Tuesday, January 1, 2013
The charter school advocate sets her sights on what she'd like to achieve during her first term on the Cherokee County School District.
Kelly Marlow is preparing for her first term on the Cherokee County School Board. Marlow was elected in the July Republican primary to the Post 1 seat, which was created during the reapportionment process. The new district includes the BridgeMill, parts of Sixes Road and Holly Springs and portions of the Toonigh and Univeter areas. Marlow received a bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia and before becoming a full-time parent, she worked as a project manager in the health care, technology and alternative energy sectors. She's also worked as a preschool teacher, a substitute teacher, a room parent and a PTA leader. Marlow, who lives in BridgeMill with husband Mark and her twin children, has also served on the boards of several …
Monday, December 31, 2012
Outgoing school board member Kim Cochran reflected on her term on the school board.
Kim Cochran is preparing to transition off the Cherokee County School Board. Cochran, 31, started her term in January 2009, but was defeated in the July Republican primary by northeast Cherokee resident Patsy Jordan. Along with her service on the board, Cochran has been active in helping her husband Nate Cochran with his law practice in downtown Canton. A former teacher and now a stay-at-home mother, Cochran and her husband have two sons, Noah, 5, and Jacob, 2, and they attend Cumming First United Methodist Church. They live in the Free Home community. Cochran discussed with Patch her last four years on the school board. 1. How are you all feeling now in these last days of your tenure? Are residents reaching out to you to wish you good …
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Voters in Holly Springs also retained their incumbent city council members.
Riding a wave of opposition to new tax measures, voters in Cherokee County rejected a proposal to impose a one percent sales tax to be used to roll back county property taxes. Cherokee voters rejected the measure, with 36 percent, or 32,150, voting in favor while 64 percent, or 56,190, voted against the first question. On the HOST's second question, 46 percent, or 40,344, approved the measure while 54 percent, or 46,830 voted to defeat it. The Homestead Option Sales Tax would have used revenue from the sales tax to reduce the county’s maintenance and operations portion of property taxes. It would not have applied to the school, fire district taxes and parks bond imposed by the county. Georgia law required two questions to be placed on …
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Here's a rundown of how Cherokee County voted.
As of 10:02 p.m., here is an unofficial summary of how Cherokee County voted in the Nov. 6 election: President Homestead Option Sales Tax 1st question Homestead Option Sales Tax 2nd question Amendment 1 (Charter School Amendment) State House District 20 Holly Springs Post 3 Holly Springs Post 4 Cherokee County has 128,873 registered voters and 98,495, or 76.43 percent, voted in the election.
Charter school amendment appears headed for win.
UPATE 5:50 pm If you are in line to vote at 7 pm, you will get to vote even though the polls close then. Tens of thousands of Fulton County voters have already cast ballots today. Turnout is especially high for today’s General Election, as it is in most Presidential election years. It's too early to know how this year compares to 2008. In the evening after traditional work hours, peak turnout is anticipated, and tens of thousands of additional voters could exercise their right to vote. Fulton County elections officials released a statement advising that voters who are in line at 7 pm will be allowed to vote under Georgia law. As provided by Georgia law, voters who are over age 75 or who have a disability are eligible to ask to move ahead …
Friday, November 2, 2012
The county's longest serving school board member criticizes fellow member Michael Geist for allegedly violating board policy.
Not the one to shy away from controversy, Cherokee School Board Chairman Mike Chapman criticized fellow board member and charter school supporter Michael Geist for what he referred to as Geist's violation of school board policies. Chapman, who decided not to seek re-election after he was reapportioned out of his current post by the Georgia legislature, said it was "imperative" to point out Geist's actions, which Chapman said "disturbs me greatly." "Mr. Geist, as I move off the board I feel it imperative that I and fellow board members confront you on your actions as a member of this board," he said. "I raise this issue strictly with the desire to prevent our system from moving back into the past which could very well put our accreditation …
Monday, October 29, 2012
The lawsuit alleges that the preamble and the question on the Nov. 6 ballot is biased towards approval of the measure.
A public school teacher and Atlanta minister have filed a lawsuit in Fulton Superior Court against members of the Georgia government over the language of the Nov. 6 ballot as it pertains to charter schools. The lawsuit, filed by Dalton teacher Beverly Hedges and Rev. Timothy McDonald, senior pastor at First Iconium Baptist Church in Atlanta, names Gov. Nathan Deal, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp as co-defendants. The complaint alleges that Gov. Deal used language in the preamble to the ballot question and the ballot question itself that is misleading and that was not passed by the General Assembly. This is how the ballot language currently appears: Provides for improving student achievement and parental involvement …
Thursday, September 6, 2012
The Georgia Parent Teacher Association hasn't changed its position against a proposed charter school amendment despite pressure from its national organization.
The Georgia Parent Teacher Association's unwavering opposition to a controversial amendment that could restore the state's authority to approve and fund charter schools could become problematic for the group. "National PTA affiliates must adopt the mission and purposes of National PTA and operate in accordance with the policies and positions of the Association," spokesman James Martinez said Wednesday in an email to Canton-Sixes Patch. "The National PTA operates under a clear set of guidelines should an affiliate fail to comply with our National Standards of Affiliation." The state chapter, which supports charter schools approved by local school boards, reaffirmed its stance Friday despite pressure from the national organization to come …
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
It "has major concerns with the ... impact it will have on Georgia’s 1.67 million public school students," according to a statement from the group.
Under pressure from its national organization to rescind its opposition to a controversial amendment that could restore the state's authority to approve and fund charter schools, the Georgia Parent Teacher Association reaffirmed its stance. "We cannot support this constitutional amendment which will create an inequity in funding, siphon funds from local public schools where the great majority of the students in Georgia receive their education and deny parents meaningful engagement," the group said in a statement released late Friday. "Georgia PTA strongly opposes this constitutional amendment." In July, the state chapter made its position clear: Vote no when you go to the polls in November. While the Georgia PTA supports charter schools …
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
The National Parent Teacher Association wants the Georgia chapter to remain neutral in the state's charter school debate.
With nearly two months to go before Georgians vote on a controversial amendment that could restore the state's authority to approve and fund charter schools, the Georgia PTA is under pressure from its parent organization to rescind its opposition to the measure. Last month, the state chapter made its position clear: Vote no when you go to the polls in November. While the Georgia PTA supports charter schools approved by local school boards, "we reject the state power grab from local communities in the education of their children, the financial inequities, and the overt attention being given to those who intend to profit from the education of children," Sally FitzGerald, the group's educational policy specialist, wrote in the July 1 position…
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