A Fulton County Superior Court judge came down on the side of choice on Friday, ruling that charter schools in Georgia can be legally approved and funded by a state commission in addition to local systems.
The abrupt decision by Judge Wendy L. Shoob came after more than three hours of arguments in a constitutional challenge over the local control of public schools. Seven Georgia school systems had sued the state, charging that the Georgia Charter Schools Commission was illegally granting charters and giving local money to charter schools that the districts had rejected.
Shoob's ruling shot down the notion that local school districts have a monopoly on opening and funding schools. It follows a national trend of decisions in favor of a state's ability to use alternate authorization to grow charter campuses in a landscape where some educational leaders are reluctant to share money and power.
The news brought tears to the eyes of Nina Gilbert, head of school for Ivy Preparatory Academy of Norcross, named in the lawsuit. She left the courtroom and waited in a hallway sobbing with relief.
“I am so overwhelmed and excited,” Gilbert said. “This confirms we are doing the right thing and we are doing it for the right reason. All of our schools are constitutional. Now we can receive equal funding and our girls deserve that.”
Leaders of the Georgia Charter Schools Association also celebrated a victory during National Charter Schools Week. But they say the ruling is likely to be the first round in a fight that will end in the Georgia Supreme Court.
"This is the best present that the children of Georgia could ever get," said Tony Roberts, chief executive officer of the Georgia Charter Schools Association. "Now students will continue to have options for education that they so desperately need. The districts are sore about this loss of power, but I think if one Superior Court judge who has looked at all of the facts believes that the commission is constitutional, any judge will see it is constitutional."
Mike Bowers, attorney for the Gwinnett County schools, which initiated the lawsuit, said he has not yet been instructed to appeal, but it would be his advice. He maintains that the Georgia Charter Schools Commission is building an independent school system taking money away from traditional public school students and their districts.
“I would strongly recommend an appeal because the court was wrong, dead wrong,’’ he said.
Shoob, however, said in her ruling that charter schools are special schools independently run and can be provided for under the state constitution.
“The General Assembly has provided sufficient guidelines," Shoob said. "Commission charter schools are not required to be under the control or managed by an elected board of education. The funding is constitutional."
Similar lawsuits filed by school districts in Ohio, California and Michigan also upheld the constitutionality of the state's charter authorities. A challenge in Florida found the alternative charter authority unconstitutional.
Gwinnett schools Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks said he will meet with his Board of Education to decide what to do next. "While we are disappointed in the initial ruling, we realized this case could be one that involved several steps," he said in a statement. "We still have legitimate concerns regarding the constitutionality of the Georgia Charter Schools Commission."
Ivy Prep, a girls school of about 200 students, receives matching funds of about $1.2 million from the home districts of the students it serves. About $850,000 of that money is being taken from the Gwinnett system, which anticipates furlough days for teachers and cutbacks to balance its budget, which has a deficit of about $115 million.
Kathy Harwood, the head of school for the Charter Conservatory for Liberal Arts & Technology, or CCAT, said she and some of her students were heading home to Statesboro vindicated. “It’s the best news I’ve heard in eight years of doing this."
The Statesboro charter school received about $367,000 from Bulloch County schools' state allocation, and about $1,567 in state funds is being withheld from Candler County. Both districts also sued the charter school commission, joining the lawsuit filed by Gwinnett, DeKalb, Atlanta Public Schools, Henry and Griffin-Spalding school systems.
Attorney Bruce Brown, who defended the charter schools named in the lawsuit, was pleased with the judge’s ruling and said he would defend them again if needed.
“The constitution does not include any word that would indicate that the local school districts are being granted a monopoly over public education,” Brown argued in court. “They are simply given the authority to establish and maintain public schools.”
Ivy Prep sixth-grader Briah Bass said following the case taught her a lesson in persistence. “If you keep trying, you will reach your goal even if it’s a long road,” she said.
Ivy Prep has been fighting to survive since Gwinnett schools denied its charter in 2007.
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