Atlanta school board: Opportunity School District not right solution

Atlanta’s school board doesn’t like Gov. Nathan Deal’s Opportunity School District plan, its chairman says, but isn’t likely to take a stand against it.

The board backed away Tuesday night from taking a public position on Deal’s proposal to empower the state to take control of schools deemed to be failing and shut them down, run them itself, or convert them to charter schools.

“We don’t believe the OSD is the right solution for Atlanta because we don’t believe anyone can turn around our lowest-performing schools better or faster” than the district can, board chairman Courtney English said Wednesday. But he said he did not expect the board to consider a resolution opposing it. That would be “wading into a political fight that’s not focused on kids,” he said.

Nineteen Atlanta schools are at risk of state takeover if voters approve in November a constitutional amendment to set up the Opportunity School District.

About a half dozen of Georgia's 180 school districts have challenged Deal's proposed constitutional amendment for the Opportunity School District, including Clayton and Cherokee counties in metro Atlanta. But few have as much to lose as Atlanta if the state district is approved.

Schools would be targeted for takeover based on their scores on the College and Career Ready Performance Index, Georgia’s school rating system.

Atlanta is the latest school district to consider taking a stand on the Opportunity School District.

On Tuesday, the school board in Clayton County, which doesn't have any schools that could fall under the Opportunity School District, voted unanimously for a symbolic resolution against the amendment.

The same night in Atlanta, board member Byron Amos tried to add an item to the board’s agenda to discuss drafting a resolution against the Opportunity School District.

English, the board chairman, rejected the attempt, saying it would violate public-meeting laws that require the board to tell the public in advance what topics it will discuss unless there’s an urgent reason to add something at the last minute.

The board's own policy states that the board can discuss or act on items not on the agenda if a majority of members agree. That policy may need to be revised to ensure compliance with the Open Meetings Act, English said Wednesday.

Amos said after the meeting he had not decided if he would try to add the discussion to a future agenda.

School districts that come out against Deal's plan could have a lot to lose, since he will pick the superintendent who would pick which schools to take over.

In response to Amos’ attempt, board member Eshe’ Collins cautioned the board against “using this as an opportunity for political posturing on the backs of our kids.”

The politics of the proposed constitutional amendment are fracturing party lines. Some boards from Republican strongholds, such as Cherokee County, are swinging against the Republican governor. School boards in Fayette, Henry, Troup, Bibb, Chatham and Richmond counties also have come out against the plan.

On Wednesday, Rep. Valencia Stovall, D-Forest Park, criticized the Clayton County school board for taking a stand against Deal’s proposed way to fix failing schools.

“It is a disappointment for the CCPS to pass a resolution in opposition of the Opportunity School District amendment and not address the mass amount of below C grade scores, and that we have the lowest grad rates in Metro Atlanta, and (that they are) lower than the state’s average,” Stovall said. “Our economic viability is dependent upon an effective school system, which is not what we have now. … I remain in support of the passage of the amendment because our students can’t wait.”