Sen. Barack Obama's mantra of "Change We Can Believe In" helped him clinch the Democratic nomination and may help elect him America's first black president. Whether you support Obama or Sen. John McCain, a shocking report recently published by the Schott Foundation must serve as a wake-up call for all of Georgia's taxpayers, business leaders and black parents.

"Given Half a Chance" by the Schott Foundation for Public Education graphically describes how the country's system of government-run education, while spending hundreds of billions of taxpayers' money annually, has created a situation in which "the rate at which black males are dropping out and being placed in special education far exceeds the rate at which they are graduating and reaching high levels of academic achievement."

The report chronicles the pervasive and systemic failure of our society to educate black male students to realize their potential. The Schott Foundation claims, based upon its research, that: "Black males have consistently low educational attainment levels, are more chronically unemployed and underemployed, are less healthy and have access to fewer health care resources, die much younger, and are many times more likely to be sent to jail for periods significantly longer than males of other racial/ethnic groups."

Georgia fares just as badly in educating black males, according to the Schott report. Only 40 percent of black males in Georgia graduate from high school, the 42nd-worst ranking in the country. In fact, Richmond County (Augusta) is one of the 10 worst-performing larger districts in the entire country, graduating only 31 percent of black males.

Atlanta Public Schools barely escaped the list of worst districts by graduating 34 percent of black males, Clayton County graduated 36 percent, Fulton 44 percent and DeKalb 47 percent. Suburban counties such as Cobb, with 57 percent, and Gwinnett, 58 percent, significantly outperformed the other metro counties.

According to the Schott report, the academic achievement of black males in Georgia was just as shocking as the low graduation rates, with 90 percent of all black eighth-grade males reading and performing math at the basic or below-basic level —- 30 points worse than white eighth-graders.

Lack of money is clearly not the reason for the low graduation rates and poor academic achievement of black males in Georgia. For instance, according to a recent letter by Atlanta School Board member Mark Riley, the Atlanta public school system spends $770 million annually, or $15,400 per student, to graduate 34 percent of black males, with 95 percent of all black male eighth-graders attending APS scoring at basic or below basic in reading and math. Georgia now spends more than $10,000 per pupil, or almost $16 billion annually on its K-12 system of public education.

The Schott Report must serve as a wake-up call to all Georgians that we cannot as a society continue to maintain the status quo in education. If the current system spends $16 billion of taxpayers' money annually to graduate four out of every 10 black male students, we need to change the system. First, black parents all over Georgia must demand that they be given more educational choices, whether they be charter schools or tuition tax credits. Second, Georgia's business leaders must show the courage and will to demand our political leaders understand that the Schott Report has exposed a national and statewide crisis and disgrace.

Finally, Georgia's taxpayers must demand better results for their huge financial investments. Atlanta's taxpayers should take the lead by demanding that the Atlanta Board of Education require Atlanta Public Schools to begin competing for tax dollars with established quality charter operators such as KIPP, Edison and others.

> Glenn Delk is an Atlanta attorney.