School officials share views on Georgia’s new low-performing school transfer program

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - Two school officials are sharing their thoughts about a Georgia program that will allow students in low-performing schools to transfer to a private school.

This new program will go into effect in the upcoming school year. It will allow parents whose students are attending a low-performing school to apply for a $6,500 scholarship to help pay for private school expenses.

An updated list of low-performing schools was sent out earlier Tuesday. Many school officials, like Kristie Brooks, superintendent of Chattahoochee County Schools, are just now learning that their school is on this list.

“Obviously, I’m disappointed,” said Brooks. She noted that their number one responsibility is to make sure students are learning and not being left behind. Brooks said the data on this list does not show all of the test scores or academic levels of their students.

“We know that public education is a great equalizer. And I want to ensure every student that comes to our school, every class, every content that it’s at the highest quality,” said Brooks.

The Georgia Promise Scholarship passed this year in the Georgia General Assembly as Senate Bill 233. It allows parents to remove their children from low-performing schools and apply for public funds to enroll their children in private, charter, or home schools.

Joe Turner, the director of Hallier Turner Private School, said he supports the scholarship if it’s what’s best for the students leaving the low-performing schools.

“I think it’s a good thing to offer the choice to families that might need that. We’ve had many people over the years calling for information about our school and some of them have been stopped from enrolling by the cost,” Turner said.

Brooks said although her schools are classified as low-performing, she doesn’t believe there will be many students who will withdraw.

“The families we’ve spoken to prior to this being public stated from the beginning, they’ve made the choice for their children to be at Chatt. Co. and so, a list like this doesn’t matter,” she said.

Carver High School, Spencer High School, and Key Elementary in the Muscogee County School District are also on the list of low-performing schools released by the State Department of Education.