GREENE COUNTY
The Greene County Board of Education approved a Strategic Plan designed to help the school system make significant progress over the next five years and made a correction to an error in the document that slipped past reviewers and made it onto the BOE website, causing quite a bit of consternation among some parents and stakeholders.
Near the end of the 55-page document under the heading of BOE goals, there was a statement concerning the desire of the GCSS to transition into a charter system.
One of the action strategies included in the document says that GCSSS wants to move from a strategic waiver school system and to “grow a system of schools leading to one common high school with both Advanced Academics and Career Academy.”
Some interpreted the entry about moving to a system with one common high school as a possible threat to Lake Oconee Academy’s High School programs.
Given the lawsuit involving enrollment and funding and other recent squabbles between the GCBOE and LOA, the confusion and speculation about the strategic plan document started almost immediately on social media.
The BOE voted to strike the sentence indicating a desire to move to a system of schools with one common high school and to replace it with the following: “To move to a school system where all the relevant boards work together for the benefit of all the students.”
According to gaboe.org, “Charter schools typically select governing board members who have expertise in areas that would enable them to make informed decisions on all aspects of operating a school such as education, law, finance, marketing, non-profit management or any other background that is critical to the vision of the school.”
District 4 Board Member Dr. Maggie Kjer apologized to the public for the mistake that was included in the document attached to the BOE agenda posted on the BOE website.
“I was just as shocked as you were,” Kjer said. “We are very sorry about this. That was not the intent of this board at all.”
Kjer also recommended that the BOE strike the entry in the strategic plan document, which says consideration should be given to a “new five-year charter to include goals for both LOA and GCSS to achieve in order to build a plan to achieve the above goal.”
She recommended replacing that language with the following: “Work in collaboration with LOA toward approval of their five-year charter covering the school year 2024/25 through 2028/29.”
District 3 Board Member Regina Gainer recommended that the motion be tabled until the language could be further evaluated, and, after further resistance from the board, Kjer withdrew her proposal.
During the 15-minute public interaction with board members that followed, stakeholders were advised of six ways to make public comments, which includes a form available at greene.k12.us/publiccomments and a tab called public participation in board meetings on the homepage of the website.
Superintendent Chris Houston said requests to discuss special issues pertinent to the community needed to be requested two weeks in advance so the BOE could include relevant matters on its agenda.
However, some of those attending the BOE meeting felt a special called meeting to discuss the strategic plan should be called to allow for more than the customary 15 minutes of discussion on such an essential decision.
The Greene County board’s decision to pursue state certification as a charter school system follows nearby systems in Morgan and Putnam counties that made the transition over the last decade.
The GCSS is currently a Strategic Waiver School System (SWSS) that operates under the terms of a contract between the State Board of Education and the GCBOE.
The major difference between traditional public schools and charter relates to accountability and flexibility according to gadoe.org.
“They receive flexibility from certain state and local rules and regulations in exchange for a higher level of accountability,” according to the state website. “Charter schools use this flexibility to implement innovative or unique programs, in order to provide educational options to parents and students that are not typically available in the traditional public schools.”
Currently, there are 48 charter school systems in Georgia.
“Charter schools, as public schools, must adhere to the same open admission and enrollment standards as traditional public schools,” according to gaboe.org. “With the exception of certain allowable admissions preferences, charter schools may not select their students, nor deny admission to any applicant provided that there is space for that student within the school’s capacity.”