Education groups lay out alternatives to state takeover plan

Opponents of Gov. Nathan Deal's Opportunity School District constitutional amendment are ramping up their campaign to defeat the measure, which would allow the state to take control of chronically low-performing schools.

At a Capitol press conference Thursday, Clarke County Superintendent Philip Lanoue, the national superintendent of the year, laid out the basics of the appeal to voters to reject the state-takeover plan.

“We need to help you build your community around your school and we can do that outside the Opportunity School District,” he said. “But if you vote this in, what you’ve said is that you’re giving the responsibility to educate your children to someone else.”