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Barge scales back opposition to charter vote

By The Associated Press
Posted 8:37AM on Saturday 29th September 2012 ( 11 years ago )
ATLANTA - State School Superintendent John Barge has reached an agreement with Attorney General Sam Olens on the school chief's political activity regarding a statewide referendum on charter schools, a Barge spokesman said Friday.

But the Atlanta attorney whose complaint prompted the latest action says it's not good enough.

Barge spokesman Matt Cardoza confirmed that the Department of Education has removed from its website a written primer on the constitutional amendment that would allow the state to issue charters for private operators to run taxpayer-financed schools. Barge's Q&A does not explicitly tell Georgians how to vote, but makes his position clear.

Cardoza said Barge decided to take down the document after consulting with Olens' office about a written complaint from an Atlanta attorney. Glenn Delk, who has not disclosed his clients, accused Barge and several local school system authorities of violating state law that generally limits the use of public resources for political activity.

After the legal consultation, Cardoza said, "we voluntarily took down the document." Cardoza emphasized, though, that Barge remains opposed to the amendment, and he said the superintendent will still speak candidly about his opposition.

In his complaint, Delk cited state law and a series of Georgia Supreme Court decisions that he says block Barge and others from a variety of activities leading up to the Nov. 6 referendum. Delk said that includes speaking in his official capacity.

"John Barge is free to give a speech as an individual," Delk said.

The argument could become one of semantics. Cardoza said Barge "speaks to ... groups quite often but is not going to them to specifically or exclusively speak about the charter amendment." But, he added, "When he is asked questions about the amendment he will address them."

Delk also noted that Barge distributed his written primer to local school authorities around the state. That means it is still being used in a political fashion barred by the law, he argued.

Delk said he told an assistant state attorney general that he would wait until next week before deciding how to proceed, in part because he is waiting separately to hear from attorneys for local system officials.

A spokeswoman for the attorney general's office declined comment.
State Schools Supt. John Barge addressing the Gainesville Rotary Club earlier this year.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2012/9/253531

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