Morgan to Unveil Improvement Plans for Charter Schools

David Morgan wants to prevent a repeat of the fall of .

The member for South Cobb’s Post 3 will bring two ideas targeting that goal to his colleagues during the board’s monthly work session Wednesday morning at 8:30 in the Central Office boardroom:

• Annual reporting by charter schools.
• Required board governance training for charter school boards.

“Starting with the annual report, we will do ourselves a lot of good if we’re hearing from charter schools each year so that four years won’t have passed and so it won’t be out of sight, out of mind,” Morgan said.

The discussion follows the board’s . Morgan, who represents Mableton, voted with the majority.

“This will help us to make sure that the lines of communication are open from year to year between the charter schools and the district to have them report their performance and goals,” Morgan said of the annual reporting.

He also wants to implement better oversight and training for charter school boards.

“I have been told that when charter schools don’t work out and they’re dissolved, one of the primary reasons is board governance,” he said. “As a district, if there’s one thing we can do to help the people that run charter schools … we’re setting people up for success. If the people that are running the charter schools are competent, they’re going to do a good job.”

Since the board voted to close Imagine Mableton after this school year, the , Dr. Marcus Barber, and the , Joslyn Jackson, have resigned. Two of the reasons the district cited in its were a lack of leadership stability and vacancies on its board.

The school is working on .

Also at the meeting, the board will go over its legislative priorities, begin discussing the fiscal 2013 budget with Chief Financial Officer Mike Addison and talk about raising student achievement with Chief Academic Officer Judi Jones.

“I think it’s great,” Morgan said. “It will be conversations that will give the public confidence that we’re honestly working toward addressing issues that have not been addressed in the past” until it was too late.

The school board also will go over five agenda items that are due to be voted on at its regular meeting Oct. 27:

• Increasing the award amount for nursing services for medically fragile students.
• Paving at the Sanders Road bus shop.
• Purchasing and installing $500,000 worth of resilient athletic flooring for 15 middle and elementary school gyms and play areas.
• Approving Georgia Department of Education capital project closeouts at and elementary schools and , and middle schools.
• Allowing the school district’s Facilities & Technology Committee to make its annual report each October instead of September.