Cherokee charter school supporters not giving up after denial

If they are started by parents and approved by the local district, they receive local, federal and state funds and the local board maintains some controls. If they are rejected by the local school district and later approved by the state Georgia Charter School Commission, they receive state and federal funds plus a matching share of local school tax dollars, and the local board loses any control or input.

Local school systems often resist charter schools. The General Assembly created the Georgia Charter School Commission in 2008 to help groups like the one in Cherokee around the local obstacles.

Cherokee board members and Superintendent Frank Petruzielo cited concerns about having to pay for a school for which they have responsibilities, such as transportation and special education, while being unable to have budgetary approvals or the ability to audit or manage the school.

Board member Debi Radcliff said she did not like the idea of the parents and a for-profit business, Charters Schools USA, not being subject to the transparency that the school board must operate under.

"We are stewards of your tax dollars. We would be crucified if we told parents, ‘Trust us,'" while not allowing the public access to information, she said.

Charter school supporters characterized the board's review of their application as fear-mongering, inflexible and inaccurate.

Danny Dukes, a charter school supporter, said, "They don't want the competition. It’s a pure control issue."

Dukes said, for example, that auditing power for the school board was written into the charter school's documents. They will not give up, he said.

"They can expect probably a state charter approval because the very application they rejected got approved for Senoia in Coweta County," Dukes said.