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AJC.com > Legislature > Blog > Archives > 2007 > January > 18
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Cagle outlines charter plan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle announced today a proposal to give grants to local school systems so they can convert all their schools to charter schools at one time.
Currently, schools have to apply individually to local school boards and the state Board of Education for charter approval.
“The idea here is all about local control,” Cagle told a gathering of educators and lawmakers at Tech High, an Atlanta charter school.
Charter schools are publicly funded but act under contracts with the state that allow them to ignore some laws in order to be more experimental.
Under Cagle’s plan, the state initially would provide a total of $625,000 in grant money, which would be distributed to approved charter systems. Each grant would be no larger than $125,000.
A state charter advisory committee would be established to make recommendations to the state school board about charter petitions.
Committee members would be chosen by the lieutnenant governor and the speaker of the House.
Cagle also proposed funding five new career academies to provide high school students with job training. The state would fund a total of $1 million in grants to help with that effort. In addition, the state would provide $15 million in bond funding to help with construction costs. The career school bonds would require local matches.
“I am very very excited about this announcement today,” Kathy Cox, the state superintendent of schools, said at the gathering. “Allowing this for a whole system … this would be a great innovation for the state of Georgia.”
Cagle’s bill is expected to be introduced next week.
The state currently has 58 charter schools serving less than 2 percent of Georgia’s 1.5 million students.
Permalink | | Categories: Education
House speaker ethics complaint dropped
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The General Assembly’s ethics committee has dismissed a scandalous conflict-of-interest complaint filed against House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram), saying no evidence was submitted to back up the allegation.
The Joint Legislative Ethics Committee confirmed its decision in a letter yesterday to state Democratic Party chairman Bobby Kahn, who filed the complaint. Richardson’s office started distributing the letter to the news reporters today.
“The Review Committee does not find that sufficient information exists to find probable cause to warrant further investigation by the review committee or the full Joint Legislative Ethics Committee,” the letter says, “and the complaint is hereby dismissed.”
Kahn sent his complaint to the ethics committee this month, alleging Richardson had an “inappropriate personal” relationship with an Atlanta Gas Light lobbyist while cosponsoring a bill that would have financed a $300 million pipeline for the utility. Kahn says the alleged relationship “constituted a clear conflict of interest” for the speaker.
Kahn has so far declined to identify the lobbyist. And he has so far refused to disclose any evidence he might have of the alleged relationship, other than to say that it was “common knowledge.”
Richardson has denied he had a conflict of interest but has refused to confirm or deny the alleged relationship with the AGL lobbyist. The speaker has said the complaint is without merit and predicted it would be dismissed.
“Now that these baseless political attacks are behind me,” Richardson said in a prepared statement his office issued today, “I look forward to continuing to do the job I have been elected to do.
“We will focus on reducing the tax burden on Georgia’s working families, improving education for Georgia’s children, and ensuring that all Georgians are better off now than they were four years ago.” In reacting to the committee’s decision, Kahn lashed out at the GOP majority in the state legislature, saying “Republicans rushed out to protect the speaker.”
“The GOP’s culture of corruption has taken an even firmer hold in Atlanta,” he said in a prepared statement. “The Joint Legislative Ethics Committee was a joke — they operated in secret and clearly made the rules up as they went along. The GOP clearly is not serious about ethics.”
“This shows just how little the GOP leadership cares about true ethics reform, accountability, and the openness of government,” Kahn continued. “Unfortunately, what more could we expect from Governor Sonny Perdue, President Pro Tem Eric Johnson, and Speaker Glenn Richardson?
“Last week during his press conference, the speaker, Johnson said ‘is a friend.’ Clearly in the New Georgia, Republicans put taking care of their friends as the top priority.”
In its letter, the ethics panel referred to one of its rules that says complaints “shall contain specific description of the nature of the alleged conflict of interest… and a statement of the specific facts upon which all allegations are based.”
“The allegation that certain matters are ‘common knowledge’ clearly fails to meet this requirement,” the letter says.
Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson, co-chairman of the ethics committee, also issued a statement today, confirming he appointed a bipartisan review committee to determine whether Kahn’s complaint warranted a review by the full panel.
Johnson said he appointed himself, Sen. George Hooks (D-Americus) and Rep. Lynn Smith (R-Newnan) to the review committee. He also confirmed the review committee’s decision was unanimous.
“We take our new responsibilities very seriously,” Johnson said. “However, we cannot look into vague charges based on gossip and rumor without any evidence supporting the charge. To do so would turn this committee into a circus and invite kooks and partisans to file false charges. If the chairman of the Georgia Republican Party had sent a similar letter attacking a prominent Democrat, our response would be the same.
“The Joint Legislative Ethics Committee must not allow itself to be used for partisan political purposes,” Johnson continued. “The fact that the chairman of a political party makes vague accusations against a leader of the other party on the weekend before the inauguration and the opening day of the session clearly indicates the motivation behind the charge. It should insult the people of Georgia and embarrass those who take the political process seriously.”
Johnson also predicted Kahn will next claim a “whitewash” and a “cover up.”
“That is what he planned all along,” Johnson said. “He knows we cannot pursue undocumented charges. He is simply manipulating the process and the media. All I can ask is that the media treat rumor as rumor and fact as fact. The fact is there is no evidence of any wrong doing.”
In an interview today, House Minority Leader DuBose Porter (D-Dublin) pointed out that Richardson has refused to confirm or deny the alleged relationship with the AGL lobbyist. And he raised concerns about whether Kahn was given an opportunity to present any evidence he might have to the committee before it dismissed his complaint.
“I think you will continue to have a cloud over this issue,” Porter said. “The credibility of the process is in question until we can learn more about what occurred.”
The State Ethics Commission has also dismissed Kahn’s complaint, Richardson’s office said today. Rick Thompson, executive director of the commission, could not be immediately reached today to confirm the complaint was dismissed.
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