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Week of July 16 - 20, 2012
the Griffin-Spalding County School System's employee e-newsletter
published by the school & community services department |
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the gscs
COMMUNICATOR
system-wide straight talk |
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Don't Miss
Board Briefs!
They are at the bottom of this Communicator!
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Caterpillar donates $20,000 to science instruction | |
In a response to a grant application, the Caterpillar Foundation donated $20,000 to the Griffin-Spalding County School System to start a STEM program (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) at two elementary schools.
The funds will provide LEGO Mindstorm robotics kits for Jackson Road Elementary School and Cowan Road Elementary School. In addition, a K'Nex simple machine, roller coaster and bridge-building sets and crime scene investigation lab kits will be purchased to engage science learners with real-world applications. These kits and sets integrate engineering and technology into physical, earth, life sciences, and mathematics instruction.
The Elementary Science Enrichment Center will receive math manipulatives and LEGO and K-Nex resources to enhance the district-wide elementary robotics program. These resources will be used to continue building a presence for STEM.
PHOTO: The school system received the Caterpillar donation on July 10, 2012. Left to right: Denise Burrell, GSCS Deputy Superintendent; Natalie Wood, Principal of Cowan Road Elementary; Barbara King, Coordinator of the Elementary Science Enrichment Center; Rodney Shurman, Manager of the Caterpillar Griffin Plant; Lisa Adams, Caterpillar Griffin Plant; Sara Jones, Director of System & School Improvement; and Ashley Crawford, Director of PreK - 12 Curriculum and Instruction.
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Be Smart! Vote Smart!
a message from Elizabeth Benz, Communicator Editor
In this unique editition of Communicator, you'll find information on political issues affecting you, including TSPLOST and HR1162 (Charter Schools).
This is intended not to advocate for individual causes, but rather to help you be informed about these issues. As always, please let me know what information you want in your Communicator. This publication is for you. Thank you for being a dedicated reader! Sincerely, Elizabeth elizabeth.benz@gscs.org |
 How will TSPLOST affect you?
by guest contributor Charles Jones Charles Jones, an attorney with Beck, Owen and Murray, is chairman of the t-SPLOST committee and a dedicated Communicator reader. Beck, Owen and Murray is a Partner in Education with Atkinson Elementary where they began the Scrabble Club for upper elementary students.
On July 31st, voters go to the polls to decide whether or not to vote for or against TSPLOST.
TSPLOST was created by state legislation in 2010. House Bill 277 was named the "Transportation Investment Act of 2010." The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 43-8 and passed the House by a vote of 141-29. Governor Purdue signed the bill into law on June 2, 2010.
The law created districts throughout the state. Spalding County is in the Three Rivers Region, which consists of the following counties: Butts, Carroll, Coweta, Heard, Lamar, Meriwether, Pike, Spalding, Troup, and Upson.
A majority of the voters in the Three Rivers Region must pass the one percent transportation sales tax for TSPLOST to pass. Georgia currently ranks 49th in per capita transportation spending. The General Assembly found that the design and construction of transportation projects is a critical local government service for which adequate funding is not presently available. O.C.G.A. Sec. 48-8-240.
In the event the Three Rivers Region voters do not approve the levy of the special district transportation sales and use tax, the local governments in Three Rivers Region shall be required to provide a 30 percent match for any local maintenance and improvement grants by the Department of Transportation for transportation projects and programs for at least 24 months and until such time as a special district sales and use tax is approved. In the event the voters in Three Rivers Region approve the levy of the special district transportation sales and use tax, the local governments in Three Rivers Region shall be required to provide a 10 percent match for any local maintenance and improvement grants by the Department of Transportation for transportation projects and programs for the duration of the levy of the special district transportation sales and use tax. O.C.G.A. � 48-8-244(d).
The Spalding County project list is set forth below:
Spalding County
- Commuter Rail - Atlanta to Griffin - Spalding County * County Line Rd. at Macon Rd. Intersection Improvements
- Experiment St. Multi-Use Path and Intersection Improvement Program
- Moreland Rd. Extension
- N. Expressway/Varsity Rd. Extension and Improvements
- N. Hill St. Bridge Reconstruction at Cabin Creek
- N. Hill St. Improvement Program
- N. Pine Hill Rd./Henry Jackson Rd. Realignment
- New or Improved Griffin-Spalding Airport
- S. McDonough Rd. at Johnston Rd. Intersection Improvement
- Solomon St/High Falls Rd/Searcy St/NS Intersection Reconstruction
- Spalding County Pedestrian Connector
- SR 155 Redesignation from Jackson Rd. to N. McDonough Rd.
- SR 3/US 19 Turn Lanes Addition at SR 16
- Teamon/School Rd. at Old Atlanta Rd. Intersection Reconstruction
Additionally, if TSPLOST passes, Spalding County, Griffin, Orchard Hill, and Sunnyside would receive discretionary funding to be used on transportation projects inside the county.
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| Spalding County Fire Department to assist with signing up citizens for first call during early voting
Members of the Spalding County Fire Department will be available during Early Voting to assist citizens who want to sign up for the FirstCall Emergency Alert System. Assistance with FirstCall will be available at the early voting site in the Old Cooks Shopping Center located at 825 Memorial Drive.
The Spalding County Board of Commissioners implemented this FirstCall system to notify citizens of severe weather alerts throughout the County. This free service is available to all wishing to receive severe weather alert notifications via text, email, phone call, and other options.
In recent weeks, FirstCall has proven successful by providing notifications of severe thunderstorm warnings affecting our area. Spalding County staff has worked diligently to make sure that the system is working properly. All contact information stored in FirstCall is confidential.
Spalding County Election Supervisor Terry Colling stated that, "we are happy to cooperate with the Spalding County Fire Department by allowing voters the opportunity to exercise their right to vote and sign up for this program at the same time."
Early Voting began on July 9, 2012 and will continue through July 27, 2012 from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. each day. Early voting will also be held Saturday, July 21, 2012 from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. | |
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House Resolution 1162 - Special Charter Schools
from the 2012 PAGE Legislative Summary
By Margaret Ciccarelli
The General Assembly opened on a sour note when the Senate passed an educator reduction in force bill on the first day of the 2012 legislative session. The measure prohibits local school systems from using educator seniority as the sole criterion for layoffs and mandates that educator performance should be the primary criteria in determining which employees are fired.
The legislation, which was pushed in Georgia and other states by an organization run by polarizing former-Washington DC-schools-chief Michelle Rhee, is not a bad concept, but it was disappointing that legislators began their work by focusing on how to layoff teachers. Their attentions would have been better spent preventing layoffs and filling the deep holes in the state education budget that continue to cause increased class sizes, shorter school years, teacher furloughs, and other painful cuts at the local level.
Instead, the remainder of the 2012 session was focused mainly on House Resolution 1162, a constitutional amendment aimed at allowing the state to create special charter schools against the wishes of local school systems. The constitutional amendment, which will be on the ballot for voter approval this November, will also allow the state to send additional dollars to state charter schools at the expense of existing traditional public schools and local charter schools.
Mercifully, the 2012 session was a quick one. In an election year, legislators have an added incentive to adjourn as early as possible since they cannot legally raise money for re-election until the session ends.
Below is a summary of legislation passed this session. With the exception of HR 1162, the legislation has been sent to the Governor for his signature. Governor Deal has forty days after the end of the session to sign or veto any bills. On May 8, legislation which is not yet signed or vetoed becomes law. The effective date of the following legislation is July 1, 2012, unless otherwise specified within the legislation.
Charter Amendment
Last year's state Supreme Court ruling, which held that the state constitution barred the state from creating special interest charter schools and taking local tax dollars to fund the schools, gave rise to HR 1162. Proponents of the resolution are seeking to change the portions of the Georgia constitution which currently prevent the scheme. After an unprecedented lobbying campaign at the capitol, HR 1162 was passed by a supermajority of House and Senate members, and the following question will appear on ballots this fall:
Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to allow state or local approval of public charter schools upon the request of local communities?
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Ballot Confusion
- a message from GSBA
Happy summer to one and all -- hope it is a joyful, cool one!
A confusing issue has cropped up as people take a look at the sample ballots for the Primary.
Occasionally a party chooses to put straw poll questions on the ballot. These questions are for informational purposes only; they are non-binding. This year both parties have done so, but they are asking different questions.
A question on the Democrats' ballot is causing some confusion: "Should the Georgia Constitution be amended to allow the state to override locally-elected school boards' decisions when it comes to the creation of charter schools in your county or city?" Some voters are confusing this with the Constitutional amendment that will be on the November ballot.
This question is not the Constitutional amendment that wil be on the November ballot. The proposed November amendment would extend the state's authority to create schools. The state would have an unlimited ability to approve schools in any local district without local agreement. The July informational question from the Democrats is very broad and could be interpreted in many ways.
Efforts to find a way for the state to insert itself in the local charter process started right after Georgia law was changed to allow approval of start-up charters. In 2000, the law was passed allowing the State Board to approve state chartered special schools after the petition had been denied by a local board. State law also allows the State Board to mediate between the local board and the charter petitioner to resolve the issues. Neither of those provisions has been satisfactory to certain factions. Thus the continued push for other ways to either make the local board do what someone at the state level wants or to circumvent the local board to accomplish the desired outcome.
Voters should keep in mind that it is the limits of their own authority that is being questioned. "Local control" is about the right of the voters to elect people to represent them in the decisions set forth in the Constitution and to hold those elected officials accountable. The Georgia Constitution creates the elected local boards of education and authorizes them to establish schools within their district and to control and manage those schools. Voters choose those who will represent them in making the local decisions about what schools to open, how to control them, and how to manage them. Both the July and November questions ask the voters if they would like to pass on some of that power from themselves to the state.
We choose how we will be governed through the Constitution. Amendments should always be considered carefully, and so should fishing expeditions on amendments.
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Board Briefs
At its regular meeting on June 26, the board of education. . . .
- Adopted FY13 Budget with the following appropriations: General Fund - $73,643,704; Special Revenue Fund - $13,535,584; Debt Service Fund - $4,964,675; Capital Projects Fund - $20,579,985; and School Nutrition Fund - $5,821,004. (Video)
- Approved the FY13 Contract with Griffin RESA.
- Opted to serve as fiscal agent for the FY13 Family Connection grant as requested by the Spalding County Collaborative Authority for Families and Children, Inc. through the Georgia Department of Human Services.
- Adopted a Resolution authorizing Dr. Curtis Jones, Superintendent, James D. Smith, CFO/Assistant Superintendent and Ryan McLemore, Director of Accounting to make deposits and/or withdrawals of funds from the state required Georgia Fund I account for the Education SPLOST.
- Approved the renewal of the GSBA Risk Management Fund contract for FY13 in the amount of $579,958.
- Approved the purchase of two 72-passenger Bluebird school buses at a price of $76,219.50, each to be reimbursed by the State of Georgia.
- Approved the 2012-2013 school fundraisers.
- Approved an amendment to the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Griffin-Spalding Partners in Education Board of Directors.
- Approved the proposal for parking lot and sidewalk additions at Cowan Road Elementary School, and an additional parking lot, repairs on the existing parking, and additional sidewalks and steps at Jordan Hill Elementary.
- Approved on second reading Policy FDC - Renaming or Rescinding a Use of a Name for School System Facilities.
Heard presentations on:
Received points of information on:
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