Gov. Nathan Deal on Wednesday afternoon unveiled his proposal to create an Opportunity School District that will allow the state to temporarily take over failing schools.
The proposed constitutional amendment, authored by Senate floor leader Butch Miller, R-Gainesville, would allow the OSD to take in up to 20 schools per year, and no more than 100 at a time, according to a the governor’s announcement. Schools would stay in the district for at least five years, but no more than 10.
The proposal defines failing schools as those scoring below 60 on the Georgia Department of Education’s accountability measure for three consecutive years.
The governor’s announcement said he will seek to put the amendment on the 2016 ballot and that the OSD would begin for the 2017 school year.
Miller introduced the measure following a joint House-Senate education committee hearing in which education officials from Louisiana and Tennessee discussed their recovery school district operations.
House Education Committee Chairman Brooks Coleman, R-Duluth, said he supports the governor’s proposal. “It gives us a way to go in there and intervene and have these children succeed.”
Deal said in a statement, “While Georgia boasts many schools that achieve academic excellence every year, we still have too many schools where students have little hope of attaining the skills they need to succeed in the work force or in higher education.
“We have a moral duty to do everything we can to help these children. Failing schools keep the cycle of poverty spinning from one generation to the next. Education provides the only chance for breaking that cycle. When we talk about helping failing schools, we’re talking about rescueing children. I stand firm on the principle that every child can learn, and I stand equally firm in the belief that the status quo isn’t working.”
Under the proposal, the governor would hire a superintendent for the school district. Selection of a failing school would include community input. Options would include direct management of a school, shared governance with the local school board, making the school a charter school, or closure if the school’s not a full capacity.
The schools would receive their regular state and federal funds, along with a “proportional share” of money based on enrollment. Plus, the Legislature could appropriate additional funds and private contributions would also be sought.
New Orleans’ recovery school district begun by former Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and continued by Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal has made academic gains. “We’ve gone from an F to a C-minus,” said Neerav Kingsland, former CEO of New Schools for New Orleans. “We’re not an excellent public school system yet. Nobody should be under the impression that we are.”
Counties Back Transportation Bill
The Association of County Commissioners of Georgia, as expected, is supporting House Bill 170 which converts local sales taxes on gasoline into a fuel excise tax.
The association’s policy council unanimously voted to support the bill, which allows counties to set a 6-cent per gallon excise tax for transportation. Municipalities can seek a share of the funds based on the Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant formula.
However, ACCG legislative director Clint Mueller cautioned “we’re happy with it right now. Any changes could impact our position.” The legislation, scheduled to be considered by the House Transportation Committee Thursday afternoon, is expected to undergo further changes. The Georgia Municipal Association and Georgia School Boards Association oppose the bill because of revenue losses.
The bill restricts the excise tax to transportation, a main responsibility of county governments. Mueller said the counties own and maintain 70 percent of the road lane miles in Georgia, with the cities taking care of 10 percent and the state DOT the rest.
The counties also like that they will receive more funds from the state’s LMIG grants as state revenues increase under the bill. “It’s a revenue positive measure,” he said. The bill is designed to raise an additional $1 billion a year through conversion of the state’s current fuel excise tax and gasoline sales tax into a 29.2-cent per gallon fuel excise tax.
Mueller said “the bill gives us the ability to replace the revenues that would be going away. We already spend so much on transportation that we can absorb it very easily. It doesn’t tie our hands.”
