City Council votes against charter schools
Published 2:00 am Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Though it’s been discussed and debated by lawmakers and educators for the past few weeks, the Athens City Council Monday passed a resolution against the charter schools bill.
House Bill 650, already approved by a House committee, would allow districts with at least one low-performing school to allow charter schools. Those schools are allowed flexibility in exchange for meeting charter requirements.
Mayor Ronnie Marks said during a work session that Athens City School Board members have expressed concerns about how the bill will cut into funding, and recently passed a similar resolution.
“This is just to support their opposition to the bill,” he said.
Council member Dr. Milly Caudle, a retired educator, said there are some positives about the charter schools bill, but takes issue with the fact that a state councilor would be responsible for reviewing the performance of local schools. Otherwise, she sees nothing wrong with a failed school being replaced by one “wanting to try new methods.”
She pointed out that Athens would likely never receive a charter school because of the quality of the city’s school system.
In another education-related move, the council reappointed Beverly Malone to the Athens School Board, but was asked by Paysinger why the council does not publicly interview school board candidates.
“Power accumulates if we’re not opening up this process,” he said. “There’s a problem, and I’m very concerned about this.”
Mayor Ronnie Marks said during the work session that all school board positions are advertised at the beginning of each year. He said a state resolution passed in 2001 helped alleviate concerns that board members were being chosen from only one “part of town.”
“It was an effort to spread out the representation,” he said. “Miss Malone has been a good board member who represents District 5.”