Three vie for state school superintendent

Georgia voters have three options this year for state school superintendent: two career educators and an Atlanta businessman who has been advocating for public education for decades.

Republicans have held the superintendent’s job since the 1994 election and are pinning their hopes this year on their party's traditional strong showing and their candidate, John Barge, a Bartow County school administrator.

Barge is going up against Joe Martin, the winner of last summer's three-way Democratic primary, and Kira Willis, the Libertarian candidate.

Martin, the best financed and arguably the best known of the three candidates, spent 20 years on the Atlanta school board and six years fighting for adequate funding for all the state's public schools. He was his party’s nominee for state superintendent in 1998 against then-incumbent Linda Schrenko and finished second in a six-person Democratic primary in the 2002 race that ultimately was won by Republican legislator and teacher Kathy Cox.

Willis, like Cox, wants to parlay a career in teaching into the elected job of running the state Department of Education, with a $7 billion budget and about 1,000 employees. She teaches in Fulton County public schools.

"I am not a career politician," she said. "I made a promise to get in, make changes and get back into the schools where I belong."

Of the three, Barge is the only one who has experience working for the DOE, having been its director of career, technical and agricultural education in 2004-2005. He stayed 12 months and then resigned, saying he wanted to go back to being a high school administrator, "where my true passion lies."

There's no incumbent on the ballot because Cox, who had qualified to run for a third term, abruptly resigned in June to move to Washington to run an education think tank. Brad Bryant, a former member of the state Board of Education, has the job until Jan. 11, when the new superintendent is sworn in for a four-year term.

The job pays about $130,000 a year and has arguably become more important in recent years as the state has implemented a tougher curriculum and has imposed millions of dollars in budget cuts, resulting in teacher furloughs, employee layoffs and program cuts. As many as 3,000 teacher jobs were lost in metro Atlanta.

The new superintendent faces a federal deadline of 2014, when all public school students in Georgia will be expected to be proficient in math and reading. He or she also will have a key role in seeing that the state gets some lasting benefits from the $400 million in federal Race to the Top money that’s coming its way in the next four years.

Barge and Willis both have been openly skeptical that President Barack Obama's Race to the Top initiative is opening the door to federal government intrusion. Barge says there's good reason for concern given what he says is the federal government's less-than-stellar record for efficiency.

All three candidates are less than enthusiastic about proposals to link teacher pay to student performance on standardized tests and about the emphasis placed on those tests.

"Students are simply overtested, and teachers are shackled to teaching to those tests for fear of losing their jobs," Willis said. "I believe that tests have a place in school, but they should not be the primary focus of our educational system."

If testing has to go on, she said she favors replacing the CRCT with the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) so student performance in Georgia can be judged against the performance of other students across the nation.

Martin favors a broader approach.

"We need to look at multiple forms of measurement, not just the high-stakes tests or a standardized test, but also look at what else is going on in that classroom with the teacher ... to determine if that student is actually making progress," he said.

All three favor closer scrutiny of state spending for education, with Martin saying the restoration of the 180-day school year and an end to teacher furloughs need to be priorities.

Martin has served on three major state commissions on improving education in Georgia and helped to write the Quality Basic Education Act, or QBE, the law that established the formula for providing state funding to school districts around the state. His work with 50 rural school districts through the Georgia School Funding Association, Martin said, gave him a deep understanding of the varying needs of schools in every part of the state.

The association filed suit, alleging that the state was not fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide schools with adequate funding. Martin said the group was worn out, fighting against the state with its "deep pockets."

Barge has charged that the money spent on the lawsuit would have been better spent on teacher pay.

He is pledging to reduce "the layers of bureaucratic red tape" and look for opportunities at the DOE to consolidate.

"We must return education to the local district as much as possible -- this will free up money that is currently being wasted in Atlanta at the DOE while simultaneously enhancing education across the state," he said.

Willis has promised that, as superintendent, she would take two unpaid furlough days for each one required of teachers.

"I will also look at streamlining the DOE and asking that all local boards look toward eliminating positions that have little or no contact with students," she said.

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Georgia superintendent of schools

The top administrator in the state Department of Education, with oversight over a $7 billion budget and about 1,000 employees.

State law says the superintendent:

• Will have a four-year degree from an accredited college or university.

• Will have no convictions for any crime involving moral turpitude.

• Will enforce all rules and regulations set by the state Board of Education.

• Will, subject to state board approval, have the authority to suspend any local school superintendent for incompetency, willful neglect of duty, misconduct, immorality or the commission of any crime involving moral turpitude.

• Shall visit local schools as often as possible.

• Can reorganize the state Department of Education and hire five senior staffers.

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John Barge

Party: Republican

Age: 43

Home: Kingston

Education: University of Georgia, Ph.D. in education; University of West Georgia, specialist in education and master of education; Berry College, Bachelor of Arts with major in communications/public relations

Professional: Director of secondary curriculum for Bartow County School System; adjunct professor, Berry College; assistant principal in Floyd County; director of career, technical and agricultural education for the state Department of Education; principal at Chestatee High School, Gainesville; assistant principal and career/technical director at Rome High School; assistant principal at Haralson County High in Tallapoosa; teacher at Armuchee High School in Rome; teacher at Cass High School in Cartersville

Campaign website: www.electjohnbarge.com/

Cash raised: $57,528

Cash on hand: $10,014

Joe Martin

Party: Democrat

Age: 68

Home: Atlanta

Education: Bachelor's degree in economics from Vanderbilt University; master's degree in finance from Harvard Business School

Professional: Developed major public-private real estate projects; president of Atlanta Economic Development Corp.; served as president of Central Atlanta Progress; coordinated community improvements related to the 1996 Olympics; and was executive director for the Georgia School Funding Association.

Campaign website: www.joemartin.org

Cash raised: $301,480

Cash on hand: $172,920

Kira Willis

Party: Libertarian

Age: 42

Home: Roswell

Education: Valdosta State University, bachelor's degree in theater; certification in English, drama and special education; Kennesaw State University, master's degree in educational leadership; Lincoln Memorial University, specialist degree in curriculum and instruction

Professional: Teacher at Roswell High School; has been a teacher for 18 years.

Campaign website: www.willisforstatesuper.com

Cash raised: $2,803