Two cash-strapped campuses showing success at educating diverse and low-income students were approved as Georgia's first charter commission schools, a title that comes with a budget windfall in matching local funds.
The historic vote of the Charter Schools Commission opened the door to charter schools operators to compete for a chance at being funded like any other public school statewide. But the decision is likely to face legal challenges from local school districts.
"This is a new day in Georgia education," said Ben Scafidi, chairman of the Georgia Charter Schools Commission. "Grassroots groups can create a charter, come to us and get an unbiased look. Parents will have more choices for their children."
Ivy Preparatory Academy of Norcross and Statesboro's Charter Conservatory for Liberal Arts & Technology were accepted into the commission's first class of charter schools. A third petitioner, the Scholars Academy State Elementary in Riverdale, was denied due to academic and enrollment issues.
The vote has also opened the door to a lawsuit that will soon be filed by some of the school districts impacted by what they perceive to be a threat to local control over education.
Lawyers for Bulloch County Schools and Gwinnett County Public Schools have begun talks, said Lewis Holloway, superintendent of Bulloch Schools.
"I don't know how long it would take to put a lawsuit together, but we are going to follow Gwinnett County's lead," Holloway said. "I assume there are going to be a lot of school districts involved in this. The charter school in Gwinnett takes students from several other districts."
As state-chartered special schools, Ivy Prep and CCAT pinched pennies educating students without access to local funding. As commission charter schools, the pair will be fully funded with federal and state dollars — plus a share of matching local funds carved from the state allocations to the local districts.
In Ivy Prep's case, the school will receive money from all districts the girl's left. The school draws students from school systems in Atlanta, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall and Rockdale.
"I'm relieved and thrilled," said Nina Gilbert, head of school for Ivy Prep. " I feel like I can focus 100 percent on planning and preparing for our students in August. We will be able to compensate our teachers fairly, we will have the resources to make sure we can support our academic programs more effectively."
Ivy Prep, which receives between $3,800 to $4,000 per student would be eligible for more than $8,200 per student. The school is anticipating an enrollment of more than 300 students.
CCAT currently receives between $4,000 to $4,500 per pupil from the state. With local dollars added to their budget the school could net between $7,800 to about $8,500 per student.
That would mean a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars at Bulloch County Schools, which has already seen a $5 million reduction in its budget in a year, said Holloway.
"We do believe this is unconstitutional," he said. "What they are doing is taking away an additional $500,000. The people of Bulloch county have not voted on this loss of money."
Gwinnett County Schools Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks said in a statement: "The current situation is an example of recent attempts to wrestle away local control of public education. It is unacceptable and we will respond as appropriate and in the best interest of Gwinnett County Public Schools' students ..."
Scafidi said schools coming before the commission need to bring their A-game. They should not count on the funding to cure all of their woes.
"One was approved unanimously, one was denied unanimously and a high school with a graduation rate around 94 and 95 percent was approved by the skin of their teeth," he said. "It sets a very high bar."
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