Quick Poll

With the recent passing of music icons Donna Summer and Robin Gibb – each had major success in the 1970s and 1980s – which music decade is your favorite?

Recent Polls

Blogs

Angela McRae

Tea with friends

Deberah Williams

Everyday Finesse

Lorrie Lynch

Who's News

Published Thursday, February 11, 2010 in Local

State panel backs Senoia charter school

By Jeff Bishop

The Newnan Times-Herald

A state charter school committee of the Georgia Board of Education Wednesday recommended the state board take no action against the Coweta Charter Academy petition when it meets today -- a vote that seemed to clear the way for the school to begin enrollment next week.

The state school board is nearing the end of the 60-day period in which it could overturn the Georgia Charter School Commission's decision to allow the establishment of the charter school in Senoia. The vote must pass by a two-thirds majority and must occur this week.

The final hurdle occurs today, as the state board meets this morning in Atlanta. If the board accepts the recommendation of its own committee, then Coweta Charter Academy will move forward, as planned.

Senoia parents showed up Wednesday morning at the state's Twin Towers complex across from the Capitol in Atlanta to support the application.

"We're ecstatic," said parent April Parker following the announcement of the committee's decision.

"I think it was the right decision," said Scott Tigchelaar, president of RiverWood movie studios in Senoia, who also spoke on behalf of the charter school application.

"A lot of people want to see this come to Senoia," said parent Jennifer McTier. "There are a lot of people who couldn't come to Atlanta today who are sitting at home, on pins and needles, waiting to hear what happened."

"We are very happy with this decision," said parent Caylynn Freels.

Not quite so happy with the committee's decision was Coweta County Schools Superintendent Blake Bass, representing the Coweta Board of Education.

He told the committee that "academic integrity" was at stake as he explained the school system's formal objection.

"We couldn't understand why the commission would approve this charter," he said, since all Coweta schools and the system passed AYP last year and the applicant plans to use "a proprietary curriculum in a state that has shown a precipitous decline" in achievement, referring to Charter Schools USA's Florida schools curriculum.

Bass said some of the Charter Schools USA schools are not accredited, "and we feel that is an issue."

He also questioned the process used to arrive at the approval of the petition. A committee initially recommended denial of the application, but the Georgia Charter School Commission decided to approve it, anyway -- even while it turned down "another petition that was substantially identical."

"We find that to be unfair," said Bass.

"When the process becomes unpredictable, trust disappears," Bass said.

Tigchelaar told the state committee that Coweta Charter Academy is "something we want, and something we need."

He said he was "disappointed" by the county school system's objection to the application. He accused the school system of "misrepresenting the facts" in a "politically motivated" maneuver.

Larry Owens, mayor pro tem of Senoia, didn't let a neck brace stop him from speaking at the meeting.

"The city wholeheartedly supports Coweta Charter Academy," said Owens.

"Our citizens have expressed their desire to have this in our community," he said. "Listen to the children. They are the ones who will benefit from this."

David Brown, chairman of the Coweta County Development Authority, was also in attendance, supporting the application.

"Education is very important when it comes to attracting quality industry, and it starts at a young age," Brown said.

"We hope we can take advantage of this decision and move forward," he said.

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.