Skip to content
Education

Education czar eyes Atlanta for next round of school takeover projects

A year and a half ago, Better Georgia and a coalition of teachers, parents and advocates fought hard to stop Gov. Nathan Deal from taking local control away from our public schools and handing them over to his handpicked, unelected education czar. Thanks to a lot of hard work by the coalition, voters overwhelmingly rejected Deal’s school takeover measure at the polls in 2016, marking a huge win for pro-public education Georgians. But instead of

Economy

Politicians are failing Georgia’s rural communities

Rural communities are in a bind, but policy makers on a state and federal level don’t seem up for the challenge. Georgia’s rural communities face poor employment prospects; the rural unemployment rate is more than twice the levels seen in the state’s urban hubs. Rural hospitals are shuttering, leaving behind communities without a key source of health care or employment. The lack of reliable broadband poses challenges for cultivating new business investments. And the list of

Education

Is Gov. Deal’s school takeover plan really dead?

Gov. Nathan Deal just appointed former legislator Mike Cheokas to the State Board of Education. Although there’s no definitive information available about what this means, it does give me pause. Cheokas lost his seat to Democrat Bill McGowan during the past election, in part over his support of Gov. Nathan Deal’s failed school takeover measure. The State Board of Education (SBOE) is tasked with supporting the state superintendent. The state super, Richard Woods, is someone

Casey Cagle

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle’s “education reforms” not promising

Education is going to be a hot issue down at the Gold Dome during the upcoming legislative session. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle wrote a book on education reform, Education Unleashed, and it’s not promising. Cagle, the ranking Republican overseeing the Senate, primarily promotes the standard Republican model: less government, less regulation and more privatization (in the form of charter schools and increased partnerships with businesses). And, unfortunately, it’s the things he fails to mention that cause the

Education

Education groups stepping up pressure on Gov. Deal for education reform

Teachers unions are asking for more from Gov. Nathan Deal after his school takeover plan failed, and Deal has to figure out how to respond. The Georgia Federation of Teachers, headed by Verdaillia Turner, wants to sit-down with Gov. Deal to discuss education. “It is time to raise the bar. Georgia voters sent a message that we can no longer pander to political agendas when it comes to schools and kids,” Turner told the AJC.

Education

Gov. Nathan Deal’s education failures

Gov. Nathan Deal has a legacy of failed education policies, from slashing billions of dollars in public school funding to pushing his for-profit corporate school agenda. So what makes his school takeover proposal any different? The short answer: nothing. On Election Day, November 8, an important ballot measure — officially called the “Opportunity School District” constitutional amendment — will be before voters. It’s a measure designed to strip local control from schools that the governor’s