires to be composed of four parents - two of whom may be businessmen or women - two teachers and a principal, said Preston Howard, assistant superintendent of operations. But while school councils only have the power to advise and recommend, the school governance teams can decide whether to require school uniforms, whether to approve local field trips, how to implement a school-wide discipline plan and control the school budget.
"You know, budget determines everything. Budget affects every aspect of a school's program," Howard said.
The Marietta school board will continue to govern as it always has in such matters as the hiring and firing of employees.
"I think what's important about the bylaws and the school governance teams is it will involve really good dialogue, good recommendations, and good decision making at the school level," Superintendent Dr. Emily Lembeck said.
School governance team members will all receive training by the Georgia School Boards Association, she said.
"I really think if done well that what we've done can serve school councils throughout the state to get to the next level," she said.
School board attorney Clem Doyle provided the board with draft copies of the bylaws of the school governance teams, which the board is expected to approve on Sept. 16.
Lembeck said she and her board started the process to become a charter system a year ago.
"I think that parents should be excited about their children learning in an environment that has more people than just a few around the table making decisions about what happens in the school," she said. "This is another step forward in saying, 'we welcome parent involvement in our school district.' It's another step forward in saying, 'you, the educators who are doing the work, have something to add, and working closely with parents and your administration together at the table is a very, very powerful piece of a school system.'"
The board petitioned the state to become a charter system to gain flexibility from the rules and regulations of the Georgia Department of Education, although the system must still comply with the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
As a charter system it can waive such things as the state's maximum class size rule. And the charter petition doesn't just require that Marietta meets the "adequate" yearly standards of No Child Left Behind.
"Our petition holds us to a higher standard than just the No Child Left Behind standard because we have 'exceeds' standards that we put in there. We have those stretch goals that are in there that we have to meet by petition. We're not meeting minimum standards. We're going above and beyond that," Howard said.
Lembeck is up to the challenge.
"Is it scary? No, I think scary is feeling powerless to make a change. That's scary. I think it is exciting and optimistic and positive about the future of our school district and education when you can make change. And you have the ability to do that without unnatural, arbitrary or mandated perimeters," she said.
Board Chairwoman Jill Mutimer said she was looking forward to schools brainstorming for new ideas.
"I'm trying to be patient, which isn't my strong suit," Mutimer said. "... As these initial steps of implementation are completed, I anticipate an ongoing process where teachers, parents, SGT's, administration, and all involved in MCS have the opportunity to identify potentially innovative solutions that will help us succeed that could possibly not have been implemented before due to government restrictions. We can't lose sight of that goal."
The school board meets again 6 p.m. Tuesday.
jgillooly@mdjonline.com
Comment on this Story
Posted Comments