Christmas, Cox battle to be state school superintendent

ATLANTA - Democrat Barbara Christmas and Republican Kathy Cox are vying for the chance to try to repair Georgia&#39;s low-performing schools and improve SAT scores. <br> <br> Georgia&#39;s scores have dropped to 50th in the nation. <br> <br> Cox is a state House representative. She says Governor Barnes&#39; education changes -- which require more testing and accountability -- restrict local officials. <br> <br> Christmas is a teachers association executive. She says although Barnes may have made some mistakes, he put a solid framework in place. Libertarian Lynn Krogseng also is running. <br> <br> Secretary of State Cathy Cox -- who is not related to the Republican school superintendent candidate -- is running against Republican Charlie Bailey and Libertarian Michael Pitts. The election is the first test of the touch-screen voting machines that Cox pushed through the Legislature. Bailey said the machines were a waste of money and will cause more problems than they will solve.