Georgia is in the midst of an intense debate over a proposed charter school amendment that will be on the ballot in November. Whatever your position, you need to read my story and ask Sen. Jeff Mullis not to support or lobby for Gulen-affiliated charter schools in your town.
I have first-hand experience with a serious problem at a charter school that was solved by the local school board, and that is why I will vote "no" on the charter amendment.
Sen. Jeff Mullis, District 53, like a majority of the Republican legislators, is a proponent of the charter school amendment. Sen. Mullis has also worked with and traveled to Turkey with members of the Istanbul Center. The Istanbul Center is affiliated with the largest charter school group in the country, commonly known as Gulen charter schools. The Gulen movement is complicated. It is common practice for the group to offer free trips to Turkey, awards and campaign donations to politicians, and in my area and across the country that has turned into politicians blindly lobbying for Gulen charter schools that are breaking the rules. Visit this link at turkishinvitations.weebly.com.
If I lived in District 53, I would be asking Sen. Mullis not to support or lobby for charter applications associated with the Gulen movement. Over the last few weeks, I have e-mailed and called Sen. Mullis' office asking for his feedback from the trip and his position on Gulen charter schools. Sen. Mullis did not respond.
Gulen-affiliated charter schools are only an example of charter groups willing to skirt the rules, and people should be aware that charter schools regulations are not fool proof.
The problems I encountered at Fulton Science Academy Charter School in Alpharetta, Ga., could not have been anticipated by our local and state board of education or by educators across the country. The proper charter school board protocol did not work because the group running the school was not transparent. I asked for help from the local school board and from my legislator, Rep. Jan Jones, who also crafted the charter school amendment. It was the local school board that took action. Proponents of the amendment declare that if a charter school is performing, it will remain open, and if it is not performing, it will close. It's not that simple when a charter group is willing to break the rules.
It is irresponsible of Gov. Nathan Deal, Jan Jones and our legislators to lobby for a constitutional amendment that does not stop the known problematic consequences of charter schools.
Problem? My son attended Fulton Science Academy charter school for three years when I found out about problems that also led to my learning that the school was being operated by followers of the influential Turkish imam, Fethullah Gulen.
Fulton Science Academy’s problems were serious and later validated by an external audit commissioned by the local school board. Details can be found in this New York Times article, "Audits for 3 Georgia Charter Schools Tied to Gulen Movement," by Stephanie Saul.
Turns out the Gulen movement was the least of my worries.
The real problem? Legislators with tunnel vision, hoping to open the Georgia education frontier to more charter groups at any cost. My legislators demonstrated that they will look the other way as long as a school has high test scores. The legislators were willing to ignore financial mismanagement and reported federal investigations.
It was the local school board that held Fulton Science Academy accountable and did not renew its charter. The local school board did the right thing, even after politicians pressed for the board to reverse their decision. My experience is a critical example of why local control is necessary. The local school board took action and politicians would not help.
Amending the constitution is serious business. Don't vote for an amendment to the Georgia Constitution that contains weak legislation and does not address current problems we face in our state, and ask Sen. Mullis not to lobby for this group.
Details about Fulton Science Academy, including the letter I sent to the governor and legislators asking for help, can be found at www.georgiacharterschooldisgrace.com.
Dana Teegardin, Roswell, Ga.
1.) Why is the state asking for power to do something they already have the power to do? If the local school board denies the charter, they can appeal to the state.
2.) We can not afford to fund a parallel school system on tax dollars. Our schools operating budgets are already underfunded. In Walker County class sizes increased dramatically this year because of the cut of teachers. How in the world can we afford to fund a competing school when we are already struggling with what we have? Even private schools are dipping into our tax dollars to the tune of $50 million in Georgia (the Goal Scholarship).
If we have problems with our school systems, fix them. If the problem is family support of thier kids, maybe we should just acknowledge that fact and quit blaming teachers. The truth of the matter, I'm sure lies somewhere in the middle.
I will be voting an emphatic NO on ammendment 1.
After reading all blogs written about Gulen Charter Schools Myth, in my opinion, those bloggers have a different political view so they don't like all Charter schools, not only FSA.
http://so-calledgulencharterschools.blogspot.com/ http://gulenschools.org http://fethullahgulenhizmetmovement.blogspot.com/ http://gulen4universalpeace.blogspot.com/
Precisely. Well said. For all of the scare stories being promulgated about this amendment (including in this newspaper), the fact is, this amendment wouldn't have very much effect here in North Georgia (north of Atlanta). The schools here are already a cut above the norm (as evidenced by the fact that people try to sneak their kids into our schools if they live in nearby Hamilton County). So we are not going to see an explosion of charter schools here in the immediate area any time soon. BUT...
If you have ever watched the goings-on in Clayton County (Accreditation loss) and the Atlanta Public Schools (CRCT cheating and the ringleader goes free),then here is a chance to do something that you ordinarily can't do- Vote to end that kind of corruption and union enabled destruction of public schools by taking some of the power out of the hands of the thugs that run things there. This amendment would allow the state to charter schools even if those union bosses and their cronies tried to stand in the way to protect their incompetent,corrupt staffs.And YOU (up here in 'lil 'ol Walker and Catoosa counties) can help make the difference by voting yes.Again, it won't really affect you that much,but it could mean that the corrupt crowd in Atlanta is brought down a notch or two. And that's a good thing.
Plus, think of this as an insurance policy. If the locals ever start getting too drunk on power and perks,this assures you that you can do something about it.It means that the threat of having some competition among public schools is real and that they know that we have some options.There is NO downside to having options.
This amendment will not take any power to approve a charter school away from the local school board. they can already approve one. This just means that if they turn one down for selfish reasons,parents have a safety valve that will force them to do the right thing even if it means stepping on some union toes.Again, more options.
The Economist weighed in on this recently. It's a great read (The Economist is a great magazine). here's a link. The Economist is London based (but has bureaus all over the world) so, they don't have a dog in the fight in Georgia. they won't try to scare you by telling you politically charged lies. Read for yourself (I promise you won't be bored!)
http://www.economist.com/node/21558265
Vote Yes !
First of all the school accused (never even proven) of being a part of the Gulen movement was approved and monitored for 10 YEARS by Fulton County. This school has nothing, nada, zilch to do with this amendment. But by the way, the state denied them, too when they appealed there.
Secondly, you all need to read HB 797. http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/display/20112012/HB/797
Pay close attention to lines 186 - 235 which clearly makes it impossible for a state charter to be affiliated with something such as the Gulen movement.
As usual, the opposition grasps at straws and throws everything they can at the wall to see what sticks.
People, don't buy the nonsense and flat lies the opposition is peddling. Do your homework and I feel certain you will VOTE YES!
HB797, in theory, starts to provide regulations for the state charter commission schools.
I have read lines 186-235. Please note, in Tennessee, the citizenship of charter school staff and board members has been determined to be "constitutionally suspect" and I will be challenged in court.
I am sure that Georgia will follow suit.
MP,
HB797, in theory, starts to provide regulations for the state charter commission schools.
I have read lines 186-235. Please note, in Tennessee, the citizenship of charter school staff and board members has been determined to be "constitutionally suspect" and will be challenged in court.
I am sure that Georgia will follow suit.
Read more: CatWalkChatt - Charter school amendment Sen Mullis and Gulen affiliated charter schools
You Amerikans have a problem and you need to rid your country of the Gulen Movement (Hizmet or Cemaat) before your country is controlled by them as Turkiye is.
Education, media, politics, interfaith dialog, police, judiciary system, and now the military in Turkey. It is as serious as a heart attack my Amerikan friend.
I have been watching and speaking with members of Hizmet for over 8 years.
Teegardin has it correct, this amendment should not pass and Hizmet always finds another way to cheat, lie, manipulate, cajole, bribe, blackmail, intimidate to gain their share of power.
They are already in 140 countries and it is getting harder and harder for them.
The schools are not great, mediocre at best. But the Gulencis know how to hype it up with visits from politicians or other nonsense.
Mullis is just one of the many tools of the trade used by the movement. Some have been destroyed after their association with the Gulencis like Senator McGee in Idaho (that was a real embarassment) left office among a sexual misconduct just days before he was to co-host a Turkish Friendship luncheon at the State Rotunda. Or there is Jean Schmidt of Ohio, defeated after an embarassment of free legal service from the Turkish Coalition of America. Not to mention the latest former School Superintendant of Arizona (now State Attorney General) Tom Horne<---under investigation by the FBI.
The scandals will continue and this group loves a good Turkish Soap Opera.
Take a lock at the other politicians in the pockets of the Gulen Movement.
http://www.gulenpoliticians.blogspot.com