Chuck Sims against Public Schools

he and others will again vote on Charter schools

what this means is that private and even parochial schools can declare themselves charter schools and take away funding from local public schools to set up or continue their own little schools without answering to anyone

it is the equivalent of stealing state funds but it won't be stealing because they will have the legislature's permission

he has voted for this and the legislature will vote on it again next week - this was voted down last week but he and others will not let it die

Chuck may get your vote but he will never get mine again

D.U.I.

He may be an old drunk but charter schools produce better educated students than do most public schools. The most visible difference is disciplined students whom are focused on learning, thereby eliminating most distractions found in public schools.

It all about the power and who has it. All of them could care less about the education of the children. Local and state

I hope the State Charter School bill is pasted. Maybe then we can open some Charter Schools in Coffee Co. and get our kids out of this mess of a system.

If they open charter schools in the county only the ones in the clic will be going to school there all the rest of us will still be stuck with the F Up school system that we have and paying for the one in the clic to really get a education

Charter and private schools offer what is commonly known as competition and competition in any business leads to better outcomes.

The easiest solution is vouchers. But I have a slightly different twist on them. Based on my research, it appears that we spend about $8,000 a year per pupil in Coffee County. CCA costs around $5,000 a year to attend. That is 37% less than the public schools. So if we told parents that they could get a voucher for 60% of what their county spends (each county spends a different amount) and the public system would keep the other 40%. So here in Coffee, the parents would get $4,800 that they could spend at whatever school they wanted and the public school system would get the other $1,200.

At first, this may seem like the public school is getting stiffed, but it isn't. It is actually making out like a bandit. If a parent chooses to send their child to another school, then enrollment is decreased, but revenue per pupil is increased. As an example: 1,000 kids =$8,000,000 or $8,000 per pupil. If 300 kids left the public school system with a 60% voucher, there would now be 700 kids =$5,600,000 PLUS $360,000 (300 x $1,200) for a total of $5,960,000 or $8,514 per pupil. So by kids leaving the public system, class sizes are reduced and spending per pupil is increased. Is this not what educators and parents are ALWAYS asking for? Smaller class sizes and more money? If the "best" kids leave, it gives the schools a more narrow group of kids to focus/refine their teaching methods and with more money, they will be able to have more resources (learning aides, teachers, etc.) to better help their students.

This is a WIN/WIN for everyone involved.#1) Parents get a choice.#2) Parents will be spending their money (it was theirs in the first place before it became tax revenue) at the school of their choice, so they will be more involved.#3) The class sizes in the public schools will be smaller.#4) The public schools will have more money per pupil.#5) There will be competition among educational institutions which will make them all strive to become better in order to stay open. In the same way that colleges compete for students.

TEA Partay wrote:

Charter and private schools offer what is commonly known as competition and competition in any business leads to better outcomes.
The easiest solution is vouchers. But I have a slightly different twist on them. Based on my research, it appears that we spend about $8,000 a year per pupil in Coffee County. CCA costs around $5,000 a year to attend. That is 37% less than the public schools. So if we told parents that they could get a voucher for 60% of what their county spends (each county spends a different amount) and the public system would keep the other 40%. So here in Coffee, the parents would get $4,800 that they could spend at whatever school they wanted and the public school system would get the other $1,200.
At first, this may seem like the public school is getting stiffed, but it isn't. It is actually making out like a bandit. If a parent chooses to send their child to another school, then enrollment is decreased, but revenue per pupil is increased. As an example: 1,000 kids =$8,000,000 or $8,000 per pupil. If 300 kids left the public school system with a 60% voucher, there would now be 700 kids =$5,600,000 PLUS $360,000 (300 x $1,200) for a total of $5,960,000 or $8,514 per pupil. So by kids leaving the public system, class sizes are reduced and spending per pupil is increased. Is this not what educators and parents are ALWAYS asking for? Smaller class sizes and more money? If the "best" kids leave, it gives the schools a more narrow group of kids to focus/refine their teaching methods and with more money, they will be able to have more resources (learning aides, teachers, etc.) to better help their students.
This is a WIN/WIN for everyone involved.#1) Parents get a choice.#2) Parents will be spending their money (it was theirs in the first place before it became tax revenue) at the school of their choice, so they will be more involved.#3) The class sizes in the public schools will be smaller.#4) The public schools will have more money per pupil.#5) There will be competition among educational institutions which will make them all strive to become better in order to stay open. In the same way that colleges compete for students.

Not at all right...

Public schools earn revenue based on FTE (Full Time Equivalency) counts. If students leave a system in large numbers, the system loses money allocated for those students. The net result is the same or even less funding per student.

And for those of you confused about charter schools, they ARE public schools. They just get a pass so they don't have to play by the same rules as other public schools. If you really want to see a change in how our public schools work, we should consider becoming a charter system. That would free all Coffee schools to do what works for children and not just what the state mandates.

There is no accountability for charter schools. What would prevent a cult from deciding to open a "charter school?" Why would we want to segregate our schools yet once again? The majority of Chuck Sims constituents are against this. Why does he not listen to the voice of the people? The Atlanta boys have him in their pockets!!! He is a disgrace!!!

what is goggans doing

Vote Yes for Charter Schools!

Out with the old thinking and in with the new.

Vote yes, the old education system is a disgrace compared to the tech world of today. Make the schools muster up and sell themselves.

Better teachers, better students, and better PARENTS make public school work.

If you want a private school that doesn't have to follow the public rules, pay for it your damn self.

Simple as that. This "new" crap is for the birds.

Sims is an idiot, btw. He is doing what the republicans want. Check back in a few and he'll vote the other way.

Boom.

No Name wrote:

There is no accountability for charter schools. What would prevent a cult from deciding to open a "charter school?" Why would we want to segregate our schools yet once again? The majority of Chuck Sims constituents are against this. Why does he not listen to the voice of the people? The Atlanta boys have him in their pockets!!! He is a disgrace!!!

We already have a cult run school...CCA.

Do charter schools have the same mandates as far as special education is concerned?

FuzzyMath wrote:

<quoted text>
Not at all right...
Public schools earn revenue based on FTE (Full Time Equivalency) counts. If students leave a system in large numbers, the system loses money allocated for those students. The net result is the same or even less funding per student.
And for those of you confused about charter schools, they ARE public schools. They just get a pass so they don't have to play by the same rules as other public schools. If you really want to see a change in how our public schools work, we should consider becoming a charter system. That would free all Coffee schools to do what works for children and not just what the state mandates.

Well, so much for my common sense thinking. I guess I forgot that we were talking about the government here.

I'm in favor of charter schools, but I believe our poor state of education is more driven by the parents of the kids who come through the doors each day. You can take every kid in the Coffee County school system and put them in a charter school. If they don't behave better and study more, they won't do any better than they are now. Both of those behaviors are directly driven by the parents. For far too many parents, public education has become a baby sitting service instead of the foundation and stepping stone that will help propel their child to a better life. The children of this great nation are given the greatest of opportunities to get an education and so many of them squander it. Then in adulthood, they complain that they can't get ahead and that it isn't fair. Life is a series of choices and your choices lead you to where you are.

How would a " charter school " benefit a child any more than their parents being involved EVERYDAY in their child's education????? Public, private or anything in between, your child is going to pattern their desire to learn and seek knowledge after the role models in their lives. Cause those that do are going to turn the spigot off soon enough for those who don't.

Chuck Sims and every other representative needs to spend ONE day in a teachers shoes. at a title one school not those rich fancy schools. Then he will be qualified to make decisions when it comes to education.

Charter schools are all fine and dandy if you don't have a child with special needs or discipline issues. Charter schools, like private, do not have to accept these kids. They can and do discriminate. Thus picking and choosing their "kind" of student increases the likelihood that they will have a high "success" rate compared to schools that have to accept anyone that walks into their doors. Yep...private and charter schools are much more successful than public schools, just like the house always wins in Vegas!

Fine and Dandy wrote:

Charter schools are all fine and dandy if you don't have a child with special needs or discipline issues. Charter schools, like private, do not have to accept these kids. They can and do discriminate. Thus picking and choosing their "kind" of student increases the likelihood that they will have a high "success" rate compared to schools that have to accept anyone that walks into their doors. Yep...private and charter schools are much more successful than public schools, just like the house always wins in Vegas!

Very good point. I wonder if we would have such a clamour for charter schools if our public schools were allowed to ability group the kids so that teachers wouldn't be forced to spend the majority of their time trying to bring up the lowest in their class to pass the standardized tests? If we could put the top level kids together, give them one teacher and PUSH them, we'd get a whole lot more out of them than what we're getting now. We could then take the next group of kids and give them a teacher and a parapro and PUSH them. Then take the lowest 1/3 and give them a teacher and two parapros and help get them up to speed. To me, this is plain ol' common sense. But it's our Federal government who will not allow us to ability group because we accept their money for education. The inclusion model is an abject failure, yet we have to continue using it b/c the "enlightened" ones think that it "ought to work". When you boil it all down, this is crux of the issue. Charter schools ability group the kids and achieve better outcomes. This is what parents and REAL educators, intuitively, know that works.