Georgia House approves more state involvement in failing schools

By a 138-37 vote, the Georgia House has approved a bill that could mean state intervention for about a dozen low-performing schools in Middle Georgia.

Under the bill, Georgia would hire a chief turnaround officer to spearhead change in the schools that the state counts as the worst performers.

In Macon-Bibb County, the elementary schools on the list as of January are: Barden (which closed in 2016), Brookdale, Bruce, Hartley, Martin Luther King Jr., Riley, Southfield, and Union. The other schools are Ballard-Hudson and Appling middle schools, plus Southwest High School.

In surrounding counties, the list includes Peach County’s Hunt Elementary School and Twiggs County High School.

“What we’re looking for is partnership” involving the state, school systems and communities, said state Rep. Kevin Tanner, R-Dawsonville, explaining his House Bill 338.

His bill comes months after Georgia voters turned down an earlier school turnaround plan. The state PTA and groups representing school boards, teachers and others fought the 2016 plan, arguing that it lacked new money, details and meaningful local involvement. The Bibb County Board of Education also opposed it.

But Tanner said his bill is different.

An important feature, he said, is a focus on two areas that cause schools to fail: leadership and “external factors.” External factors mean things in a community that are barriers to learning, including poverty, lack of internet access, poor economic development and jobs and lack of transportation.

The bill requires the turnaround officer to have top-level experience at public schools and the hiring of “turnaround coaches.” And those leaders will look at a community’s “external factors.” They will also be able to help schools apply for state grants for things like extra reading programs for young children who start school unable to read very well.

The state House’s highest-ranking Democrat, Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, opposed the 2016 plan but supported Tanner’s bill.

“By adopting HB 338, we will begin to do our jobs,” the Atlanta lawmaker said. She said she agrees with people who say the state needs more investment in its schools, but that the bill is a good first step.

However, most of the “no” votes came from Democrats, including two from Macon-Bibb.

“An issue as significant as schools should be voted on by the general public. So if you’re going to change it, if you really want to have local input, then you should let local folk vote on that,” said state Rep. James Beverly, just after his “no” vote.

State Rep. Miriam Paris also said the voice of voters needs to be heeded, and she’s also concerned that new grant funds are subject to the state’s annual budgeting process.

“I’m just not sure … that that money is going to be available,” she said.

The bill now moves to the state Senate.

This story was originally published March 1, 2017 at 3:10 PM with the headline "Georgia House approves more state involvement in failing schools."