Tag Archives: taxes

What other states have had charter school referendums?

Thanks to Jim Galloway, we learned that charter school proponents say “No other state has had a positive outcome for a charter-positive ballot initiative.” OK, what other states have had any sort of charter school referendums? Such ballot initiatives have at least been tried in Massachusetts, Michigan, and Washington.

BallotPedia records some state charter school referendums.

Massachusetts

In Massachusetts, charter school proponents couldn’t even get enough signatures to put a pro-charter school referendum on the ballot this year.

The measure would have removed limits on number of charter schools, their funding, and enrollment. Other changes would have been made in laws that governed charter schools, including requiring approval of qualified applications for charter schools to be in districts where there was low student performance.

Michigan

In Michigan, a referendum to ban for-profit charter schools may be on the ballot in November:

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Charter school preamble biased like T-SPLOST?

T-SPLOST proponents are up to their old tricks again, starting with the preamble to the charter school referendum. And Bert “Little Goose” Brantley, formerly of Lowndes County, defends that wording.

Paul Crawley wrote for 11alive.com September 12 2012, Is Charter Schools Amendment wording biased?

Here we go again, apparently another ballot issue with questions about whether it’s worded fairly.

First, it was the July 31st transportation sales tax issue, known as T-SPLOST, which Georgia voters rejected overwhelmingly.

Opponents howled when they found out the ballot preamble wording promised to “create jobs” and “relieve traffic congestion”.

Now, opponents of a November ballot question are also crying foul.

They’re upset over the preamble wording for the Charter School Commission Amendment.

It reads, “Provides for improving student achievement and parental involvement through more public charter school options.”

How can the preamble say that?

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“No other state has had a positive outcome for a charter-positive ballot initiative” —former T-SPLOST proponents now pushing charter schools

The same people who pushed the failed T-SPLOST tax referendum on the July primary ballot are now pushing the charter school referendum on the November general election ballot. Four of their leaders are the same specific individuals, including one from right here in Lowndes County. They’re pushing something they admit has failed in every other state. Let’s not be the first to fall for it.

According to the Georgia Charter Schools Association (GCSA),

No other state has had a positive outcome for a charter-positive ballot initiative

So even one of the major proponents of charter schools admits no other state’s voters have thought they were a good idea. Their slides lay out a pair of statewide major money campaigns to push the referendum anyway.

We know about this because these slides fell into the hands of the AJC, and Jim Galloway published them today, saying:

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Charter school bait and switch

Proponents of the state-forced charter school constitutional amendment Mr. Moneybags on the November ballot have a website that is full of bait and switch. Most of it is about what they claim are the benefits of charter schools. But that’s not what the referendum is about. Local school boards can already authorize charter schools, and many of them have. The referendum would change the Georgia Constitution to authorize an appointed state board to force charter schools on local elected school boards that don’t want them, granting more money per student than in public schools, with the difference to be made up from local property and sales taxes. The most substantive thing I have found on the proponents’ website says that last is not so, but unconvincingly.

Tony Roberts, President of Georgia Charter Schools Association wrote to All Charter School Leaders and Board Members 7 August 2012, Response to Letter from Herb Garrett of Georgia Superintendents Association,

Tony Roberts One final, but important point, local school superintendents and board members were adamantly against any local dollars going to charter schools that were denied by a local school board. The final version of HB 797 was negotiated to ensure that was the case — the language is written right there into the law. So, to recap, they insist on no local money going to state-approved charters, and then get upset about the state money going to charters.

Curiously, he doesn’t cite that purported language. The closest thing I can find in HB 797 is a paragraph I already quoted:

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Public schools to be treated less favorably than state-dictated charter schools?

Do you want to pay more local taxes for state-dictated and state-run charter schools? Ellis Black (R-174) In HB 797, one of the state laws we’re being asked to ratify with the charter school referendum on the ballot in November, in addition to the magic accounting rules that would grant charter schools much more money per student than public schools, it would create a state-wide charter school board that will take away all oversight from the local school board for any charter schools the state imposes on any locality. Yet it does not provide additional state funding for the extra money per student for charter schools, and it does explicitly address assessed valuation of local taxes.

The state takes all control over local chartered schools from the local school board in section 2A(7), last paragraph:

Amy Carter (R-175) The local board shall not be responsible for the fiscal management, accounting, or oversight of the state chartered special school.

Yet the state provides no additional funding for the additional money per student for charter schools:

Jason Shaw (R-176) 2A(5) No deduction shall be made to any state funding which a local school system is otherwise authorized to receive pursuant to this chapter as a direct result or consequence of the enrollment in a state charter school of a specific student or students who reside in the geographical area of the local school system.

(6) Funding for state chartered special schools pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to appropriations by the General Assembly and such schools shall be treated consistently with all other public schools in this state, pursuant to the respective statutory funding formulas and grants.

The bill also inserts each of those paragraphs again elsewhere, in case the point wasn’t clear enough.

So where is the extra money to come from? Here’s a hint:

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Council Comments @ Hahira 2012-08-02

Here are the rest of the videos from the Hahira City Council meeting of 2 August 2012, including the very interesting scheduled agenda items in which each Council member, the City Manager, and the Mayor give their thoughts on issues relevant to the City of Hahira.

Here’s a video playlist of the entire meeting:

Regular Session, Hahira City Council (Hahira),
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Hahira, Lowndes County, Georgia, 2 August 2012.

Other city employees present included Continue reading →

Video Playlist Hahira City Council @ Hahira 2012-08-02

Here’s a video playlist of most of the Hahira City Council Regular Session of Thursday 2 August 2012. Hahira City Council (population about 2,800) spent more time in open public discussion about each of several individual agenda items than the Lowndes County Commission (population 111,000+) typically spends on an entire “open meeting”.

They held a millage hearing and lowered the milage. They discussed developer tap fees (nay), discussed the now-ritual topic of bidding for waste disposal ( nay), and approved a GEFA loan for a new water well (yea). A surprise vote on fixing a tractor (yea) was not on the agenda.

Near the beginning they still have Citizens to Be Heard. Maybe they’re not afraid of their citizens? Citizens mostly wanted to talk about the police chief’s proposal to fine people who didn’t mow their lawns.

A few more videos will be added, probably today, (now available as Council Comments) of the votes on cost of living increases (yea), SPLOST VII (yea), the consent agenda (yea), and council comments at the end of the session.

The agenda is below after the videos; thanks to City Manager Jonathan Sumner for sending it. Here’s the video playlist:

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Video Playlist Hahira City Council
Regular Session, Hahira City Council (Hahira),
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Hahira, Lowndes County, Georgia, 2 August 2012.

Agenda

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Library Board selects out-of-state architect for local library @ LCC 2012-07-24

The Library Board says no local architect was as qualified as the one they picked in Tallahassee to design a new local library here. The same Lowndes County Commission that just a month ago reappointed three members of the Library Board votes tomorrow evening on this bid selection.

Brittany D. McClure wrote for the VDT today, Library board selects architects: New main branch to be located at Five Points development

Clemons Rutherford & Associates (CRA) was chosen by the library


View Larger Map

board as the firm that will lead the design team for the new main library branch that will be moving next to the new municipal auditorium at Five Points.

Lowndes County Commissioners will vote Tuesday on the selection.

“The selection committee felt that the firm that was selected was the most qualified for the project as well as had the lowest estimate,” said Chad McLeod, Lowndes County project manager.

Though the selection process for agencies was directed by Lowndes County, the library board had input in the selection.

“The process to build the library began nearly three years ago at the county’s urging,” said Kay Harris, Library Board chairman.

Requests For Proposals (RFP’s) were advertised for 30 days, with 35 RFP’s requested by various agencies and architectural firms. Ten completed RFP’s were submitted to the county.

And when do we the taxpayers get to see these ten completed RFPs? Not unless somebody files an open records request and somebody else makes them available: it’s the county way!

OK, so why was CRA selected?

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Jody Hall is running for Lowndes County Commission District 5

Planting a sign Jody Hall is running for the Lowndes County Commission in the new District 5. Here’s his campaign website and his facebook page. I saw him at Valdosta Farm Days, 16 June 2012:

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Tanker truck turning from Hambrick Road onto Cat Creek Road, 20 June 2012

This tanker truck just barrelled down Hambrick Road faster than the speed limit and turned onto Cat Creek Road, even though Georgia 122 is less than a mile to the north, connecting to GA 125 (Bemiss Road) three miles to the east. Does this safety hazard to residents on a local road seem right to you? Yet this is the kind of thing Lowndes County T-SPLOST projects would promote.

Tanker truck turning from Hambrick Road onto Cat Creek Road, 20 June 2012
Pictures by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

Remember, the county wants to make this problem worse by widening Cat Creek Road and adding turn lanes at Pine Grove Road, Radar Site Road, New Bethel Road, and, you guessed it, Hambrick Road. The county wants to turn Cat Creek Road into a highway and Hambrick Road into a feeder highway. That project got cut from the non-discretionary T-SPLOST project list, but T-SPLOST also includes 15% discretionary funding, which will probably go to some of the projects that got cut if T-SPLOST gets funded.

And it’s not just Cat Creek Road. Also on the original T-SPLOST list was $3 million to widen Val Del Road and $10 million to widen New Bethel Road to the Lanier County line. And of course still on the approved list is $8 million to widen Old US 41 North from North Valdosta Road to Union Road. Even though $7.5 million for a bus system was cut first pass.

Which do you want, a new 1 cent sales tax on everything including food going to projects that promote sprawl and risk public safety? Or, if we really need new transporation projects, a gasoline tax going to projects that actually would benefit the public, including businesses, such as a bus system?

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