Ivy Prep and the May 16th Supreme Court Decision
Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, July 8, 2011
By Sue Ella Deadwyler
Good morning, Jim. The Georgia Supreme Court ruled May 16th that Commission charter schools are unconstitutional, because they compete with general K – 12 schools for the same pool of students and do not qualify as “special schools.” The first 23 pages of the 24-page majority opinion were dedicated to determining whether charter schools are, actually, “special schools” under the State Constitution and Georgia laws. Having determined unconstitutionality on that question, alone, the Court did not rule on the remaining challenges to the law.
In her majority opinion Chief Justice Hunstein made this very succinct statement: “Labeling a commission charter school as ‘special’ does not make it so when the students who attend locally-controlled schools are no less special than those enrolled in commission charter schools and the subjects taught at commission charter schools are no more special than the subjects that may be available at locally-controlled schools.”
Georgia law defines “special schools” as vocational trade schools or schools that teach only certain subjects or schools for exceptional children or adult education or special needs students, such as deaf or blind children. A charter school for girls only does not qualify as a special school because local boards are also authorized to create single-sex schools.
The Court explained the difference between the Commission on Charter Schools and local boards of education this way. The members of local school boards live in their schools’ districts and are elected by parents and taxpayers in the residential area where local school taxes are raised. The Commission, on the other hand, is made up of seven political appointees selected by the governor, the lieutenant governor and Speaker of the House. Meaning, Commission members are not accountable in any way to voters, parents or taxpayers.
Gwinnett County’s complaint was that Commission charter schools, including Ivy Prep Academy, were funded with “an amount equal to the proportional share of local revenue from the student’s home district using only state funds.” But the fact is the money sent to Ivy Prep was not state money. The Georgia Department of Education was deducting Ivy Prep’s funding from Gwinnett County’s QBE earnings, although the Georgia Constitution does not allow locally levied school taxes to fund Commission charter schools.
Since August 2009 the Commission funding for each of Ivy Prep’s 216 students was $3,934.93. That means a total of $849,944 was taken from Gwinnett County school taxes to support Ivy Prep that was not chartered by the local school board and is not a “special school.” Parents with students in Ivy Prep were surprised when the principal shunned the Gwinnett County school board and went straight to the State Board of Education for a new charter, after the Supreme Court nullified Commission charters. Does that mean Ivy Prep wants nothing to do with a LOCALLY ELECTED board of education and would rather be chartered by the APPOINTED State Board of Education? For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.