Superintendent runoff pits Big Business against parents and teachers | The Augusta Chronicle

In the battle for the Republican nomination for state school superintendent, the last men standing offer starkly different visions for Georgia education.

Representing the education and corporate establishments is Mike Buck, current chief academic officer for the Georgia Department of Education. His opponent is Richard Woods, a former educator who vows to listen to parents and teachers more than to the other stakeholders in the education debate. Voters have a clear choice.

On one level, this race turns on public opinion concerning the Common Core national standards, which Georgia has implemented on Buck’s watch, and which he strongly defends (though carefully avoiding the actual words “Common Core”). He lists among his endorsements state Reps. Brooks Coleman and Randy Nix, two of the most enthusiastic Common Core proponents in the Georgia House of Representatives.

By contrast, Woods opposes Common Core as an ill-advised, unconstitutional nationalization and federalization of education. His more numerous endorsements include state Sen. William Ligon, the leader in the anti-Common Core fight in the Georgia legislature.

But on a deeper level, the race illustrates a fundamental disagreement over the purpose of education and over who, rightly, should be in charge.

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