Published Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Charter school court ruling may impact separate case in Coweta

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."