More than $3 million has already been raised to buy ads both extolling the virtues of and slamming Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed constitutional amendment allowing the state to take over failing schools.
As of Sept. 30, all of the $2.1 million raised by a fund opposing the amendment had come from the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union, and its Georgia affiliate.
Who is funding the advertising push to pass the proposal on next month's ballot isn't quite as clear. That's because a big chunk of the money has come from a fund set up by Deal's supporters in such a way that it doesn't have to disclose its donors.
Supporters have run TV ads featuring state Sen. Freddie Powell Sims, D-Albany, saying, "This is an opportunity to help those students that have been failing for decades." As dark music plays in the background, the ads of opponents call it a "take-over amendment" that will rob schools of money and put education in control of an unaccountable bureaucrat chosen by the governor.
To read more about who is funding the fight, and why, check out the full story on myajc.com.
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