Quick Poll
If gas prices reach $5 per gallon by Memorial Day as many are predicting, will you seriously consider purchasing a more fuel-efficient automobile?
- Absolutely: 53
- Probably: 42
- Doubt It: 241
- No Way: 179
- No Opinion: 23
Total Votes:
Published Tuesday, May 11, 2010 in Local
Charter school court ruling may impact separate case in Coweta
By Jeff Bishop
The Newnan Times-Herald
A ruling by a Fulton County judge on Friday likely will negatively impact a Coweta County lawsuit filed in April that aims to stop the proposed Coweta Charter Academy in Senoia, Coweta Board of Education attorney Nathan Lee said this week.
Most of the issues presented in Coweta's challenge to a decision by the Georgia Charter Schools Commission are "identical" to those brought forth by Gwinnett County, Atlanta, DeKalb County, Bulloch County, Candler County, Henry County and Griffin-Spalding County in a separate lawsuit, Lee said.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Wendy Shoob ruled Friday moments after attorneys finished their arguments that a state law funding charter schools is constitutional.
"I will need to see the order once it is reduced to writing and signed by the judge to accurately comment on its effects on our lawsuit," said Lee, explaining he had to leave court before the decision was rendered.
The Coweta school system's separate lawsuit was filed against State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox, the Georgia Board of Education, the Georgia Department of Education, the Georgia Charter Schools Commission, the Georgia Charter Educational Foundation and against individual members of the Georgia Charter Schools Commission.
Lee said that all is not lost for the school system's case, despite the judge's ruling.
"Though most of the issues are identical in the cases heard Friday and the Coweta school system's case, the Coweta case has some other arguments that were not asserted in the cases heard Friday because they are specific to Coweta," Lee said. "Those claims should not be affected."
Pursuant to the Uniform Superior Court Rules, Lee said, the Coweta case "will most likely also be heard by Judge Shoob," so to the extent there are any claims which are identical to those Shoob decided Friday, "I would expect the same ruling," Lee said.
Former Attorney General Mike Bowers, one of the lawyers for the seven local school districts challenging the law last week, suggested more legal action may be coming.
"I will certainly recommend to my clients that they appeal," he said. "She's just wrong."
The Coweta County Board of Education filed its 30-page complaint in Fulton County Superior Court in mid-April, attempting to overturn a recent series of decisions that opened the door for Coweta Charter Academy to build a new charter school in Senoia.
The Coweta school system seeks to have the court declare the charter for the proposed school "null and void and of no effect," and to declare the laws that allowed the school to be chartered in the first place unconstitutional.
The school system also hopes to keep the proposed local charter school from being funded by the state.
The school board cites the state constitution in multiple instances, stating that "authority is granted to the county and area boards of education to establish and maintain public schools within their limits," and that "no independent school system shall hereinafter be established."
Local opinion on the judge's decision and on charter schools in general seems to be split, according to comments on the Times-Herald web page.
"I have a problem with the county just giving the money to a business for profit," said one comment on the web site.
"There are good (charter schools) and bad ones, same as there are good and bad (schools) in the county system," said another comment. "They make or break based on quality driven by the free choice of parents."
Comment On This Story
Times-Herald.com does not necessarily agree with the comments posted below. Responsibility of comments rests solely with the writer. Comments posted in ALL CAPS will be deleted.
Submission of a comment does not guarantee publication. Comments will be posted by a moderator after being scanned for abusive language, relevance, etc. See our Comments FAQ for more details.
Name a charter school in coweta county that is more successful then the coweta county schools?
No charter school will out do willis rd elementary.
Posted by Joe Cool at 8:13 PM
The dumbest thing ever to come out of this argument is this: I have a problem with the county just giving the money to a business for profit..It is this very reason charter schools are successful..the reason government fails at everything is it's not their money
Posted by Peter at 7:40 PM
Good Point. Its called passing to keep the money coming in.
Posted by Joe Cool at 3:34 PM
If I ran a charter school, I would never pass any of them. How are you supposed to corner the market when your clients keep graduating?
Posted by Chad at 8:51 PM
You might want to use one. You misspelled their. Sixth line from the bottom.
Posted by Joe Cool at 1:50 AM
Charter school in coweta county so far has not performed a service, except take gov money and have lower test scores then the public schools in coweta county.
The only difference in charter and the public is charter is putting money in someones pocket and there are not accountable. ALso they get to pick there students. Should be easy to get good test scores when you can pick who you want.
You say being for the charter school doesn't take away from anyone! Yes it does. Do you really think that charter will spend 6500 to 7500 per student? Hardly and they will pass them to keep the money coming in. If there is a problem child charter will just boot them out and the public school will have to take them. But the public school can't boot them and charter takes them. One last thing if we were talking about south fulton county I would agree send them where you can but coweta has some of the best schools in the state. Yes I know the comeback Georgia is ranked at the bottom. Then maybe try another state.
Like you said ignorance is curable. Hopefully you will understand that one day.
Posted by Joe Cool at 7:48 PM
Giving? You are paying for a service, in this case education. If the parents perceive a better level of service then the school keeps customers and makes money. You do not "get it". The "40 million" you refer to preform no service, have no customers to satisfy and are not part of a market choice. They are not "capitalists", they are leeches on the producers who are capitalists. Odyssey does satisfy some parents therefore they keep attracting students. If this was not true no one would attend hence no money would go there.
You still do not understand and you are the one who does not get it. Ignorance is curable!
You are correct in one regard. School vouchers are the best solution. Till that time do not strive to take away the few choices I have. Let the market place, the free choice of parents, dictate wether or not the charter schools can make it or not.
The government produces nothing. The government has money taken from producers in the form of taxes. Its not thier money, it is yours and mine. The charter school gets no "government money" unless a taxpayer makes the choice to send thier child there. You do strive to strip me of this choice. Being for the charter school I do not strive to take away anything from anybody.
Posted by bad bob at 9:41 AM
I don't call taking gov money and giving it to someone as capitalism. If thats the case there are 40 million capitalist on welfare.
No one wants to take away from anyone. You don't seem to get it. You are not getting the money for your choice. It is going to business who is taking gov money. They will pass kids to keep the money coming in.
The charter schools answer to no one not even the parents. If that's the case Odyssy would already have been closed.
Like I said I would rather the money be given directly to the parent to make there choice.
Posted by Joe Cool at 12:01 AM
I can say my kids are getting a better education at the regular schools. The local charter school would always refer to Coweta County's policies, when parents would ask the policy of the Odyssey. The school director would say, let me see what the policy of Coweta is. Odyssey was not going in the right direction, and the board and director were not following the charter. So we left.
Posted by formercharterschoolparent. at 10:17 AM
There must be a new type of math to explain how Charter schools hurt funding of other public schools. There is about $6500 to $7000 allocated per student in the state formula for education. If a child leaves a county school and goes to a charter school that amount goes with them. The county school then has one less child in the mix. The county pays no capital costs to construct the facilaties for the charter school, and no other "public" money goes to the charter school. One less child, one less funded slot. Using the math I learned at a private school and at private and public college that is a break even situation. The only way it can be a loss for the county school is if in fact they spend less than that per student.
"Putting money in someones pocket" is called capitalism. Capitalism works and only rewards if the "customer" gets a good product. This means the charter school will make or break based on parental satisfaction not a forced govermental monopoly as the county schools are.
Please name one program the govenment has run better than the "profit" motivated private sector.
You county school supporters also have a choice. Do not send your kids there but do not presume to tell me by force of goverment what my choices should be. The state law was written to address an expressed concern because local boards simply turn down 99% of all charter applications and the voters in the state wanted the choice.
All "anti-charters" want to use the force of government to take away from others the choice of where thier tax dollars go. "Pro-charters" do not seek to "take away" anything from others. The formula dollar amount goes with the student!
Posted by bad bob at 9:57 AM
That's called a science book. In science there are these things called theories, they are only presumed, maybe you should send your child to a school with no such non-sense. Then he can grow up to make ill informed decisions just as you have.
Posted by Chad at 7:20 PM
The reason they should outperform is because they are taking money from the public schools to put money in someones pocket.
Charter schools will do the samething as far as keeping the money coming in.
Posted by Joe Cool at 6:41 PM
I agree with you about the testing.
Assuming that the statement is factual regarding public outperforming charters, perhaps that is due to the fact that the public's spend so much time "teaching the test" vs. just teaching.
My children spend the entire year practicing for that test. After it's taken, they watch movies for the last 4 weeks of the year.
It's a vicious cycle because they have to do that to get the money.
Also, and generally speaking, why is it necessary that the charter outperform the public? Why is it not okay if they are "equal"? It's just an alternative.
Posted by conservative activist at 4:25 PM
You could end up on a Sat. Night Live segment. The one with Seth Meyers called, REALLY?!??!!
Posted by Moonwalker at 2:07 PM
Really, that is how you came to make the statement about government indoctrination, really? It seems that R.Saunders has hit the nail on the head.
Posted by Killowatts at 1:00 PM
I hate that we judge our children by test scores, but since that's the only measure we have, I'll use it. If you look at test scores, all the current research show that charter schools CONSISTENTLY score lower than public schools. How can you justify spending money on something new and different that doesn't work simply becuase it's new and different?
Posted by Sam at 12:54 PM
The importance of the legal rangling here has less to do with this specific charter than charter schools in general.In the big picture,the limited resources of county school systems are strained by Charter schools. This isn't an indictment against Charter schools per se, it is merely and observation of fact...The next question that logically follows is, are charter schools more effective? While individual charters--including KIPP schools have been shown to be effective, in most cases, their program results are not as good as the results public schools are already producing. While I am in favor of greater choice, I am not in favor of tax money going to weaken our existing school system by allowing choices that are only second rate. Current charter school laws seem to encourage that possiblility.
With huge budget constraint's, school districts should consider joining existing lawsuits instead of going it alone with limited resources. If they want to fight the State, they have to work together.
Posted by Laura Thomas at 12:02 PM
I don't understand what people are so afraid of. Are you afraid it might actually succeed?
Charter Schools Intl. has it in their contract with the county that they will "exceed" county standards. Not even meet - exceed. If they fail, they will be forced to close. That's it.
It doesn't bother me one iota that they are for profit. If I were to send my kids there and I saw that I wasn't satisfied with the curriculum, I would simply withdraw my child. Simple as that.
If they do a good job, are able to use their monies more efficiently and offer a quality product, good for them. If they don't, they go out of business. I actually think that the fact that they own their own development company is a very shrewd business decision.
These parents are simply asking for opportunity. Competition is a good thing.
Posted by conservative activist at 11:48 AM
So why are the charter schools scores lower then coweta countys?
Posted by Joe Cool at 5:16 AM
So why did Odyssey score below the coweta county schools?
You have always had a choice, public, private and homeschool or move to another state.
ANd yes I think majority of coweta county schools are doing a good job.
My take I think the tax dollars should go to the parent to make the decision about there kids school. Charter schools will pass kids to keep the money flowing in. Its for profit.
Posted by Joe Cool at 5:11 AM
The original idea of charter schools were to be non profit institutions where control of the school would lie in the hands of a community based board for which education would be the motivation, not profits. For-profit charter school corporations began to use loop holes in the state laws and began to setup nonprofit foundations to obtain these charters, then hire themselves to run the schools. Example:(The Georgia Charter Educational Foundation, Inc. which has ties to Charter School USA) Innovation in education is no longer the focus, profit is the focus. The for profit charter companies offer standard curriculums that offer no innovation or different from the curriculums that public schools offer. Local developers team up with these charter companies to offer home buyers an upscale amenity -- tuition-free, taxpayer-funded private school. Charter Schools USA has contracted Red Apple Development Inc. to begin constructing the new tax-payer funded school in Senoia. You ask who owns Red Apple Development? Charter Schools USA that's who.
Posted by R. Saunders at 2:02 AM
!t was exactly the day that my 2nd grader came home literally in tears because he was told that due to global warming, the polar ice caps were going to melt and the earth would be covered in water! He worried about this for an entire week.
It's on THAT page!
Posted by conservative activist at 12:47 AM
Leave it alone. I have a child going to a charter school after having gone to public school. His reading and writing have dramatically improved with the charter school. Put money aside and think about how you are negatively affecting children. Remember these same children will be taking taking care of us before we know it.
Posted by Child with adhd at 12:29 AM
What do you want the government to do for you? As for me, I want a safe place to thrive and move about freely and otherwise I would prefer to take care of myself. I'm a considerate person and talk to my neighbors before I hold a large gathering at my house, but I would like reserve the right to paint my house whatever color I would like. I would also prefer to educate my children with my money in any way that I see fit. Everyone in America should have an opportunity to earn an education, therefore public education should persist, however, education is not a gift. The fundamental flaw with the public education model is that they try to educate all regardless of desire. The governmet can't give everyone an education as if it were a gift. An education must be earned, therefore, I choose to support new educational models in the county and state.
Posted by Wayne Witherspoon at 12:14 AM
The CC School Board represents all the citizens of Coweta County, not just a select few parents and developers in Senoia. This lawsuit is about how can a appointed board in Atlanta, "who do not answer to all tax payers/voters of Coweta County" get to decide who gets a segregated for profit charter school that our elected school board turned down. By the way, how does a for profit Charter school organization generate profit? They cut cost at students expense to generate profits from taxpayer money.
Posted by R. Saunders at 11:54 PM
Yep... throw out the children with the bath water. There is nothing stopping anyone from organizing as a not-for-profit school, if they really cared about the kids that is.
Posted by turfkiller at 9:20 PM
Leo, charter schools are PUBLIC schools not private schools.
Joe Cool, do you really think Coweta County schools are doing a great job?
Odyssey School has 2800 applications for next year and Senoia Academy has 1000. That's A LOT of parents unsatisfied with the public education Coweta County is providing.
turfkiller, school choice is not about "personal indulgences". There is an allotment of money to publicly educate the children of Coweta County. We want a choice in the PUBLIC school where our children are educated.
A little competition never hurt anyone.
Posted by Odyssey Mom at 8:06 PM
There must be a better way. Big government is ruining our nation. So why try to stop the charter school plan. It is all about control. Socialism seems to be the name of the game.
Posted by Registered Voter at 7:04 PM
Exactly what pages in what books will I be able to find the poliitcal indoctrination you mentioned?
Posted by Killowatts at 6:11 PM
If parents are not happy with the quality of the public schools, get involved, help so they can get better. Instead they want to take their money away.
If you want a private school for your children, pay for it! I don't want my tax dollars going to a private "charter" school.
Posted by Leo at 5:58 PM
I haven't seen them outscore the coweta county public schools as of yet.
Posted by Joe Cool at 5:49 PM
We changed our minds. Vote for Cdog and he/she will make all your dreams come true!
Posted by Pedro and Napoleon at 5:39 PM
This is most definitely about money!
I have no problem with a corporation running a school if they can do it better than the bogged down, bureaucratic county and state school systems.
Any government entity will always elect (and/or sue) to protect their own. That is exactly what is going on here. The majority of parents in Senoia are in support of the charter school.
The obvious solution here is for every parent in the county who supports charter schools to get involved in their local school board meetings. Find out what seats on the school board are opening up for this next term, AND RUN IN THE ELECTION to get those opposed OFF OF THE SCHOOL BOARD!
You want change, then you must become the change! Stop complaining and waiting on someone else to do it! You will likely win!
Then when you are on the board, you can also work to change our kids textbooks to get the political indoctrination out of there as well!
For in reason, all government without the consent of the governed is the very definition of slavery.
Jonathan Swift
Posted by conservative activist at 4:27 PM
The problem with Cdog’s critique of public schools and their funding is that under the pain of lecturing, he really abandons the responsibility for and benefits of required education. It’s hypocritical to talk about the evils of taxes when you are asking government to fund your personal indulgences.
There is nothing stopping anyone from organizing a not-for-profit charter school corporation except of course instead of working for the money, wanting to skim off the cream.
Posted by turfkiller at 3:42 PM
I am very happy with the judges ruling. She is on point. Communities should be free to support and start their own charter schools if they are unhappy with the government schools. And on the same note, there should be funding available for them. My son attends a charter school in Newnan and I am MORE than pleased with the quality education he is receiving. Let's make this choice available to everyone.
Posted by Phil S. at 3:07 PM
I still have to ask how much local representation will be afforded to parents of the charter school students when the school is operated out of Florida?
Posted by MeeMaw at 2:40 PM
This is about money. The CCBOE knows that a significant number of parents and their students are dissatisfied with the school system for various reasons and would choose to go to a charter school if given the option. The idea of students CHOOSING to go to a school rather than being forced is a foreign idea to them. They need to be shown that they are not the gods of education in Coweta County who get to decide what everyone does. It is not their tax money; it belongs to the individuals from whom it was taken.
Posted by CDog at 12:40 PM
Most Popular
- Viewed
- Emailed
- Commented
- A New Piedmont Newnan: Women's services prepared for more births
- 10th Annual Run for Angels: Event bigger, better than ever
- Education Notes: Phi Delta Kappa scholarship available to future educators
- Special Olympics: Cowetan named Georgia's Female Athlete of the Year
- Around town: Blood drives scheduled
- Where does Newnan see itself in 10 years?
- Stewart finished 11th grade at Warner
- Respected Coweta baseball coach, ex-Brave remembered
- Search dogs find drugs in vehicle at gas station
- 10 headed to jail: Cell phones, community service don't mix
- Former Atlanta Brave, area baseball coach Rick Behenna dies at 51
- Respected Coweta baseball coach, ex-Brave remembered
- A New Piedmont Newnan: Women's services prepared for more births
- We encourage a daylong visit to the $100 million National Infantry Museum
- Obituary: Mr. Pat Shepherd
- Hospital bringing new physicians, medical practices
- Piedmont Newnan Hospital kicks off $8 million capital campaign
- Obituary: Mrs. Mary Frances Banks Storey
- Domestic violence increases in Coweta, local shelter trying to help
- Prep Wrestling: Newnan shines on Senior Night
- Hwy. 34 Bypass: Another six months needed to complete widening job
- Where does Newnan see itself in 10 years?
- Smith: Lobbyists not an influence
- Proposed legislation aimed toward curbing metal thefts
- Pastor's Corner: Part 2 – Is Calvinism biblical?
- Montana's mom tells her story of an autisic child
- Palmer enters race for judge
- Labor officials will work with employers on claims issues
- We encourage a daylong visit to the $100 million National Infantry Museum
- Former Atlanta Brave, area baseball coach Rick Behenna dies at 51
Earth to Peter
5/18/2010
Link To This Comment
Did you compare Oydssey scores againist Coweta county scores?
To difficult for you heh?
Posted by Joe Cool at 5:50 AM