In ruling that the state cannot establish and fund charter schools, the Georgia Supreme Court leaves 16 charter schools in limbo. Those schools — sanctioned by a state commission now deemed by the court to be unconstitutional — have to be legalized, either through local boards of education or the state Board of Education.
And they have to find new funding or survive on less.
The court decision last week represents a decisive victory for school systems. It’s a setback to the burgeoning charter school movement in Georgia, which has met with resistance from some local school boards.
If the schools are legitimized by the state board rather than local boards, they lose their local funding, which is considerable. The schools earn between 50 percent and 60 percent of their funding through local taxes, a total of $40 million a year for the impacted schools.
In striking down the Georgia Charter Schools Commission, the Supreme Court offered a simple rationale: “Our constitutions, past and present, have limited governmental authority over the public education of Georgia’s children to that level of government closest and most responsive to the taxpayers and parents of the children being educated.”
Mark Peevy, executive director of the soon-to-be disbanded Georgia Charter Schools Commission, urged the charter schools to return to their local education boards for approval as the first step to resurrection.
He warned the schools that an injunction would be coming to enact the Supreme Court decision. “When that happens, the commission will close our doors, and your current commission charters are no longer in effect,” he said.
Two have appealed to their local boards, but neither has won a new lease on life yet.
Ivy Preparatory Academy, an all-girls charter school in Norcross, is asking the Gwinnett County Board of Education to endorse both the existing girls academy and a new school for boys.
Scheduled to open in August, Cherokee Charter Academy approached its local board, but was told that the discussion would have to wait until next month because of public notice requirements.
School board approvals may be easier to get, Peevy said.
“For the eight of you who are running schools, you are in a fundamentally different position than when you applied to those boards,” said Peevy.
“Now, you have proven effort. Now, you have a building with children in it, a proven board, a proven management team that has run a quality operation for a year. That puts you in a fundamentally different position than when you were a concept on a piece of paper.”
Charter advocates hold out little hope that the Supreme Court will reconsider its ruling, although the vote was 4-3. The deadline for the state to seek a reconsideration — a rare occurrence by courts — is the end of this month.
There is greater optimism in the charter community that help could arrive through a statewide referendum to change the Georgia Constitution to permit the state to create schools, although local systems would fight any change that would divert school taxes from their schools.
The drawback to a constitutional amendment is that relief would be at least two years away since the question has to pass the Legislature and then get on a ballot of a general election.
Charter advocates want the Legislature to take up their cause in a planned August special session, but it may be too hot — literally and figuratively — to deal with then.
Tony Roberts, CEO of the Georgia Charter Schools Association, said he was hoping for bridge funding from either the state or foundations to address the possible $40 million gap in lost local funds. “Gov. Deal has done some things and planned some things that show me he is a charter school supporter,” said Roberts.
One possible pile of money for the 16 schools could be the $20 million in federal Race to the Top funds set aside by Deal for charter schools specializing in science, technology, engineering or math.
If the 16 schools have to operate on reduced budgets, Roberts assured them that it will be for the short term and that new funding will be found.
“Somehow, if you could operate like that for one year, at least you could get to the shore in the lifeboat where help might be waiting. Maybe, by that time there may be a new mechanism, or a reborn commission,” he said.
The high court emphasized that its disagreement was not with charter schools but with the Legislature’s scheme to bypass school boards, noting in its ruling, “The goals are laudable. The method used to attain those goals, however, is clearly and palpably unconstitutional.”
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