After more than nine hours of negotiation on Wednesday, the Coweta County School System and the Odyssey School group are set to continue their negotiations next week over a proposed charter school.

The marathon session ended with neither side offering much comment. The day started with Justice Center of Atlanta mediator Randall Dobbs excluding the media from the proceedings.

“I'm really sorry that happened. We didn't have a problem with y'all being in there,” said Superintendent of Education Richard Brooks.

Dobbs explained the Justice Center was a private company and not subject to Georgia's Open Meetings Law.

The mediation is the first in the state between a school system and a group that wants to establish a charter school.

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 on April 23.

The group took their concerns to the State Board of Education who ordered the mediation.

After the mediation, Brooks said he felt progress was made and another meeting would be held late next week.

In the meantime, Brooks said Odyssey School group organizer Jan Buchwald is set to have a meeting with parents of the proposed school on Monday at Crossroads Baptist Church in Sharpsburg at 7 p.m.

In the system's opening statement that he released to the press, Brooks outlined a number of problems the system had with the proposed school

One of the system's main objections concerns the school's proposed facility. The charter school petition states the facility will be leased and located at 1347 Reese Road in Sharpsburg.

The address is also the home address of Odyssey School organizer Buchwald, so the system concludes the building will be located on property owned by Buchwald or a member of her family.

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 name of any students who wanted to enroll.

The charter petition also calls for the payment of $800,000 in rent to the owner of the building over a five-year period.

School system officials said this type arrangement is contrary to Georgia state law and school board policies and represents a conflict of interest.

Another objection the system raised is Buchwald's role in the school if it is approved. School system officials said Buchwald also plans to be the executive director and principal at the school.

The charter school petition provides the executive director-principal will be paid $541,000 over a five-year period, which the board claims is another conflict of interest.

The system also claims that the proposed charter school would not be locally ruled. Three of the four initial directors live outside the county.

Odyssey School organizer Jan Buchwald did not return phone calls by presstime for comments on her school or the mediation process.

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