Commenters on the AJC Get Schooled blog debated Gov. Nathan’s Deal proposal to take over failing schools and put them in a state-run district called the Opportunity School District. With voters in 2016 being asked to grant the state the power to take over schools, critics and opponents are launching campaigns to sway the outcome. Here is a sampling of reader comments:
Peek: We should be worried about the billionaires who are putting millions into not only the board of education elections but into privatizing our schools. Having billions of dollars isn't enough — they need more.
Star: The "failing schools" are a legacy of slavery and segregation. The students are unprepared by their home life to learn, and some — a significant and unknown percentage — are quite unable to learn, don't want to, and want to disrupt the classroom for students who could succeed if schools did a better job. The teachers in these schools are not competent to teach. They came from the lower half of the worst colleges. The kids come and go, mostly graduate, but the teachers are allowed to work to retirement. Possibly, a state takeover will help. Maybe not. It's worth trying.
Lux: The teachers' unions and their liberal allies continue to oppose any reform that threatens union revenues. Unions are leading contributors to the Democrat Party and liberal causes. Accountability and parental choice tend to loosen the grip unions have in school districts elsewhere where teachers are required to join unions to get or keep a job. But failing public schools have created a critical mass of voters who will no longer accept excuses.
Dan: The authors of the legislation know it wouldn't pass if people knew the truth, so they wrote the ballot language to make it seem like a no-brainer to vote "yes" on.
Georgian: I think maybe the state should start an ODOD (Opportunity Doctors Office District) to take over doctors' offices where mostly poor and really sick patients go. The state could appoint a State Doctor Office Manager and sell charter contracts to business people in exchange for campaign contributions. If you believe in takeovers, why not just let Arne Duncan take over all Georgia schools, as Georgia education is failing?
Jar: I'm asking — not condemning, as I really don't know — is there evidence in this country that this sort of program improves results? I'm a libertarian, so I'm inclined to be against centralizing very much. Is there data that could swing my opinion?
Class80: We don't know what it will do — but we know quite well what the status quo has produced in these failing schools.
JBrown: Get rid of the departments of education, state and fed! Let the community dictate education standards.
Bu: In states with state takeover districts, none of these things has worked miracles and turned a bottom 5 percent into top 25 percent school. But critics ignore the fact the schools aren't ranked as low as they used to be. The evidence clearly shows schools in takeover districts are doing better than before, and none of the critics has been able to make these improvements disappear or give any alternative plan to improve these schools.
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