State Rep. Rick Crawford and his opponent, Republican Trey Kelley, gave differing views on the proposed charter school amendment during a forum sponsored by the Farm Bureau of Polk County.

Kelley said he would personally vote for it, adding that the state has got to help its public schools succeed and the graduation rate is too low.

Crawford said he’s against giving the state power to set up a board in Atlanta which would tell local systems how to run their communities.

Both men agreed agriculture plays a vital role in Georgia.

“Our farmers are just small business owners who, like everyone else, are in tough economic times right now,” Kelley said. “I will make it a better district to do business.”

Crawford said he knows about agriculture first-hand because he picked cotton on his grandfather’s farm.

“If you really want to understand agriculture, you walk in a field behind a mule one row at a time and you’ll get it,” he said.

Crawford is on the ballot as a Democrat but the state party is trying to get him removed because he has said he will join the Republican Party is he is re-elected.

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