Thursday, April 2, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Hello!?
Contrary to what you are reading on TOPIX, while there are certainly powerful teachers' unions, Georgia public school teachers are not unionized.
Yes, it is true that due to shortfalls in state funding (about 8 million), there will have to be staff cuts next year. The local BOE is hoping to make cuts in administrators first, followed by asking senior personnel with enough years in to retire to consider going ahead and doing it at the end of this year, and lastly, not renewing the contracts of as many 1st year teachers as necessary after the two aforementioned steps have been taken. Affected personnel will be notified on April 15th.
The current maximum class size in Camden is limited to 28. Next year, it will go to 30.
No - there will not be a single solitary structure to be funded by the recently approved ESPLOST completed and left unstaffed next year and not the year after that either. Remember, this BOE has a strict build-as-you-have-the-funds policy. They will not borrow up-front against expected future ESPLOST revenues. As sure as the economy will make a comeback, state funding will surely return to previous levels - and higher - in the future.
4/2/09 Update: From TOPIX just 40 minutes ago:
"The teacher unions have us by the nads and until we start voicing our displeasure and start showing up at meetings and rallies nothing will change."
You can lead an ignorant ass to the waters of knowledge, but you can't make him drink.
Ho hum. Another ethics complaint against Councilman Greg E.F. Bird.
You'll have to buy a hard copy of today's T&G. Trust me, so long as the council conducts the investigation again - as the article states they intend to do - and so long as Bird remains another certified darling of the DMA - which he is and does - and so long as the other councilmen and mayor are present or former members of the DMA and all fear the DMA bloc vote - which they do - not a damned thing will come of it - just like last time. Question: How come this blatantly obvious conflict of interest does not rise to the level of meriting an inquiry by the State Ethics Commission?
Another Eyerly heard from.
http://www.tribune-georgian.com/articles/2009/04/01/opinion/letters/06letter4.1.txt
Show of hands: (figuratively - comments would be better) How many of you actually believe that tourists arrive in downtown St. Marys in private planes, via the St. Marys Airport, and stay in local hotels and eat at local restaurants?
Ol' Loopy Lou, All-Purpose-Toady-to-Power, is at it again.
http://www.tribune-georgian.com/articles/2009/04/01/opinion/letters/01letter4.1.txt
Here's a sample of Loopy Lou's latest pearls of wisdom: "If it is moved, is there anyone pushing for the relocation who might not be interested in benefiting St. Marys, but rather his own gain? What amount of taxes would the city lose since the new location is not in city limits? What is the position of the county commissioners? How would this deficit in city tax revenues be replaced? Surely the taxes of all residents would increase since the new airport will be in the county."
Uh, Lou, apparently, the city, unlike you, has come to the realization that taxing itself would be rather pointless. Quite the opposite of your illogic, the fact is that putting the nearly 400 acres of prime, centrally located property back into private hands to be developed to its "highest and best" use would actually return it to the city and county tax rolls. The penumbral economic benefits to the local economy woud be huge compared to the current gross underdevelopment and underutilization of the property.
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