In 1984, Gov. Joe Frank Harris asked Georgia voters for a change in state government that had been approved by the best minds in education.
Jim Galloway reviews some recent history in the AJC's Political Insider:
In 1984, Gov. Joe Frank Harris asked Georgia voters for a change in state government that had been approved by the best minds in education.
Georgia needed a well-seasoned state school superintendent handpicked by the governor, a blue-ribbon panel had argued, not one elected in an expensive campaign ruled by chance, good hair and a snappy slogan.
The proposed constitutional amendment was the only one of 11 to fail that November. The youngish state senator who helped Harris push the ballot issue through the Legislature was Democrat Roy Barnes of Mableton.
Our current governor, down to the last 27 days of his final legislative session, has proposed one of the most sweeping changes in state government since Jimmy Carter was turned loose in the Capitol.
Perdue has proposed making not only the state school superintendent an appointed position, but three others as well: The commissioners of labor, insurance, and agriculture. All are now elected via statewide votes — every four years, concurrent with the governor.
[M]any at the Capitol quietly agree with his call for a Cabinet-style government, especially when it comes to the state’s divided approach to education.
Forty percent of the state’s $18 billion annual budget, largely under the control of the governor, goes toward the public school system. But it is the elected school superintendent who is in charge of implementing the policy that your tax dollars pay for.
Many would concede that, if you were to build a state from the ground up, the Perdue approach would make a sensible framework.
The 1984 school superintendent vote was defeated largely by opposition from schoolteachers.
In 1984, Gov. Joe Frank Harris asked Georgia voters for a change in state government that had been approved by the best minds in education.
Georgia needed a well-seasoned state school superintendent handpicked by the governor, a blue-ribbon panel had argued, not one elected in an expensive campaign ruled by chance, good hair and a snappy slogan.
The proposed constitutional amendment was the only one of 11 to fail that November. The youngish state senator who helped Harris push the ballot issue through the Legislature was Democrat Roy Barnes of Mableton.
Our current governor, down to the last 27 days of his final legislative session, has proposed one of the most sweeping changes in state government since Jimmy Carter was turned loose in the Capitol.
Perdue has proposed making not only the state school superintendent an appointed position, but three others as well: The commissioners of labor, insurance, and agriculture. All are now elected via statewide votes — every four years, concurrent with the governor.
[M]any at the Capitol quietly agree with his call for a Cabinet-style government, especially when it comes to the state’s divided approach to education.
Forty percent of the state’s $18 billion annual budget, largely under the control of the governor, goes toward the public school system. But it is the elected school superintendent who is in charge of implementing the policy that your tax dollars pay for.
Many would concede that, if you were to build a state from the ground up, the Perdue approach would make a sensible framework.
The 1984 school superintendent vote was defeated largely by opposition from schoolteachers.
posted by Sid Cottingham | 3:23 PM
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