Forsyth County Schools OK'd For 'Flex Contract'

The Georgia school board has approved the state's second district to join a new program freeing schools from many education mandates. The board voted 11-1 on Thursday to allow the Forsyth County school district to enter into a "flexibility contract" with the state. The contracts give districts a break from state requirements like class size and teacher pay in exchange for promises that students will perform better than is required under the federal No Child Left Behind standards.

Gwinnett County, the state's largest district with 158,000 students, was the first to enter into such a contract based on a 2008 state law. Forsyth County schools have about 32,500 students.

-The Associated Press-

Gwinnett Schools Gain 'Flexibility'

Georgia's largest school district will become the first to take advantage of a new law giving more flexibility on class size and teacher pay. Today the state school board unanimously approved a plan for Gwinnett County to have more say in how to organize schools, how large classes should be and how to use state funding. In exchange, the county promised that students will perform better than is required under federal No Child Left Behind standards. Gwinnett County parents and teachers expressed concern over the proposal, worried that classes could grow too large and that the district won't have enough state oversight.

(Associated Press)