Unbowed by criticism last month from some state school board members, two metro Atlanta school systems expect to meet a Thursday deadline affirming their desire to become Georgia's first charter school systems.

Then, a week from today, both Decatur and Marietta school officials will wait on pins and needles as the state board begins its regular two-day monthly meeting, at which it's likely to decide on charter status for those systems and two others.

Neither system plans wholesale changes in its application, despite pointed questions from board members about how parents and staff would be involved in leading individual schools, including having a say over budgets and hiring.

Instead, they are sending supplemental letters to clarify their applications. Officials in both systems said they are comfortable with what they proposed.

"There's a lot of work that went into this and we feel comfortable that what we put forward was a really strong petition," Marietta schools spokesman Thomas Algarin said. "At this point, the ball's in their court."

The application process took nearly a year to complete and marks what could be a nationally recognized effort by the state to free local systems from red tape.

It was made possible by a year-old state law that allows entire school systems to operate relatively free of state control.

The law is unique nationally and expands on the popular concept of individual charter schools. It exempts charter school systems from many standard laws and state practices.

In exchange, those systems must demonstrate progress or risk losing their special status. What that progress should be is spelled out in a charter, or contract, written by the system and approved by the state.

For example, the state dictates how many hours in class — or "seat" time — students must have to earn credit. Decatur says that, as a charter system, it would also find ways for students to earn credit based on knowledge.

"We're going to do something that is not only going to revolutionize education in Georgia but is going to revolutionize education in the nation," said Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who championed the charter systems law and is now publicly backing those systems awaiting approval by the state board.

With change, he added, "you're going to find resistance. Obviously, I'd like to give the school board a benefit of the doubt. There is no reason in my mind that any of these [systems] should be denied receiving charter school system status."

Still, support from the state's top brass did not deflect criticism that systems were not being innovative enough. One member, Mary Sue Polleys, suggested the applications may have met only "minimum requirements."

The board in May approved one application — from Warren County, a tiny system with 850 students and three schools: one elementary, one middle and one high school. But it tabled until next week applications from the rest of the inaugural batch: Decatur, Marietta and Gainesville city systems as well as Chattahoochee County.

Chattahoochee County's application has been recommended for denial by state officials. Polleys was referring to the fact that applications from the others have the backing of state schools Superintendent Kathy Cox as well as a charter advisory committee. In other words, what the state says is good may not be good enough for the board.

Andrew Broy, state associate superintendent for policy and charter schools, this week downplayed the disconnect between state officials and the board.