Getting the money to start a charter school in Georgia could be a bit easier if a bill recently passed by the Georgia House of Representatives becomes law.
House Bill 897, sponsored by Rep. Mike Dudgeon, R-Johns Creek, would allow the State Charter Schools Commission to set up a nonprofit foundation to assist charter schools.
Some school districts and individual traditional public schools already have such foundations to accept charitable contributions.
Money for facilities and to complete the paperwork associated with applying for a charter is a major roadblock for those who want to start a charter school. If HB 897 becomes law — it passed the House by a vote of 120-51 and is likely to find a receptive audience in the Senate — the State Charter Schools Commission would be able to set up a foundation that would use private contributions to give charter schools start-up grants.
Charter schools are public schools given organizational and instructional flexibility in exchange for a promise to pursue specific academic targets. Supporters see them as an alternative for students trapped in underperforming traditional public schools. Others say that charters are too often held up as a sort of cure for public education. They complain that the focus on them comes at the expense of traditional public schools, where the vast majority of Georgia students are educated.
There were 310 charter schools in Georgia during the 2012-2013 school year, according to an annual report on charters compiled by the state Department of Education. Most of those charter schools were approved by local school boards and share funding with the traditional public schools those boards oversee.
via Georgia House passes several bills to help charter schools | www.myajc.com.
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