Teacher, Pastor, File Suit Over Language in Charter Schools Amendment

(click headline for full story)

What does this have to do with cell towers?  It is the belief of GTCO-ATL and many others that the cell tower push for our schools is related to an ALEC  initiative to allow private companies take over the education of many of our children through virtual schools.  ALEC is the  American Legislative Exchange Council that allows corporations to initiate model bills to Congress that help them carry out their profit goals often at the expense of the health and safety of our citizens.  ALEC is most well-known as pushing forth the legislation that was controversial for its use in the Travon Martin shooting in Florida which says that it is okay to shoot another human being simply if you claim that you "felt threatened" at the time you pulled the trigger   Since the other person may not be alive to tell their side of the story, and since your feelings about something are really only known to you, this bill is very controversial because, some say, it legalizes murder under certain circumstances that are very subjective.

Since current charter school rules include the fact that there must be a physical site in order to open a charter, the only way for the ALEC plans to move ahead would be to establish a separate authorization board, the charter commission.  This commission will not be responsive to parents as it is not an elective body.  Its members will only need to be concerned with the profitability of the businesses that are assisting with the campaign finances for the few, corrupt Republicans who are pushing through the Amendment with misleading wording that seeks to hide the truth from the voters and trick them into approving it.  The outcome of this lawsuit may determine the future of the charter commission which will, in turn, determine whether or not we will see more and more cell towers pop up in our neighborhoods and on our school grounds, even with the knowledge that the radiation they emit is labeled as a possible human carcinogen with the largest at-risk population being children.

From the Athens Patch  Filed in Atlanta, the lawsuit claims the language is misleading.

• By Rebecca McCarthy

Opponents of Amendment 1, which provides for a Charter Schools Commission, have long criticized the language of the ballot itself as misleading. As an earlier Athens Patch story says,

Senate Democrats criticized the latest move by proponents of a November charter schools ballot amendment today, calling a new ballot preamble "biased, inaccurate and electioneering at its worst."

"As it was written in March, the charter schools question on the November ballot was misleading. The addition of a preamble to the ballot question heightens the inaccuracy," said Senate Democratic Leader Steve Henson of Tucker. "The preamble language adds to the bias and subjectivity of what citizens will be voting on. The language intends to mislead voters in an effort to ensure a specific outcome. This is not democracy."

Now, a Dalton teacher and an Atlanta pastor have filed a lawsuit against Gov. Nathan Deal, Lt. Gov Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp, requesting the amendment not to be enforced, even if voters approve it. The suit was filed in Fulton County Superior Court, according to a story in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The ballot language and a preamble that describes it are “affirmatively and purposely misleading,” says a lawsuit filed by Rev. Timothy McDonald, senior pastor at Atlanta's First Iconium Baptist Church, and teacher Beverly Hedges, who has been teaching for 22 years, according to the story.

ALEC's Next Generation Charter Schools Act Exposed

This is what Amendment One in Georgia is all about. Please read and join those of us who are informed so you can vote NO on Nov. 6.

It is not about charter schools. We already have them. It is not about an appeals process. We already have that, too. It is about money and a battle for your child's mind. If you do not trust the people who practically legalized murder with the "Stand Your Ground" laws, then why trust them to educate our future generation?

The state of Georgia continues to rob our schools of funding, removing $100 million a year from DeKalb to redistribute to other school districts. Now they want to remove even MORE money while telling parents their kids will be better served by staying home, attending school online with teachers from out of state who are underpaid and overworked and bringing lawsuits against their corrupt employers.

Don't let Georgia become the next state to make this costly mistake! Just because the Amendment says "charter" does not mean it is for the good of the children. And, just because our current school board has failed us, doesn't mean we can't work together to elect more responsible people in 2014.

Amendment One will remove your right to elect the people making decisions about schools by granting the Governor the right to appoint a council to approve charter schools even when our local board is against the idea.

A commission was formed and then found to be unconstitutional, but their track record speaks for itself. They approved schools that may be functioning well today, but only because they had to modify their charters to comply with the law after the commission was deemed unconstitutional by the Georgia Supreme Court. The commission was approving schools that discriminate against students, limit their allowable attendance zone and turn away students that do not fit their model. That's not the spirit in which charters were founded and will not help children who are in the greatest need. The commission was approving a re-segregation plan for Georgia, based on sex, economic class, and whether or not the children have physical or mental limitations.

If you do not want your tax dollars to go toward a plan that will help other people's zip codes while bringing harm to the rest of the county, please vote NO on Nov. 6 or during the early voting period taking place right now!

Thank you!


2D4-Next Generation Charter Schools Act Exposed