Support Public School education! —Karen Noll

Received today. -jsq

Dear Friends,

After learning abut the for-profit charter school issue from and the tax credits for private school tuition, I interpret today's VDT articles as part of a political agenda to further dismantle a Georgia Constitutional right to Free Public School Education. Here we are again, let's paint the schools as failing and then try to legitimize further defunding of the schools. And instead of Free Public Education the students from poor families will continue to get what ever is left when the well-to-do take their large piece of the public school education pie.

CHARTER SCHOOLS SERVE STUDENTS ALREADY SERVED WELL IN PUBLIC EDUCATION:

It is important that we understand that Free Public Education is clearly being

undermined by the ballot initiative that would ask that Georgians allow FOR-profit charter schools without the local school board's approval. What we know about charter schools:

• charter schools caused huge debt in Florida to the tune of $400 million
• charter schools pick the cream of the crop (whose parents are engaged) out of the public school system
• charter schools do not need to follow the state standards and thus have NO prescribed outcomes

So, the students that already achieve in the Free Public School system can be carted off to perform in a charter school that makes money for someone and takes dollars from the already underfunded Public Schools.

TAXPAYER DOLLARS PAYING PRIVATE SCHOOL TUITION:

Currently, taxpayers in Georgia are paying private school tuition for those that register their child in the public school and then attend a private school. The Georgia constitution does NOT call for free private school education. This also means that tax dollars are paying for tuition in religious schools.

FREE PUBLIC EDUCATION & GA CONSTITUTION UNDERMINED BY THESE ACTIONS.

Take action today: Tell your representatives that Free Public Education is important to you. Talk to your friends and neighbors, who may not know what is at stake with this ballot initiative. Write a letter to the paper.

Thank you for all that you do,

-Karen Noll