Governance

The Georgia Charter Educational Foundation is the Founding Board and a petitioner for charter schools in the state of Georgia. The Georgia Charter Educational Foundation is a Georgia not-for-profit entity organized exclusively for educational purposes and is comprised of respected leaders in the state of Georgia that are committed to providing high quality educational options for the citizens of this State.

The Board of Directors is responsible for developing and outlining the mission, vision, and values of the school and developing the appropriate policies to ensure those fundamentals are maintained. The Georgia Charter Educational Foundation Board of Directors has contracted with a professional education management organization, Charter Schools USA, to provide all necessary management and professional expertise. Charter Schools USA assists in developing, planning, and marketing the School, as well as finance, human resources, curricula and school operations. Charter Schools USA is responsible for developing and implementing the ongoing operational procedures in accordance with the mission, vision, and values outlined by the Governing Board.

The Governing Board is responsible for the legal and financial obligations of each school. The Governing Board establishes policy consistent with the school's mission and ensures the school's programs and operations are faithful to the terms of the Charter including compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. The Governing Board will continue to uphold the mission and vision of the school through visible leadership and stewardship of the school, including the following:

  • Communicating the mission and vision of the school to the community
  • Recruiting and mentoring Governing Council members to ensure they have shared values
  • Holding Charter Schools USA accountable to achieving the mission and vision of the school
  • Participating in fund raising and other community events on behalf of the school
  • Leading by example in their personal and professional endeavors

School-Based Governing Councils

To ensure local community involvement/control, each charter school will have a Governing Council comprised of community leaders and parents that will have primary oversight of the school. The Georgia Charter Educational Foundation will delegate broad authority to the Governing Council, including:

  • Setting school-specific performance goals
  • Approval of the school budget and finances
  • Operational oversight of Charter Schools USA
  • Monthly meetings to review school performance

If you or someone you know would like to be considered for a position on this voluntary Council, please contact us at volunteer@georgiacharterfoundation.org

The Georgia Charter Educational Foundation Governing Board

John W. McIntyre, Jr. is currently the executive director at Morgan Stanley & Co., Private Wealth Management Division based in Atlanta. Prior to this, he was a partner in Highland Associates, an Investment Consulting Firm. Mr. McIntyre has a BA in Economics from Washington & Lee University and a MBA from Harvard University. He is a valued member of his community, serving on the Trinity Community Ministries Board of Associates, a member of Northside United Methodist Church, on the Capital Campaign Committee of Woodruff Arts Center, and a former Board member of the Emory Board of Visitors. He and his family reside in Atlanta, Georgia.

Marian Parker, Esq., is a skilled attorney with extensive experience litigating in state and federal courts. Her expertise in law extends to such areas as business, nonprofit, estate planning, and civil and criminal litigation. She is licensed to practice in Georgia, Illinois and Louisiana. She has served as a board member for several profit and non-profit organizations in Metropolitan Atlanta. She is an experienced and successful grant writer and has managed relationships with corporate partners, such as Bank of New York. She is an excellent teacher and communicator capable of building a solid, highly motivated team.

Frederick Black is retired from a 30+ year career as an educator and administrator for several prestigious preparatory academies in Atlanta. He brings a breadth of experience in the education industry, including student discipline/school operations management, development of diversity programs, curriculum design, and Director of Athletic programs. He is a resident and native Georgian with academic degrees of distinction, including a MEd from Georgia State University.

Lyn Carden is the owner of Tri-M Consultants, a boutique marketing firm handling local direct and internet marketing for small business clients across the state. Ms. Carden retired as a 20-year broadcaster in 2001, co-hosting morning radio shows as well as managing radio station marketing and promotions departments. The daughter of a general and an entrepreneur, Lyn learned early the importance of service and hard work, starting her broadcasting career at 16 while simultaneous acting as the Vice President of her family’s business. During her tenure in radio she traveled back and forth across the country finally spending her last 7 years as a broadcaster in Savannah. Ms. Carden has organized hundreds of community events including concerts, relief efforts, directing Savannah’s Miss St. Patrick’s Day pageants, and was selected as Savannah air talent of the year 4 years in a row. After retirement Ms. Carden launched an event management company in Savannah specializing in non-profit fund raising for organization such as The Boy Scouts of America, Goodwill Industries and the Pet Assistance League. Lyn’s family moved to Cherokee County in 2006 where she opened Tri-M Consultants, as well as, launched a start up web based radio station for preschoolers called Preschool Radio.

Danny Dukes is a native to Georgia and has spent most of his career managing many aspects of the financial institution and mortgage industries in the areas of financial management, accounting management, risk management, audit, compliance, investment management, consulting, investment banking, treasury management, shareholder relations and bank operations. He has served as a chief financial officer and chief operations officer for community banks in Georgia. He is currently the founder and president of Danny F. Dukes and Associates, a financial management and CFO outsourcing firm in Canton.

After graduating Mercer University in Macon, Georgia in 1982 with a BBA in Finance degree, he began his career with Citizens and Southern Bank, now Bank of America, in the internal audit division. He continued his education by earning his MBA in Accounting at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Georgia in 1989. Then, he became a Certified Public Accountant in 1988 and a Certified Fraud Examiner in 1997. He has also served as an adjunct college professor of accounting at Clayton State College and University, and Keller Graduate School. He has served as a presenter at conferences sponsored by the Georgia Society of Public Accountants and the Association of Georgia Public Accountants.

Danny remains actively involved in many professional and civic organizations, such as the Rotary Club of Cherokee County, the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Georgia Charter Educational Foundation Board, Cherokee County Republican Party, the Georgia College Alumni Board, Mercer University Alumni Association and serves as a member of the County Property Tax Equalization Board.

Ernest Taylor is president of Beech Hill Group an executive search firm in Atlanta. He has been in executive search for 20 plus years after being a banker for the first 10 years out of college. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of Honduras Outreach for over 15 years, based in Decatur, Georgia. This organization runs 5 schools, 5 clinics and 40 kindergartens in the mountains of Honduras. Mr. Taylor holds a BA in Marketing from the University of Tennessee and a MBA in Finance & International Business from Georgia State University.

Board Meeting Minutes

April 15, 2010
June 28, 2010

For more information on Charter Schools USA, visit their site at www.charterschoolsusa.com.