Sixes Elementary Assistant Principal Cindy Crews and Bascomb Elementary Special Education teacher Jackie Petty applaud the 4-3 decision by the Cherokee County School Board against the Cherokee Charter Academy on Friday evening at the Cherokee High School auditorium.
Cherokee Tribune/Todd Hull
Cherokee Tribune/Todd Hull
An at-capacity crowd filled the 1,000-seat auditorium at Cherokee High School in Canton to hear the charter school's fate. The decision marks the third time the school has been denied in two years.
"I have looked and looked and looked, but this application brings nothing to the table that is unique," said Post 2 board member Mike Chapman during the board's discussion of the petition.
The Cherokee Charter Academy was previously granted a charter by the Georgia Charter School Commission.
However, the charter school, which was on tap to open in August, went into limbo this spring after the Georgia Supreme Court deemed the 2008 law that allowed for its charter unconstitutional.
The school then resubmitted its charter petition to the local Board of Education in May. However, Cherokee School District Superintendent Frank Petruzielo said the petition contained the same "deficiencies" that led to its denial in the past.
Cherokee Charter was denied in 2010 for what the board saw as a lack of planning for special education students, issues regarding oversight powers for the school board and transparency of the school's governing bodies.
At Friday night's meeting, Petruzielo also reiterated his argument that that new school would have a "significant negative" budgetary impact on the school system.
If approved, he said, the charter school would take more than $6 million from the district's coffers, which are already being hit by state cuts in education funding and a decreasing tax digest.
"We're not talking about small change," Petruzielo said. "There will have to be draconian decisions in the near future (if the charter petition is approved)."
Cherokee Charter's three supporters on the board said the new school would be a boost to Cherokee's already high performing schools.
"Innovations happen only when we take a risk," Post 3 board member Michael Geist said. "This is an opportunity to grow, learn and innovate."
The other supporting votes came from Post 7 member Kim Cochran and Post 6 member Rob Usher.
Geist, who has two children who were accepted to attend Cherokee Charter, came under fire.
Chapman said Geist's involvement with the school put him in a conflict of interest with the school system and that his vote would violate the board's code of ethics.
Geist countered, stating, "I would rather pull my children (from the school) than not vote because I think it is the best thing for the county."
The board's vote came after one hour of public comments.
The issue drew heated debate from supporters and opponents of the charter school.
"Charter schools meet a tremendous need in schools that are failing," said Susan Dreschel, whose two children graduated from Cherokee County schools. "The Cherokee County School District is not failing. There is no objective data for this proposal."
Charter school supporters said they were seeking more school choice.
"No one is going to look at my daughter and ask for her test scores," said Heather Blevins, whose daughter was slated to attend the school. "They are going to wonder if she had a well-rounded education."
Blevins was a member of Cherokee Charter Academy oversight board.
Other charter school supporters urged the board to think of the wishes of 2,600 students that applied to the school.
Post 4 board member Janet Read asked about the rest of Cherokee's student population.
"People say you need to listen to the 2,600 applicants," she said at the meeting. "Am I supposed to listen to the other 22,000 students?"
The vote was met with heavy cheers from the charter school's opponents.
But the school's supporters said the fight isn't over.
"I'm not happy," said Ted Handley of Woodstock. "But I don't think this is the end of trying to get a charter school in Cherokee County."
We will lose teachers at the public school
We will have more students in the classrom at the public school
We will not have enough funds for the public school
Solutions by the people giving these excuses for the parents who want the charter school? Move or go to a private school.
If I go to a private school, the money I pay towards school taxes will be removed from the public school system and placed at the private school I select. If I move, not only will Cherokee County not get my tax money for the public school, but it won't have my tax money for the county either. So, how exactly are either solutions..solutions? Seems to me that some are not as smart as they think.
As for the excuses given, they also make no sense. Fewer students means fewer kids in the class. Less stress on the teachers. Seems to me this is simply about control and nothing else.
I have three children...all three are in AIM classes....all three are in Duke TIP...all three have reading AND math levels well above their current grade levels...my HS student is in all AP classes...my MS student got a perfect score on three CRCT sections....AND THEY ARE ALL CCSD PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS! So it looks like public school did them no harm.
You are correct...CCSD Teachers are given a choice where to send their children. It is either the child's home school or the school/zone the teacher is working at. For example...I teach in the Woodstock Zone while I live in the Etowah zone. Schools start at varying times for busing purposes. My husband leaves for work much earlier than I do. My children attend school in the zone where I teach...I know they have gotten to school safely. It is the same feeling you get to enjoy. Are you really going to deny a teacher/mother this feeling because you dont get to pick schools???? Come now! If you dont like the school your child is attending move or home school or pay out of your own pocket for private school.
And as far as another parent wrote about teaching to the test....of course we do!!!!! I am not going to teach about apples if the test is about oranges! If you go to college to be a Doctor...are you going to take accounting classes?!?!?! I am pretty sure you would FAIL your Dr. test!
Yes, I could run the school system much better. Yes I would make a better teacher than the ones we have had recently, which is why my child will be homeschooled, proudly. As for the other 22,000 children, I am more than sure their parents when given the choice, would chose better for their children, rather than worry about mine. Would I feel bad for those children? yes, but is it my fault the public education sucks? NO. Neither is it my children's fault. As for moving if I don't like Cherokee County schools.....you are obviously very ignorant and oblivious to what we call "economic" crisis. You know the one...where houses aren't selling at the right prices, and transferring jobs depends on the boss? But of course the answer is...hey move! instead of us improving things. As for your tax dollars. Guess what? they're not being used the way they are supposed to be used for the schools anyway, so I'd much rather be able to chose for myself where my tax dollars are sent. I chose for them to either go to Charter, or my own pocket, because again...Cherokee County public schools do nothing for my child at all. If I could afford a private school, believe me, I would in a heartbeat. But, I'm not rich, so they will be homeschooled. Just some FYI on that, my 10 year old has an 11th grade reading level and scored above average on all her CRCTs. She was also received into DUKE TIP. So, obviously homeschooling has not harmed her :) Can you say the same for your public school?
Sen. Rogers, Board Members Geist and Champman, you will not destroy our public school system with your "death by a thousand cuts" strategy. Our teachers work hard and WE THE PARENTS will stand up with them to fight you every step of the way. Cherokee is a great place to live, to raise a family and to receive a high quality public education.
Too many districts deny charters for the wrong reasons and I heard some wrong reasoning here and there in this case but overall...good call.
For the record, I am pro charter schools. My children attended a Charter School and they excelled. If the right charter proposal came along I do hope that the citizens of the county don't look at it as a slap in the face.
I also hope that should the State ever decide to offer school vouchers that those of you here that so vehemently defended "your tax dollars" don't line up to send your kids to a real private school with my tax dollars.
Does Mike Chapman and Petruzielo think their comments are professional?
Perhaps they should move to a county that enjoys that level of professionalism. Who elected them to the position of God?
Dr. P and the rest of the Board- Well done!!!
If you want a private school environment for your child and feel that strongly about it, there are private schools aplenty to choose from.
As for threatening to vote against the detractors next election...well, guess what: a lot more people will vote for those people BECAUSE the voted this idiocy down. I, for one, am not impressed at all with Geist, Usher and Cochran. They just gave me all the reason I need to vote for their opponent next time around if they couldn't discern just how bad an idea this was.