We must be clear that a no vote on constitutional amendment No. 1 regarding charter schools is not a vote against charter schools. It’s a vote in support of the ability of our locally elected and accountable Hall County school officials to make those local public charter school decisions. Public charter schools are already in existence in Hall County and are an important offering to our community.

The fact that the ballot language is purposely misleading should be reason enough to vote “no.” The language is very confusing to voters who mistakenly believe that voting for this amendment is a vote for public schools. This is not the case. There is already a policy in place for reviewing charter school applications by local school boards and the state Board of Education.

There is no compelling reason to change our state constitution to put the state government in charge of making decisions about Hall County’s public charter schools. I intend to vote “no” on Amendment 1 and to changing our constitution. I strongly urge you to vote no and show your support for our local public schools.

Marla Fouts
Hall County Education Association, Flowery Branch