Georgia Schools Superintendent John Barge will announce his opposition to the proposed charter school amendment to the constitution today, becoming the highest profile Republican to break with his party on the issue.
Barge, elected superintendent in 2010, met with Gov. Nathan Deal this morning and later called other legislative leaders so they would not be blind-sided by his position.
The charter school fight was an especially bitter one during the most recent legislative session, when Republicans successfully pushed to place on the ballot a proposed amendment to the constitution that would guarantee the state's power to authorize and fund charter schools.
Republicans and other charter school supporters say the amendment is needed because of a 2011 ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court, which held that the Georgia Charter Schools Commission did not have the constitutional authority to approve charter school applications. That ruling eviscerated the commission and left the state Board of Education as the secondary route of approval for charter school applicants who failed to win approval at the local school district level.
With the court ruling that local school boards, not the state, have authority over K-12 education in Georgia, charter school amendment backers said the amendment's passage would clarify once and for all what the state can and can't do when it comes to charter schools.
However, Democrats and traditional public school advocates said charter schools are not a panacea for problems in education and that having the state pay for more of them would deprive already cash-strapped traditional public schools of the money they need to thrive.
Barge had not previously announced a public position on the issue, saying up to this point that he would respect the decision Georgia voters make this fall.
That stance changes today.
"I cannot support the creation of a new and costly state bureaucracy that takes away local control of schools and unnecessarily duplicates the good work already being done by local districts, the Georgia Department of Education, and the state Board of Education," Barge said in a prepared statement. "What's more, this constitutional amendment would direct taxpayer dollars into the pockets of out-of-state, for-profit charter school companies whose schools perform no better than traditional public schools and locally approved charter schools (and worse, in some cases)."
Barge said the passage of the amendment, the restoration of the Georgia Charter Schools Commission and state funding for the charter schools it approves would be too costly for the state.
""Until all of our public school students are in school for a full 180-day school year, until essential services like student transportation and student support can return to effective levels, and until teachers regain jobs with full pay for a full school year, we should not redirect one more dollar away from Georgia's local school districts -- much less an additional $430 million in state funds, which is what it would cost to add seven new state charter schools per year over the next five years (the annual average of the Charter Commission that would be revived if the amendment passes)," Barge's statement read.
Like many of the Democrats who oppose the charter schools amendment, Barge has said he supports charter schools as part of a broad set of educational options that should be available to students.
Barge's opposition to the amendment is a boon to other opponents, who have made the same arguments against its passage. Members of Barge's party, however, aren't likely to be thrilled.
Top Republicans -- from Deal, House of Representatives Speaker David Ralston and Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones on down to powerful committee chairmen throughout the caucus -- have pushed hard for passage of the amendment.
Few Republicans broke ranks during the legislative push to place the proposed amendment before voters this fall.
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