Friday, May 18, 2012
Pre-clearance on the county's new maps may not be completed by next week's qualifying.
Some members of the Cherokee County Board of Education are still in limbo as to which district map they’ll be qualifying under next week. And, there’s a chance they still may not know when qualifying begins on Wednesday. House Bill 978, which changes the way school board members are elected and draws two members out of their districts, was sent to the Department of Justice for pre-clearance on April 5. The process typically takes 60 days, though school board attorney Tom Roach said he requested an expedited review, which is expected to be completed by June 5. “It’s the worst situation to be in,” Roach said. Should the new district maps not be approved by the end of business next Tuesday, Roach said the county’s election superintendent …
Friday, April 6, 2012
The BridgeMill mother has been one of the most vocal supporters of Cherokee Charter Academy.
Kelly Marlow, the BridgeMill mother who was one of the most outspoken critics of a May 16 Supreme Court of Georgia ruling that threatened to derail Cherokee Charter Academy's plans, announced today that she is running for a spot on the Cherokee County Board of Education. "I am excited to enter the arena," she said in a statement. "I look forward to a campaign discussing the issues facing our schools, including financial priorities, education options and uniting our schools and communities with the single goal of providing the best educational experience possible for our children." Marlow is running for Post 1, which takes in BridgeMill, Liberty Elementary, Sixes Elementary, and parts of the Holly Springs, Toonigh and Univeter areas. The …
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
"They clearly have political reasons for wanting to do this," Mark A. Elgart, the president and CEO of AdvancEd, writes of the Cherokee County Legislation Delegation in a new email to Cherokee Board of Education Chairman Mike Chapman.
As a controversial redistricting bill made its way from the House to the governor's desk, the head of the international registry for accreditation expressed concerns with the governance model proposed in House Bill 978. "The election of the Board chair by registered voters in Cherokee County is highly irregular," Mark A. Elgart, the president and CEO of AdvancED, wrote in a Feb. 27 letter to current Cherokee Board of Education Chairman Mike Chapman. "Normally the Board chair is elected by members of the Board. "If the decision is incorrect the school system and Board would have no recourse. The school system’s ability to function could be significantly impacted including its capacity to meet accreditation requirements." The Cherokee County…
Find out what's coming up on Canton-Sixes Patch today and what you might have missed overnight.
1. A detective with the Canton Police Department negotiated the safe return of a 4-year-old Canton girl who spent the last eight months in Massachusetts with a man who hasn't been legitimized as her biological father. 2. Days after a controversial redistricting bill was sent to Gov. Nathan Deal for his signature, a member of Cherokee Charter Academy's governing board is mulling a possible run for Cherokee school board chairman. 3. Speaking of House Bill 978, the head of the international accrediting agency that represents more than 30,000 public and private schools and districts across the United States and in more than 70 countries said it is clear that members of the Cherokee County Legislative Delegation "have political reasons for …
Monday, April 2, 2012
A board member of the foundation that governs Cherokee Charter Academy made the announcement today, just days after a controversial redistricting bill made its way to the governor's desk.
Days after a controversial redistricting bill was sent to Gov. Nathan Deal for his signature, a member of Cherokee Charter Academy's governing board is mulling a possible run for Cherokee school board chairman. "In the last 48 hours, I have received strong encouragement by friends and community leaders to consider a campaign for Cherokee County School Board Chairman," Georgia Charter Educational Foundation board member Danny Dukes said today in a news release. "I am humbled by the support of so many and today officially announce the formation of an exploratory team to consider this campaign." Under House Bill 978, which was sent to the governor's desk on Thursday, six school board members will be elected by district and the chair will be …
Friday, March 30, 2012
House Bill 978, the controversial redistricting bill, was sent to Gov. Nathan Deal late Thursday.
On the last day of the legislative session, a controversial redistricting bill that would change the way voters elect the school board was sent to Gov. Nathan Deal. Earlier this week, Cherokee County Board of Education Chairman Mike Chapman urged Deal to veto the measure, known as House Bill 978. Today, he issued this statement in which he renewed his call for a veto. The Cherokee County Legislative Delegation, through its abandonment of House Bill 1223 and slipping of House Bill 978 onto the Governor’s desk on the last day of the session, has duped the public and ignored their wishes. It’s my hope the Governor follows the request I sent to him, as School Board Chairman and on behalf of the School Board, asking that he veto HB 978. There’s…
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
The last day of the legislative session is Thursday.
On the eve of the last day of the legislative session, Cherokee County Board of Education Chairman Mike Chapman again urged Gov. Nathan Deal to veto the original version of a controversial redistricting bill that would change the way voters elect the school board. "This bill is clearly an effort by the Cherokee County Legislative Delegation to restructure the governance model of the school Board and reapportion its posts for political reasons," he said in the letter, his third appeal to Deal. Despite fading support and a warning from the agency that accredits schools and colleges, the Georgia Senate on Feb. 28 passed House Bill 978, which has become a flashpoint in the fight for local control of the Cherokee school board. The vote was 47-0…
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Board members said the letter from Mike Chapman to Gov. Nathan Deal shouldn't have been written on school board stationery.
The Cherokee County Board of Education voted 4-3 Wednesday night to ratify comments made by their board chairman in letters sent to Gov. Nathan Deal and members of an school accreditation organization. Board Chairman Mike Chapman asked the board to add the motion to the agenda following discussion on whether he should have used board stationery to send personal thoughts regarding redistricting and the recent state legislative proposal to have the board chair position be an elected position. The vote followed a lengthy discussion, during which board member Rob Usher said he was fine with Chapman's comments but didn't appreciate Chapman using the letterhead, which could be seen as his personal comments being official board position. “I'm all…
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
The vote was 127-31.
A revised redistricting bill that would push out the current school board chair and vice chair passed the Georgia House of Representatives on Monday. House Bill 1223, co-sponsored by Reps. Mark Hamilton (R-Cumming), Calvin Hill (R-Canton), Sean Jerguson (R-Holly Springs) and Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock), passed 127-31, according to the website of the Georgia General Assembly. Attempts to reach the sponsors, all of whom are members of the Cherokee County Legislative Delegation, have been unsuccessful. After support for an earlier version of the bill faded, the delegation agreed to retool the measure. The tweaked bill elicited the same reaction as the original version. Cherokee Board of Education Chairman Mike Chapman last week asked Gov. …
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Changes to a redistricting plan are "laughable," according to one citizens group.
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Wednesday, March 7, 2012
The Cherokee County School District isn't the only entity to express its displeasure with a revised redistricting bill. Cherokee Citizens for Kids has penned a new letter, the contents of which are below. Our local delegation (Representatives Byrd, Hamilton, Hill and Jerguson) have drafted new legislation, HB1223, which replaces HB978; however the new legislation is hardly an improvement over the first. Our delegation has made it clear that they will take any steps necessary to remove duly elected School Board members from office who did not vote on issues the way the delegation dictated. The new School Board map drawn by our delegation is laughable and a slap in the face to our community. For example, two posts are split by Lake …
Frank Jones
12:00 pm on Thursday, May 24, 2012
@Mikael...Where is your dignity and respect? Calling people "trolls" and other terms is extremely boorish. I just wonder how your parents, co-workers, minister, and children would react if they knew. Your actions aren't that of a parent, a role model, or a mature adult. more ›