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According to a SurveyUSA poll of 574 voters, 38% of respondents plan to vote in favor of Amendment One or have already voted, 29% are opposed to the amendment, and a whopping 33% are undecided. While the data indicated the initiative is too close to call, WMAZ analyzed the data and found that:
• Voters, regardless of race, support Amendment One. African American voters support the amendment via a slightly higher margin.
• Age matters. Voters under age 50 generally support the amendment, while voters over 50 are generally opposed.
• Democrats, independents, liberals and moderates support the proposal by wide margins.
• Republicans and conservatives back Amendment One by slim margins. However, voters who describe themselves as "Tea Party members" are opposed, by a 7-point margin.
• People in the urban Atlanta area and northwest Georgia back the amendment. Voters in south and east Georgia are opposed, by a 1-point margin.
Advocates in support of the amendment claim that a state authorizing board is critical to future public charter school growth. These innovative public schools can serve the needs of a wide variety of students and teachers throughout the state.
In a recent opinion editorial, State Representative Mike Dudgeon cited his top ten reasons to support Amendment One. In an effort to silence critics, he stressed, “I honestly and sincerely believe that these state charter options will not negatively impact in any real way the kids who are in regular public or local charter schools.”
Further, Principal of Provost Academy Charter School Ms. Monica Henson claimed that getting the approval of districts is just too cumbersome for schools that serve students statewide. At Provost, most of her school's diverse minority and underprivileged students work from home from cities all over Georgia. "Because we serve students all across the state, for us to have to get approval from 180 school districts is unwieldy," she emphasized. "A statewide charter is the best way for a school like mine to come into existence."
Georgia Charter Schools Association Chief Executive Officer Tony Roberts echoed the sentiments about bureaucratic hurdles. Some school districts have more difficult requirements for authorization of a charter school and others are notorious for rejecting schools, he claimed. “There are 160 districts in Georgia that refuse to approve any charter schools,” stated Roberts. Clearly, students are suffering when districts flat out reject schools, regardless of merit.
Although education reform advocates are supporting the amendment in record numbers, even proponents admit that more public charter schools will not fix all of Georgia’s education problems. “I don’t think there are any silver bullets in public education,” said Todd Ziebarth, vice president for state advocacy and support at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “Charter schools are just another tool in the toolbox.”
Do you think Amendment One will pass?
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Originally posted by Ruthie at AAE.
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