Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed “opportunity school districts” subvert the positive work being done by local administrators.
By AARON HOLMES – Senior Copying Editor
Gov. Nathan Deal’s latest education crusade for “opportunity school districts” is poorly planned and dangerous.
Occasionally, public schools become caught in a trap: their students perform below the state average on standardized tests, which causes school districts to lose federal funding grants that reward high-achieving schools.
This system forces such school districts to focus their attention entirely on meeting standards. It can also quickly undermine a school district’s reputation within its community. Families with means to do so move their children to different districts or to private schools, leaving behind all the students that have no other option.
This phenomenon was well-chronicled by Liz Moyer of Forbes in a 2008 report called “How the Rich Raise Their Kids.” It’s a vicious cycle that can continue forever if unabated, but it points to one clear solution: increased funding for failing schools. If public policymakers had any sense, they would support a budget that allowed for such funding.
Unfortunately for students in Georgia, Gov. Nathan Deal–and our state legislators–lack such common sense.
In February, Deal proposed his ramshackle solution to what the state has labeled “failing” schools, labeled the Opportunity School District proposal. The plan takes the form of a proposed state constitutional amendment that would allow a committee at the state level permission to invade schools labeled as “failing” and to take full control of them.
Under this amendment, locally-appointed officials like school board members and superintendents would be forced to stand by helplessly as state officials fired administrators, replaced staff and even handed off control of school districts to those in the private sector. And under Deal’s plan, failing schools would not fall under the jurisdiction of the State Superintendent’s office, but rather a special superintendent appointed directly by–you guessed it–Deal himself.
Unsurprisingly, the proposal was passed by both of Georgia’s conservative-dominated legislative bodies–first the Senate, then the House of Representatives on March 25. In order to become law, the amendment will be voted on by the public in the next state election.
Currently, over 140 schools throughout Georgia qualify as “failing” under the proposal’s definition, including Gaines Elementary in Athens. But, as the Governor’s Office assures us, there’s no need to worry–the proposal only allows for a maximum of 20 school takeovers per year, and 100 failing schools under state control at any given time, as outlined on www.gov.ga.gov. So, it would take Deal a full seven years to totally gut the dozens of “failing” schools on his radar.
Undoubtedly, failing schools can and should be addressed at the state level. But before we support drastic action like that being pushed by Deal, we should ensure that it will be effective. Deal’s website claims that the Opportunity School Districts proposal is “based on similar, successful initiatives in Louisiana and Texas.” But as bettergeorgia.org points out, after nine years of implementation, four of the 107 schools taken over by the Louisiana governor’s office are performing above the state average.
It makes sense that Deal would advocate for such a breakneck, risky approach to change rather than try funding the 140 schools that are barely scraping by–after all, Deal has cut more than $4.1 billion from public education since 2011, according to a report by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. But he also needs a way to back the claim made on his campaign website that his office has “made education one of [its] top priorities for our state.” His Opportunity School District proposal is clearly a political move, and would be nothing but an empty gesture were it not for the undoubtable negative consequences it implies.
So, why should I so willingly lend power to a system of strong leadership that has driven “failing” schools further below the state average than ever before?
Why should I trust Mr. Deal’s appointees (or, worse, for-profit corporations) to “fix” my school district when I see our principals and superintendent working hard for our advancement every day?
I shouldn’t. And neither should the people of Georgia.
