Newspaper Page Text
The Champion, Thursday, Feb. 19 - 25, 2015
EDUCATION
PAGE 19A
Deal unveils
Opportunity School
District legislation
Georgia Perimeter representation on the Georgia Perimeter/Georgia State consolidation committee includes
administrators, faculty, staff and students
Committee to assess
needs for new institution
by Ashley Oglesby
ashley@dekalb champ, com
Chancellor Hank Huck-
aby appointed 42 members
to its Georgia State Univer
sity (GSU) and Georgia Pe
rimeter College (GPC) con
solidation implementation
committee to assist in merg
ing the two institutions.
Huckaby appointed the
committee following the
January approval by the Uni
versity System of Georgias
(USG) Board of Regents.
The GPC and GSU
consolidation implementa
tion committee met for the
first time Jan. 30 at the USG
Board of Regents office in
Atlanta.
During the next 18
months, the committee
will craft the mission state
ment, goals and direction
of the new institution. The
team—which includes GPC
President Rob Watts, Geor
gia State President Dr. Mark
Becker and 21 representa
tives from each institution—
will be guided by Shelley
Nickel, USG vice chancellor
for strategic planning and
implementation, and led
by Becker, who will preside
over the consolidated insti
tution as the president.
One of the major tasks
for the group will be leading
onsite subcommittees that
will be working out details
of how the consolidated in
stitution will operate.
The implementation
team also will be responsible
for submitting documents
required for accreditation,
assessing the needs and
infrastructure of the new
consolidated intuition and
approving recommendations
regarding campus structure,
programs and locations.
“It is essential that the
consolidation will benefit
both institutions and specifi
cally the students enrolled,
I think that will be the case.
The old adage that there is
strength in numbers is often
true and the consolidated
GSU will command enor
mous respect and resources,”
said Dr. Paul Hudon, GPC
history professor and com
mittee member.
He added, “When funds
are saved in the consolida
tion they will be plowed
right back into the con
solidated institution for the
benefit of all of its students.
GSU and GPC have a long
history of students and fac
ulty in common, and they
have derived benefits from
both institutions.”
The GPC and GSU
merge will make the new
institution the largest within
the states system of public
colleges and universities
with almost 54,000 students.
“As an alumnus of GSU
and a faculty member at
GPC, I have a deep love for
both of these distinguished
institutions of higher learn
ing, and I believe their best
years are ahead of them,”
Hudson said.
He said his vision for
the merger is to “see a great
research university with re
sponsive access campuses,
stretching from downtown
through much of metropoli
tan Atlanta.”
“I believe it will serve
for the determined better
ment of diverse students
on the associate (two-year),
undergraduate (four-year)
and graduate levels,” said
Hudson.
Hudson said, he did not
know how the consolidated
institution will affect tuition
and admissions. “My hope
is that there will be due
diligence given to the role
of access institutions, which
is an important role at GPC
currently.”
He added, “I hope the
consolidation will bring
together coherently the
strengths of both GSU and
GPC and in the process
make both of them more ef
fective. I really believe GPC,
as it largely functions now,
will be a vital component of
GSU.”
On Feb. 11 Gov. Nathan
Deals Senate floor leader
Butch Miller (R-Gaines-
ville) introduced legislation
to create an Opportunity
School District that will al
low the state to temporarily
step in to assist chronically
failing schools.
“While Georgia boasts
many schools that achieve
academic excellence every
year, we still have too many
schools where students
have little hope of attain
ing the skills they need to
succeed in the workforce or
in higher education,” Deal
said. “We have a moral duty
to do everything we can to
help these children. Fail
ing schools keep the cycle
of poverty spinning from
one generation to the next.
Education provides the only
chance for breaking that
cycle. When we talk about
helping failing schools, were
talking about rescuing chil
dren. I stand firm on the
principle that every child
can learn, and I stand equal
ly firm in the belief that the
status quo isn’t working.”
In the governors pro
posal, persistently failing
schools are defined as those
scoring below 60 on the
Georgia Department of
Education’s accountability
measure, the College and
Career Performance Index,
for three consecutive years.
The Opportunity School
District would take in no
more than 20 schools per
year, meaning it would gov
ern no more than 100 at any
given time. Schools would
stay in the district for no
less than five years but no
more than 10 years.
Deal
“I would like nothing
more than for the need for
the Opportunity School
District to decline every
year; that would show our
reforms are working,” Deal
said. “But everyone - re
gardless of where they stand
on this issue - can agree
that today there is a need.
We know from other states
such as Louisiana and Ten
nessee that these programs
can produce positive results
for students and communi
ties.
“Educational opportu
nity opens the door to the
American dream. We can’t
guarantee that every child
will achieve, but we must do
everything in our power to
make sure they at least get
the chance.”
Creating the Opportu
nity School District requires
a constitutional amend
ment. Deal this session will
work with legislators to put
the amendment on the 2016
ballot and to pass enabling
legislation that will govern
how the district operates.