Gov. Nathan Deal wants another term. Georgia School Superintendent John Barge wants one too. He’s just not sure yet whether he’s running for another term as education chief or if he’s going to take on Deal in what would be a tough intraparty scrap.
A race between Deal and Barge, who has said he won’t announce a decision on his political future until next month, would further politicize just about every aspect of public education.
Should the state stay with Common Core, the set of controversial national education standards that have drawn the ire of some conservatives? Does Georgia plow some of its growing surplus into teacher pay raises? Is the $400 million Race to the Top education improvement plan going smoothly? And are test scores rising high enough fast enough?
Those are just a few of the questions that would take on added political weight if Barge and Deal squared off.
The two men have disagreed before, most notably over whether voters should pass a constitutional amendment clarifying the state’s authority to create charter schools, and over the appointment of a staff member to oversee Race to the Top, a four-year federal grant program aimed at improving k-12 education.
For Deal, holding firm on his support for Common Core has meant taking political fire from David Pennington, the Dalton mayor who is already challenging Deal in a primary. Pennington said, “It would have taken me three seconds to reject Common Core in its entirety.”
As for Barge, the superintendent would, again, find himself in an unusual spot for a conservative Republican: relying on the financial support and votes of teachers and education groups who are often key Democratic constituencies.
Tracey-Ann Nelson, director of government relations for the Georgia Association of Educators, said it’s not a lock that teachers in conservative Georgia would throw their support to a Democrat. Many, in fact, are Republicans.
A race between Barge and Deal would, Nelson said, mean a public airing on education.
“It’s not just a single issue like Common Core or test scores,” she said. “It would be a discussion about public education — how its perceived, what we should be doing.”
Ripping k-12 public education in Georgia is a well-worn page in the playbook of many Republicans, but, as the man who has overseen the state’s schools, Barge would have to carry the message forward that public education is improving. He told The AJC he’s confident his message can appeal to voters of both parties, who would be eligible to vote in a GOP primary.
“I’m very passionate about education and I believe very strongly that we can do better as a state and we must do better as a state,” said Barge. “There are a lot of great things going on in Georgia. In spite of the difficult times, in 2012 Georgia has been the only state in the nation where student achievement improved on every test.”
Verdaillia Turner, president of the Georgia Federation of Teachers, said many teachers have taken note of the disputes between the two men.
“Superintendent Barge disagreed with the governor on the charter school amendment and on Georgia’s school financing policies,” Turner said. “Teachers are entirely open to what Superintendent Barge has to say. He is sincere, whether folk agree with him or not, and we are hopeful we can begin a conversation with him about the things we know works for schools and for kids.”
Deal and Barge have sought to downplay the well-documented political friction between them, which the governor described as “significantly overblown.”
Barge characterized their relationship as cordial, but he said he sometimes doesn’t understand the governor’s decisions. Deal said he feels similarly.
“He and I both have the issue of education foremost on our minds,” Deal said. “While we may disagree on a few things, it does not mean that we are different in terms of where we’re approaching trying to advance education in our state.”
Barge’s department is trying to make sure the federal government does not follow through on its public threat to withhold a $9.9 million chunk of the state’s Race to the Top grant. Deal suggested the money is at risk because Barge didn’t select his pick to oversee the program.
In addition to questions about Race to the Top implementation, Georgia must find an able replacement for a Common Core test Barge and Deal deemed too costly. And the state’s new teacher evaluation program is still being rolled out.
The upcoming legislative session offers more complexities.
State Sen. William Ligon, R-Brunswick, vows to push legislation distancing the state from Common Core federal guidelines that both Deal and Barge support. The standards have become a sore point for some conservatives and tea party enthusiasts who worry they erode state sovereignty.
How Georgia uses its growing tax revenues will also be telling.
The state is on target to have a surplus that could top $600 million. For the first time in years, state agencies weren’t told to plan for spending cuts. The prospect of teacher pay raises is sure to be politicized.
“It’s too early to start speculating where we might spend money,” said Deal, who added: “We have no reason to believe we would do nothing other than to continue funding education as appropriately as we can.”
In a potential preview of his campaign message, Barge said that it will take more than a pay raise to win over teachers and begin improving education.
“For us to be able to accomplish what we need to accomplish, we need support,” Barge said. “It’s not only financial. It’s also encouragement. It’s standing with (educators). The successes that our teachers have seen, that the state has seen, they need to be commended. And they are — from our agency.”
Still, some political observers see steep pitfalls for Barge if he challenges Deal.
So far, Barge has raised no money for any type of campaign. Deal has $1.1 million. Deal would have the support of those who ardently supported the charter schools amendment; Barge would have their enmity.
“I don’t understand the math, the path to victory,” said Bert Brantley, who served as a spokesman for former Gov. Sonny Perdue and who supported the charter amendment. “If Barge were to run, all of the charter folks would rally, and they’d cancel out the school folks.”
Brantley said few people he’s spoken to understand why Barge has not sworn off a race for governor.
“Is he just taking a jab at the governor?” Brantley asked. “None of it makes sense to me.”
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