BC-GA—Charter School, 2nd Ld-Writethru,0528

More Ga. school districts looking at charters

Eds: ADDS quotes, background, details on law.

By DORIE TURNER

Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA (AP) — As the state’s economy worsens, more Georgia school districts are considering converting entirely to charter schools to take advantage of the budgeting flexibility that comes with such a change.

More than a dozen Georgia school districts have shown interest in converting under a 2-year-old state law that has gotten little participation until now, said Andrew Broy, associate superintendent for policy and charter schools for the Georgia Department of Education. Districts that convert to charter systems are exempt from many public school regulations like class size limits and have more freedom to choose how they meet federal No Child Left Behind requirements.

So far, four public school systems have changed to charter districts under the 2007 law that made Georgia the third state in the nation to allow such conversions.

“I think there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the concept at first,” Broy said. “Now we’ve got a few systems that have done it and are talking to their colleagues across the state. The flexibility is something districts can use to weather the state’s fiscal challenges.”

The state school board will consider the latest group of charter applicants in spring 2010.

Under state law, each school in a charter district forms a committee of parents, teachers, administrators and community members to run the school. The committee makes recommendations on how to spend money, how large classes should be and what subjects to offer.

For Marietta city schools, one of the first districts in the state to get approval to be a charter system, the financial flexibility is a welcome relief when state funding is as scarce as it is this year, said Superintendent Emily Lembeck. Georgia is facing an expected $2 billion budget shortfall this year alone.

“If the state says X amount of dollars need to be spent in media centers and we need additional amounts of money to be moved to provide remedial services or to address signing bonuses to attract qualified math and science teachers, we don’t have to worry about having to remain within specific categories,” she said.

The 7,800-student district also has created a class period for high school students to address academic weaknesses with one-on-one instruction each day, a move that district officials hope will help increase the graduation rate, Lembeck said.

Three other districts gained state approval last year to convert to charter systems: Decatur city, Gainesville city and Warren County schools.

Broy said the state has received applications from three districts, has approved planning grants to four districts interested in converting to charters and received “letters of intent” from another five, Broy said.

“It wouldn’t surprise me at all if we don’t see more interest in coming months,” he said.

Just two other states — Florida and California — have provisions allowing existing school districts to convert to a charter system, according to the National Public Charter Schools Association. Texas lets groups start a public charter system from scratch.

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On the Net:

Georgia Department of Education charter schools division: http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/pea—charter.aspx

Marietta City Schools: http://www.marietta-city.k12.ga.us/