I am scared to death that the amendment won't pass. Because if all the state charter school closes, which my son is in, he will have to go back to a poor performing school. I don't want my son to fall behind when he is getting the best education that he can get right now. Why should you decide what is best for my son when your children are performing adequately in the schools that they are in? Why can't my son be in a school that is best for him? This isn't even about money because the money that my property taxes produce go to a poor performing school. Not the school that my son is in. This is about my child, and your child and how they are to get the best education possible for them as individuals. Please vote yes to the amendment and let me make the decision on behalf of my child to get him the best education possible. Don't take away my right to choose.

I agree 100% with much of this. I think that many times when someone mentions "change" people get nervous. For the most part people don't like the unknown. When it comes to education I think there is a need for change, especially in Georgia. Come on, 41 other states have charter school authorizer's aside from the local board and it is working great for them. Why is Georgia so unwilling to allow this? We are not remaking the wheel people. Children in this state are struggling when it comes to being supplied the basic educational opportunities needed for their future. Why? This Amendment allows 1 thing and 1 thing only, An appeals process. And only If the community wants a Charter School, and the local board has denied it. Then the state charter school commission would review the application. This does not mean the state would approve it, the application has to be in order and the school has to show real promise. Again, the state commission that was previously in order only approved 16 of the more then 80 applications. And of those only 13 opened. What this also means is that if your county has great schools and the community does not want a Charter then none can be started there. But it also means, in places like Clayton (where the children have lost and are in danger again of losing accreditation) there can be another option for those children. Those who want this amendment talk about the kids and those against it talk about the money. The choice is obvious.

Well written! Lets fight for our kids!

I heard that if this amendment passes there will be no more high school football in the state of Georgia. In fact, UGA and other state supported public universities will also have to cancel the rest of their football season.

Kara, when is your lawsuit against the charter schools going to hit the courts to stop them from harassing their employees with emails to support the amendment in an advertisement?

This is the most ridiculous thing that I've ever read.

FACT: NO state commissioned charter school will close if this amendment fails. This is FEAR MONGERING at its finest. Many have five year charters, for crying out loud, with 3 and 4 years left. ALL of which can be renewed by the state board upon their renewal dates.

Do your homework before voting on November 6th. And VOTE NO TO A BIGGER GOVERNMENT, AND MORE BUREAUCRACY!

Kara Martin is wrong. This amendment is NOT "just an appeals process." read the legislation. It allows charter schools (not "local communities") to apply directly to this commission if they seek a "statewide attendance zone." They bypass the local process entirely. Kara, what would change at CCA if it had a statewide attendance zone? Nothing. Maybe a few students would enroll from neighboring counties, but the company does not provide transportation, so what do they care how far parents drive? Now that tax digests have eroded away, charters get a better deal with the state (2.5 times the state funding) than they would with the local property tax (going down again next year), so there is NO incentive to even apply locally.

I'm sorry, Common Sense, but I don't know where you are getting your information. The fact is that EVERY state commissioned charter school will lose its charter if this amendment is not passed. Because of a ruling on the constitutionality of a state board's right to accept/renew charters, if this amendment does not pass, state schools cease to exist. It seems you have some misinformation there -- and there is much to be had. But the fact is that many schools will close their doors at the end of this school year forever if this amendment does not pass.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/education/17georgia.html?_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/education/17georgia.html?_r=0

Please read. This article written by ny times clearly states that the ruling says only local BOE. Can create charter schools so....State opened schools are illegal. So all charter schools will close.

http://m.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fatlantaunfiltered.com%2F2011%2F05%2F16%2Fsupremes-strike-down-ga-charter-school-law%2F&h=hAQE1PK7w&enc=AZOyvcGv7Fey819UB4Z3_I5a2Umx66c9OFS5Rar2VfUAvAO_JBJgaydwV_ZL6oxvkC9I6ASSPRb6FnQQWtqSrtLRJ_D08a6lvWoeg1GCaMML-w&s=1

Another link for you to review.

Www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/education/17georgia.
Html?_r=0

Can't paste for some reason. Google case law georgia courts charter. Scroll down to atlanta unfiltered. Read the ruling.

Only local BOE can create schools. Doesn't include state BOE. Says local.

It comes down to this: are our kids being taken care of the best they can by the schools they have? I say they are not. As voters, as parents, we can do something to fix the situation. There are SO MANY kids dropping out and many more graduating with less than they need to succeed. Something has to be done. This is an excellent first step.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/education/17georgia.html?_r=1&;

Okay, No More Bullies. Let's just say that the amendment does not pass and that somehow, the schools that were approved by it stay open. Let's say that the existing schools get approved by the local school boards when their charters run out. I STILL say it means that no future charters will get passed. You must have really awesome schools around you that put out amazing results. Sadly, this is not true of everyone in GA. We have some very good reasons to be working to improve schools in GA. I will stand by that all day long.

Really? "I STILL say it means..."??? So it is whatever you say it is because that's what Debbie Pascoe says.

You agree you were not truthful in the blog you posted. You owe Common Sense an apology-- and Patch should reconsider posting any additional submissions from you.

The views in this county are so myopic, it would be funny were it not so sad. CCSD thumps its chest and proudly announces how wonderful it is. Well, perhaps it is, to a degree, and perhaps it is in certain schools. Principals write letters and get some of our high schools listed in Newsweek's Top 100 across America, and suddenly, CCSD can do no wrong, and to say otherwise is almost akin to slapping your own mother across the face. Wake up -- we didn't (and by WE, I mean the whole state of Georgia) didn't earn our prestigious rank of 48th or 49th over since the state had to reduce our budgets. No, we earned that rank long before -- when the money was plenty and the gravy train was at full speed, there we were -- still mired in the muck. Our only solace was that, thank God, Mississippi was usually below us. Every time I hear about budgets getting slashed and that resulting in poor performance, I want to vomit. We've been poorly performing -- as a state -- for a very long time. Give Charter Schools a chance? Absolutely -- they could hardly do any worse than the abysmal record we have been earning for decades.

Boney Mahroney, you are eloquent! Ever considered writing blogs?

Boney...You can tout the 48th or 49th numbers all you want, but those numbers mean nothing as it relates to how good or bad education is in Georgia. As has been reported over and over, the SAT rankings has more to do with the percent of students taking the test than the education received by those students. If other states have only their best students (15%) taking the SAT while Georgia has most students (85% including good and bad students), Georgia's results will be much lower.

The problem is that too many people like you don't understand math and lack critical reasoning skills and thus use flawed logic to support your flawed beliefs.

Seriously? You still use inaccurate rankings to say GA education is failing and we should just abandon it and give even more money to corporations that have never proven to provide a better education for our children?

I want to vomit when I hear about class sizes rocketing, think about what I'm going to do with my kids when we have even more furloughs, more standardized testing, etc. etc.

More students will be affected negatively than positively if this severely biased amendment passes. There will be a larger achievement gap created through the passage of this amendment. And then what? When we finally figure out that this was a huge mistake? Just change our Constitution again? This isn't your Facebook status people.

We need change in education. But we don't need this amendment.

Vote NO.

So... Monty, are you saying you believe Georgia schools are doing a good job? Surely not! The sky is not falling and the fallout will not happen. This is a GREAT first step to fixing our schools. I am so excited about it and I'm blown away by the creativity and energy shown by the opposition / defenders of the status quo.

With words like those, sounds like you'd support ObamaCare and TSPLOST.

Did you even read what I wrote?

Monty, while I'm not keen on discussing my opinion about either of those things "in public", I'll admit I'm the one who opened the can of worms when I brought up Amendment One. So, I'll let you in on my innermost thoughts and assure you I don't like ObamaCare or TSPLOST. But I don't want to get into that because that could send this conversation careening way out of the school arena -- and I LOVE that we're discussing this. The charter schools do not take money away from the local schools. In fact, the local schools have something of a bonus when kids leave them for charter schools because, while the state and national dollars for educating the kids follows the children, the local tax dollars STILL go to the local school with or without the kid. The money that IS going to the charter schools is not, in any way, money that would otherwise be going to the local public schools. That is a falsehood. (and -- the chart schools don't have furlough days -- maybe you should look into one for your kids.) ;) I say that with a wink because I know you never will. But, I do so appreciate your engaging in the discussion!

We need a change in education -- this amendment is a GREAT first step to fixing our state's education problems. Tell them you aren't happy with how the establishment is doing things by voting YES for Amendment One. A "no" vote only tells them that you think they're doing a great job and to keep it up.

Charter schools don't take money away from district schools? That is a lie! While they don't take money directly from district schools they absolutely do take away funds that should be going to district schools. You know this, but hide behind the biggest loop hole law in GA!

If money isn't being diverted from public schools, where is it coming from? And where is all the money disappearing to? You know, the money that is being cut from public schools in the form of austerity cuts?

I think charters do serve a purpose... when they are actually serving as a charter school. I would not put my kids in CCA because there are too many overbearing parents that think they run the place over there. I've hear horror stories about the carpool lane, as well as meddling in the classrooms. Yikes!

Now that the TEA Party opposes the Amendment, I'll be interested to see what happens. I always thought this was a liberal move, but now we know it is. Heck, even Obama supports it.

Monty. General Fund -- not education dollars. Look it up -- it's there.

CCA is on it's second year and there are bugs to work out, naturally. Carpool is a pain -- especially considering most of us are used to buses taking our kids to and from school. The trick about "overbearing parents" is that you get to be one too. Believe me when I say I have TONS more input at CCA than I ever did at my child's old school. We parents are all on the same team -- working for each other. I am sure there are those who say negative things -- that's just how things work. I can't think of anything on the face of the planet that has 100% of the population for it. The cool thing about the option is that there IS an option: if someone thinks CCA is not a good fit, he/she can move back to the regular district school.

Some TEA Party's like the Amendment and some do not. Apparently, Obama supports Amendment One -- or so you say. Romney also supports school choice. Seems this is a bipartisan issue that is all over the board regarding supporters and nay-sayers.