The latest

chapter in the unfolding saga of the charter school epic

unfolded this week when the state Board of Education

tabled $160,000 in funding for Central Education Center.

Central is

Coweta County's charter school proposal that will place a

technical school at the site of the old Central Middle

School. The county wanted the school to be a charter

school so it could make the curriculum something that

many of the employers in the area wanted for future

workers.

But the

holdup on the funding lies in the Coweta County school

board's response to a charter school petition from a

group of parents who wanted to start the Odyssey School.

Starting in

April, the parents have sought the support of the school

board in approving the petition, but have yet to be

successful. School officials maintain that several

questions, such as facilities, need to be addressed

before the board could approve the petition.

But this

week, the state school board stepped in and said Central

would not receive the $160,000 federal grant until state

school board Chairman Otis Brumby heard from both sides

of the dispute.

The General

Assembly passed a law in 1997 allowing charter schools.

Charter schools generally allow more parental involvement

in curriculum and also allow the schools to hire

professionals in various fields to help teach the

curriculum.

The dispute

went to mediation when the Odyssey Group felt it was not

given a fair hearing by the Coweta County school board

April 23.

The group

took their concerns to the state Board of Education who

ordered the mediation.

Odyssey

School officials wanted the school to start in August and

said if the facility couldn't be completed, portable

facilities would be used.

The school

has a goal of opening with 100 students, but did not

provide the school system with the names of any students

who wanted to enroll.

The system

also claims that the proposed charter school would not be

locally ruled. Three of the four initial directors live

outside the county.

But Odyssey

School organizer Jan Buchwald said last week that she had

addressed many of the board's concerns and really was not

sure what they wanted.

The Coweta

board is scheduled to vote on Odyssey Schools' latest

petition at its Sept. 7 meeting.

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