Ga. school board allows Warren Co. to start charter schools

The state Board of Education decided Tuesday to allow only one school system to convert entirely to charter schools, while four other systems were told to revise their applications.

Board members said they were concerned that the districts were not giving enough power to each school to write their own budgets and hire teachers, a key component of the state's charter school laws.

The four districts — Decatur city, Chattahoochee County, Gainesville city and Marietta city — have until the board's June 12 meeting to change their applications. Warren County was approved to convert its three schools to charters.

Some district officials were frustrated by the board's vote.

"We worked really hard on the governance piece," said Thomas Van Soelen, an official with Decatur city schools. "I'm not sure where the committee found issues."

Charter schools are funded with taxpayer money but operate independently and set their own goals for meeting federal No Child Left Behind standards. The schools are run by groups of parents, business leaders or community members.

Some board members said they likely won't approve the other applications even if revisions are made because the districts refuse to accept a fundamental piece of creating a charter school — reducing the role of school boards and superintendents in running schools.

"I really don't believe power is being given to these schools in these petitions," board member Mary Sue Polleys said.

The districts are the first in the state to apply under a 2007 state law.

Just two other states — Florida and California — have provisions allowing existing school districts to convert to a charter system. Texas lets groups start a public charter system from scratch.