GCSA truly appreciates the member schools that provided legislative testimony on Georgia House Bill 787. The testimony took place during a Senate Education and Youth Committee hearing on Monday, March 19. This level of engagement is critical to our work.
School leaders, petitioners and board members who testified included: Dr. Gavin Samms with Genesis Innovation Academy (pictured on the right), Gene Dunn with Coweta Charter Academy, Richardean Anderson with Fulton 
Leadership Academy (pictured below on the right), Kari Schrock with International Academy of Smyrna (pictured below on the left), International Charter School of Atlanta Board Member and Parent Paige Stoecker, Tariq Abdullah with The Community Academy for Architecture and Design (TCAAD) and School for Arts Infused-Learning Board Member Abigail Caffee.
There were also a large number of parents and students from Georgia Cyber Academy. All of the speakers did an effective job representing their individual schools and telling committee members why the additional funding is needed.
If approved in its current form, the bill would positively impact state-authorized charter schools by:
- Increasing the “state supplement” funding provided to state charter schools
- Providing funding to virtual schools, offsetting costs for schools and parents
- Providing timely funding to address projected mid-year enrollment increases
Members of the committee are expected to vote on the legislation tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. GCSA encourages you to call and contact members of the Senate Education Committee through email or social media. You can find a complete email list of committee members HERE. If you plan to Tweet committee members, you can contact the entire Senate Education and Youth Committee at #GaEdYouthCmte.
You can also use the sample Tweets below or create a unique one of your own:
Tweet #1
I stand with GA Charter Schools, please support HB 787 GaEdYouthCmte, GACharters, @ScottHiltonGA, @SenatorDJames, @Fran_Millar, @Freddie_Sims, @senjwilkinson, @elenaparent, @Stone4GASenate, @HoracenaTate and @vote_matt_brass
Tweet #2
Last week our students were at the Capitol with@GACharters to talk with our state Reps & Senators about equal funding all charter schools #supportHB787! #GAChartersWork
