Twelve months ago, our legislative delegation (Chip Rogers, Calvin Hill, Charlice Byrd and Sean Jerguson) gerrymandered two Board of Education members out of their posts due to a disagreement with them over the application for Cherokee Charter Academy (CCA).
Not only did they ignore a School Board suggested map, but produced two maps with the same result: the movement of Janet Read and Mike Chapman into seats of members that were not up for re-election AND voted against CCA’s application.
Despite protests and the threat of SACS involvement, they restructured the School Board and redistricted advocates of 39,000 students out of their seats.
The legislators refused to offer a public referendum on the restructuring and eliminated the ability of the voters to decide whether Chapman deserved to be re-elected.
In the time since, the voters have elected Read to a newly created post as School Board Chairwoman.
Rogers, under political pressure and scandals, resigned; Ms. Byrd and Jerguson were defeated at the polls.
Simply put, the voters have spoken. They’ve said that our school system is important and deserves top priority at the state and local level.
Educating our future citizens is the key to economic prosperity and growth. Hopefully, our delegation will heed this call.
I, personally, look forward to the coming year as one when the state starts to restore funding of education to pre- recession levels.
I would also like us to incorporate CCA into the community as it has shown to be a valuable asset to some families that felt they needed something different.
I’m excited by the School District’s plans to expand the Cherokee Academies, as we’ve seen that the community wants a strong public system with plenty of choice.
Now, it’s time for our leaders to come together and make it happen.
Michael Sinco
Canton
"Let's all come together"...and somehow find even more money to spend on education, since a half-billion $$ isn't enough?
I see Mr. Sinco appears to have forgot the across-the-board 3% step raise the district is getting in 2013 too.
Mr. Sinco also forgot that Mike Chapman's anti-charter ideology was defeated in a landslide at the polls, both across the state and in Cherokee County. Mike Chapman's status-quo-worshipping time was up and, mercifully, he's now gone.
I see Mr. Sinco appears to have also forgotten that Rogers crushed Beach in the August primary and Jerguson also won his November election. Byrd was defeated by a charter school proponent in Michael Caldwell, something else Mr. Sinco appears to have forgotten. Rogers resignation was more about state senate politics than any sort of referendum on redistricting.
I hope Mr. Sinco teaches ancient history, rather than Current Events. He seems to have forgotten a lot of those in this editorial.
It's disappointing to see this sort of response to a letter asking for all sides to work together for the benefit of all of the children of this county.
Amendment #1 passed because 2 million people in GA know our public education system is flawed and shouldn't be the only public-school option for parents. If anything, the NO crowd should've read the ballot more closely. A NO vote was a 'yes' to mediocrity and a 48th-national ranking. 2 million people read the ballot with crystal clarity.
Cherokee County passed Amendment 1 by a landslide 60-40 margin. The referendum on the status quo of public education was clear: The people want choice.
The only people happy with 8 furlough days appear to be teachers, who support more cuts to the classroom & themselves rather than elsewhere. Stockholm Syndrome anyone?
Very few people in the private sector are getting 1.5% raises, you will be happy to know. The district needs to grasp the reality that more $$$ isn't on the way during a recession and that poor GA counties will not be voting to decrease QBE $$ being taken from our county.