BOE Unclear with Hamilton's Plans

The  released a statement after Rep. Mark Hamilton (R-Cumming) told the Cherokee Tribune Wednesday afternoon that he plans to make some changes to the .

 that maintains seven posts with no countywide chair.

The following is the statement from the school district sent at 11:45 a.m. to Atlanta metro media outlets:

Rep. Hamilton,

On behalf of the Superintendent, although we have not yet received direct correspondence from you on this matter, local media last night supplied us with a copy of your attached letter announcing your plan to leave the governance model for the Cherokee County School Board as a seven-member post system. 

While the letter is not clear as to whether those members would each live in a post, but continue to be elected at-large, it is our hope the resubmitted bill will do so, as that is the desire of the School Board.  Last fall, the School Board at a public meeting unanimously approved its 2012 Legislative Program, which calls for the current governance model to remain unchanged.  You and your fellow members of the Delegation were provided with a copy of the Legislative Program prior to the start of the session, and another copy is attached for your convenience. 

Your letter also is unclear as to whether the Delegation will be using the redrawn seven-member post map submitted to you by the Cherokee County School District last year.  It is our hope that you will use this map, as it already is complete and meets all State and Federal requirements, as well as the attached “General Principles for Drafting Plans” criteria distributed by Rep. Jerguson at the December 2011 town hall meeting on the issue, which he said would be the guidelines for the redrawing process.  Unlike the map presented by the Delegation as part of the original HB 978, the CCSD map, in keeping with these Principles: has “substantially equal” total population in each post; follows “the boundaries of counties and precincts” and “communities of interest” and meets the requirement of: “avoiding the unnecessary pairing of incumbents,” as no incumbents are drawn into the same post. 

The latter Principle and the violation of it by the Delegation’s initial proposed map has created strong public perception that the redrawing was politically motivated in an effort to punish the four School Board members who voted last year not to approve the petition submitted by Cherokee Charter Academy.  The CCSD-proposed map not only, as previously stated, is in the best interest of the community as a whole for equal and fair representation; but the Delegation’s adoption of it also would help in correcting the public perception that the Delegation is using its reapportionment role to carry out what has been described as a vendetta. 

You personally may be unaware of this perception problem, as you neither live in Cherokee County nor have children in CCSD schools; but that perception is very strong, is growing and could negatively impact your fellow Delegation’s ability to serve the community as they have in the past.  It also may be beneficial for one or more of the Delegation members who live in Cherokee to take over the role as bill author and spokesperson, as public perception is that the legislators who live in Cherokee are again playing politics – the perception is that they are behind the redrawing, but you are the spokesman, since you will not be seeking election in the county this year and they will.

We hope you agree there is no reason for the State to spend additional time and taxpayer dollars on creating a new map when the CCSD map already has been prepared to fully meet State and Federal specifications, as well as the Principles that Rep. Jerguson set for the process.

Also, in keeping with the Delegation’s philosophy that local control is ideal; we note that, while the CCSD map was not unanimously approved by the School Board, it was approved by a 5-2 majority of the School Board (meeting minutes are attached).  We anticipate, based on the Delegation’s initial HB 978 language and map, that the Delegation will not on its own create a map that would achieve such approval from the School Board.

The CCSD map is attached again for your convenience; please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions about the CCSD map and the work completed to develop it.

Barbara P. Jacoby

Spokeswoman, Cherokee County School District