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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 18. 2010 — PAGE 3A
Leaders talk charter status possibilities
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
Madison County school
leaders are eying a switch to
a charter school system with
in the next couple of years,
which — among other things
— would provide more flex
ibility with state funding and
provide individual school
campuses with a little more
autonomy.
If the system is to pursue a
charter, the plan is to file for
it by November 2011.
Madison County Schools
Superintendent Mitch
McGhee recommended a
charter system plan to the
board of education (BOE)
at its Feb. 9 meeting but
couldn’t yet speculate about
what Madison County's
charter might look like.
“That’s why we’re taking
a year and a half,” McGhee
told the school board last
week. “We have to take that
time to get the input from
the teachers, the community,
all the different stakeholders
and everybody to develop
the charter.”
The state requires all
school systems to declare
one of three strategies by
2013 - a charter system, an
IE2 system or maintaining
the “status quo.”
Under a charter system,
Madison County could waive
strict state expenditure con
trols on areas like gifted, EIP
or career technical classes,
allowing extra money to be
spent elsewhere. But noth
ing is specific at this point.
That will be decided dur
ing the year-and-a-half plan
ning period prior to the 2011
“This really has
the potential to
take us to a higher
level up, to give
us an even better
boost.”
— Supt. Mitch
McGhee
charter petition.
A charter system does
require some form of shared
governance between the
local board of education
(BOE) and each school that
would have to be determined
in the charter. That means
more day-to-day decisions
could fall into an individual
school’s hands, but the BOE
would ultimately have veto
power.
“Y’all are still the govern
ing body, the policy-setting
body of the Madison County
School System,” McGhee
told the BOE.
How a school system gains
charter status is somewhat
vague, however.
A system must file a peti
tion with the state, and if
the state deems the plan,
“innovative,” a charter is
awarded.
Some school systems
have had petitions revoked
because they were not seen
as “innovative.”
“You just can’t continue to
do what you’ve been doing,”
McGhee said.
A school system must
renew its charter every five
years, though it doesn’t have
to prove itself innovative on
each occasion if the state
feels the original charter
plan is working.
As for the other two choices
offered by the state, the IE2
format doesn’t suit a school
system Madison County’s
size, McGhee said, and pro
claiming Madison County
Schools a “status quo” sys
tem — and all the bad con
notations that come with that
— is not an option.
Status quo systems won’t
be allowed any waivers from
state spending restrictions
either.
“The only people that are
going to end up there (sta
tus quo) are school systems
that are either asleep at the
wheel or really in disarray
or having leadership issues,”
McGhee said.
Systems currently chang
ing to a charter are receiv
ing about $100 per student
from the state for the switch.
But Madison County school
leaders expect those funds to
be depleted by the time they
petition in 2011.
“None of us believes that’s
going to be around a year
from now,” McGhee said.
Madison County school
leaders would have recom
mended going to a char
ter sooner, but the process
was even more vague in
the beginning and several
school systems were getting
rejected, McGhee said.
But he said system lead
ers now have a more solid
grasp on what it takes to
become a charter system,
having observed what other
school districts have gone
through.
McGhee wants to send
the state department of
education a letter in May,
proclaiming the Madison
County School System’s
intent to fde a charter peti
tion in November 2011.
“We’re not in a rush, but
we’re not really ahead of the
game either,” McGhee said.
“We’re about on schedule
to get this done in a timely
manner.”
After submitting its peti
tion for a charter, Madison
County School officials
could be summoned by the
state to justify their plans.
“We have to be prepared
to go in and do that as well,”
McGhee said.
The charter system being
considered by Madison
County is not to be confused
with the charter schools that
have recently caused a stir
— and lawsuits — in the
Atlanta area.
Those publicly-funded
schools were started with
out approval from a local
school board through the
Georgia Charter Schools
Association.
“What we’re talking
about are not those charter
schools,” McGhee said.
Though the process is in
the initial stages, McGhee
sees great potential in
Madison County becoming
a charter system.
“This really has the poten
tial to take us to a higher
level up, to give us an even
better boost,” he said. “So
we’re really exited about
it. We’re not viewing this
as something that unfortu
nately we have to do. This
is something we think that
could ready be positive.”
Bower announces candidacy for state senate seat
Oglethorpe County resi
dent Doug Bower, 62, has
announced his plans to
seek the 47th District State
Senate seat now held by
Ralph Hudgens. Hudgens,
who will run for state insur
ance commissioner, is not
seeking re-election.
Bower, a profession
al counselor and a for
mer Oglethorpe County
Commissioner, will qualify
as a Republican. His cam
paign theme is: “Enough is
enough.”
“We are going through
a very difficult econom
ic time,” Bower said.
“Therefore, I am going to
run a very low-budget cam
paign. If I can’t get elected
on the strength of the will
of the people, I am not
interested in holding a State
Senate seat.”
Bower, who lives in
Arnoldsville, first ran a
“nontraditional” campaign
for Congress in 1992 as
a Democrat, but said he
learned during the process
that he was a better match
Doug Bower
in the Republican Party. He
ran for the Georgia House
of Representatives as a
Republican in 1994, 1996
and 1998. He was elected
to the Oglethorpe County
Board of Commissioners
in 2002, served one term
and did not seek re-election.
He is a former chairperson
of the Oglethorpe County
GOP.
“I am also aware of the
disappointment in partisan
politics,” Bowers said. “It
is past time for elected offi
cials to work together to
address problems. We’ve
got to listen to the citizens
and to each other and find
workable solutions. If we
make decisions that don’t
have the desired effect, then
we need to change them
instead of blaming others
for the failure.”
Bower identified issues
during the campaign will
include education, transpor
tation infrastructure, health
and the economy as major
issues.
His educational back
ground includes an associ
ate of arts degree in nursing
from Manatee Community
College, Bradenton, FL., a
bachelor of science degree
in pre-med from Oglethorpe
University, Atlanta, a mas
ter of divinity degree from
Columbia Theological
Seminary, Decatur, and a
PhD in counseling from the
University.
He is circuit rider on the
Bishop Circuit, a part-time
appointment with the North
Georgia Conference of the
United Methodist Church.
He also operates Counseling
Ministries, which offers
short-term counseling “to
individuals struggling with
personal issues.”
Bower is an elder in the
North Georgia Conference
of the United Methodist
Church. He is a Kiwanian,
serves on the Oconee River
Resource Conservation and
Development Committee
and chairs the Special
Needs Committee of the
Host Committee of the
North Georgia Conference
of the United Methodist
Church.
He has served on the
Community Service Board
of Advantage Behavioral
Health Systems and
the Oglethorpe County
Senior Citizens Advisory
Committee. He served
on the boards of Action,
Inc., the Revenue and
Finance Committee of
the Association County
Commissioners of Georgia
and the United Way of
Northeast Georgia. He
chaired the Committee on
Native American Ministries
for the North Georgia
Conference of the United
Methodist Church.
Planners recommend
approval of 25-acre
rezoning on Hwy. 29
By Margie Richards
margie@mainstreetnews.com
County planners unanimously approved a developer’s request
to rezone 25 acres near Diamond Hill Ball Park from residen
tial to business use.
Anthony Phillips wants to rezone 25.5 acres from R-R (rural
residential, two-acre minimum) to B-2 (business) to combine
with an adjoining five-acre B-2 lot. The parcel is located at the
comer of Hwy. 29 South and Diamond Hill Colbert Road.
Attorney Victor Johnson, who represented Phillips at the
Tuesday night hearing, told the planning and zoning commis
sion that rezoning the 25.5-acre tract would put it in compli
ance with the county’s current land use plan, which calls for
commercial development along major highways. Johnson said
Phillips, who has the property for sale, has had no interest in it
for residential development, but that there has been interest in
the property for commercial use.
Neighbor John Barton, whose property is located direcdy
across from the tract, reminded planners that the property was
first requested to be rezoned in 2005, but was denied by both
the planning commission and the board of commissioners. The
property was subsequently granted the rezoning in 2006, fol
lowing a lawsuit.
“This rezone is not as straightforward as Mr. Johnson would
have you believe,” Barton said.
Barton said there were concerns at the time that rezoning a
portion of the property as commercial would ultimately result
in the entire 30 acres being rezoned for business.
“The rezone at B2 becomes much more contentious at 30
acres,” Barton said. He voiced concerns about traffic conges
tion and water contamination, adding that there are historic
properties nearby.
Barton said the reason Phillips has not been able to sell the
property is simply because he has it priced too high for today’s
market at $14,000 per acre.
“It is exceptionally high priced,” Barton said. ”... We should
not be potentially put at risk to salvage an individual’s bad
business decision.”
Planning chairman Wayne Douglas said the area is in a com
mercial zone on the current comprehensive plan and that a
lot of concerns expressed by Barton are now addressed in the
county’s zoning ordinance, which is designed to protect resi
dents in the area.
The county board of commissioners will have the final say on
this and other rezoning matters at the regular business meeting
on March 1 at 6:30 p.m.
In other hearings, the commission approved requests by:
•Susan Berryman to rezone 6.16 acres on Cheek Pulliam
Road from A-l to R-R to subdivide two acres for her son.
•Walter Smith to rezone 4.49 acres on Shirley Road from A-2
to R-R to subdivide two acres for his son.
•Mark Hansford to rezone .6 acre of 26.7 acres on Hwy. 72
from A-2 to B-2.
Play about Madison
County returns Feb. 26-28
“A Good Life” — a play consisting of county tales and
folklore re-enacted by locals — returns to Madison County
Feb. 26-28 in three separate venues. The play will follow the
same script as the original 2008 production.
The play opens Friday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. at Trinity Baptist
Church. The play moves to Springfield Baptist Church
Saturday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. Sunday
matinee at the Madison County Senior Center.
Admission is $5.
“A Good Life” premiered at the Madison County High
School theater two years ago.
The cast comprises 25 members, most of whom were part
of the original production, and is directed by Carlton actress
Stephanie Astalos-Jones.
“A Good Life” is funded by Georgia Council for the Arts
and the Grassroots Arts Program through a grant written by
the Madison County Library.
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