Georgia lawmakers head to New Orleans as Deal makes his schools pitch

It’s political show of sorts but with serious consequences for Georgia’s public education system. A rough sampling shows the votes to pass the governor’s signature legislation this year are close — especially with revisions to his plans expected to be debuted in committee Monday with more likely to come.

“I’ll say the same thing to Republicans that I’d say to Democrats: What’s your idea?” said Deal, who casts his proposal as a moral imperative. “If you have no idea, you’re saying you’re satisfied with having failing schools in Georgia. And that is not acceptable to me. And I don’t think it should be acceptable to any member of the General Assembly.”

Senate Bill 133 and its companion piece, Senate Resolution 287, lay out Deal's vision of a statewide "Opportunity School District" with authority to seize control of schools deemed to be perennially failing. The state would have total authority over the schools put into the special district, and it could remove principals, transfer teachers, change what students are learning and control the schools' budgets.

Deal’s office estimates 141 schools would be eligible, including more than 60 in metro Atlanta. The plan would allow the state to run schools, close them, partner with local school districts to run them or convert them into charter schools. The special district would be overseen by a new superintendent who would report directly to the governor.

GOP governor’s plan needs Democratic support

The trip to New Orleans is aimed at persuading Republican leaders who are already on board with Deal’s legislation to wholeheartedly embrace it, and sway influential Democrats who must sell it to a more skeptical audience.

SB 133 sets out the parameters of the proposal. SR 287 would ask voters statewide for permission to fund what essentially would be a new school district controlled by the governor’s office. Because SR 287 proposes amending the Georgia Constitution, it requires a higher bar to pass the Legislature and needs two-thirds support in both legislative chambers. That means Democratic backing will be essential because some Republicans have already jumped off the wagon.

"There is a problem. I just don't think this is the solution," said state Sen. Mike Crane, R-Newnan, who thinks it would be expensive. He would prefer to see more freedom given to local school systems before creating another statewide bureaucracy.

“So how are our local parents going to feel that some bureaucrat they didn’t elect or have any say in deciding on is now going to decide how that school is going to operate?”

Four Democrats are set to attend the trip, including House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, D-Atlanta, and state Sen. Freddie Powell Sims, D-Dawson, a retired middle school principal. Both have signaled they are receptive to the bill, though Abrams often prefaces her comments by saying "the devil is in the details."

State Sen. Elena Parent, D-Decatur, is also attending, but she may be a tougher sell.

“I have a whole lot of questions,” she said.

Concerns raised about local control of schools

Deal’s office has ratcheted up the pressure on legislators from both chambers to back his plan. He filed it in the Senate and immediately secured 38 co-sponsors — precisely the number needed for two-thirds passage in that chamber — with the addition of Sims’ signature.

For a little breathing room, the governor's aides have spoken with several skeptics about what it might take to win their approval. State Sen. Ed Harbison, D-Columbus, said he's had several conversations with Deal's staffers.

“We’ve always been cautious about infringement on local control, and the current version seems to do that,” said Harbison, who is not going on the trip. “But we also know we need to do something to help our children.”

He said he wants changes that would give local superintendents more say in the program, as well as protect schools from intervention if they are showing steady progress.

For good measure, state Sen. Donzella James, D-Atlanta, has also signed onto SB 133 — although she has withdrawn support from the companion amendment. "Until I got a lot of complaints from my principals, I had planned to sign both pieces," she said.

The legislation, as now written, still faces stiff opposition from influential education groups who worry it would infringe on local control and would create a fragmented system. They say Georgia shouldn’t look to Louisiana for inspiration but to the state’s own Gwinnett County, which is logging solid academic results with poor and minority students.

House appears to be tough sell

The House was always likely to wind up the tougher prospect for two reasons. Republicans don’t hold a two-thirds majority there as they do in the Senate, meaning Democratic support is necessary to pass. And the House GOP can be a more fractious body, a headache for leaders trying to marshal a coalition of establishment Republicans, tea party members and others to rally behind the bill.

"I'm hoping to take away some real-world examples of the benefits of Louisiana's program," said state Rep. Christian Coomer, R-Cartersville, a Republican ally of Deal's who is taking the trip. "And I'm hopeful that many of those who have doubts will find a connection to the children who will benefit from it."

State Rep. Scott Holcomb of Atlanta is among House Democrats taking a wait-and-see approach. He said he'll be awaiting the feedback from Abrams and House Minority Whip Carolyn Hugley, D-Columbus, who is also making the trip, on what they learned from Louisiana.

“I’m listening carefully and studying the issue because this is a major policy decision,” Holcomb said.

Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have proposed creating a statewide grant program of "community schools" with more access to health clinics, counselors and tutors as an alternative to Deal's plan. The counterproposal, Senate Bill 124, is aimed primarily at the lowest-performing Title I schools, where many children qualify for free and reduced-price meals.

Senate Minority Leader Steve Henson, D-Tucker, one of the most outspoken opponents to the governor's proposal, said he's fielded questions from several House Democrats about SB 124. That's notable given that Democratic leaders in either chamber don't often work in concert on major issues.

“I think we’re in the same place, but it’s different parts of the day,” Henson said. “We all share concerns these schools have a lot of children who have special or unique conditions that need to get addressed.”