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TODAY'S
ISSUE
Projects here are top
ten issues to watch in education
By
Dr. Stephen Dolinger
President, Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education
Special to GwinnettForum.com
FEB. 1, 2005 -- The status of education in our state is something
of which every Georgian should be concerned.. Whether you have children
enrolled in a local Gwinnett school, the level of our educational
system affects everyone. A quality system generates an educated
workforce, which in turn attracts business and more jobs.
Dolinger |
The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, a non-profit,
non-partisan organization of business, education, community and
government leaders who are focused on efforts to shape policy and
reform education in the state, has released its inaugural report,
Top Ten Issues to Watch in 2005. The report is a quick primer on
the key issues facing Georgia specifically and the nation in general.
Presented in a three-tiered format, the report provides readers
with background on the politics of the issue, informs readers with
research and best practices and highlights what Georgians should
expect on what this issue will mean for the state.
The list is composed of:
1. Merit Pay for Teachers
2. High School Matters
3. Early Learning Matters Most
4. The Future of School Choice
5. Retention Still Has a Place at the Table
6. The New IDEA
7. What's New? Performance Standards and the SAT!
8. Money, Money and the Lack of Money
9. Addressing the "B" in NCLB - America and Georgia's
Achievement Gap
10. Achievement Gap Goes to College
Some issues always garner the attention of the public, like schools'
performance on the No Child Left Behind requirements or the annual
release of SAT scores. But many other equally important issues,
such as teacher quality, are perhaps more important because they
are the foundation upon which other education reforms are built.
Research suggests that teacher quality is the most influential
school-based factor at improving student achievement. Yet, the public
may not always be equipped with the information they need to ask
important teacher quality questions of their elected officials.
The Top Ten list looks at the subject and provides helpful information.
Many Georgians judge our educational system by its national SAT
ranking. Rich in data, the report frames the ever-discussed SAT
issue and links the state's results on the SAT to rigor of the curriculum.
In a table called "Why It Matters," the report compares
Georgia's SAT score to other states with at least 50 percent of
seniors taking the test. While the table clearly demonstrates that
participation rate has some bearing on outcomes, it certainly suggests
that other factors are at play in the state's sub-par score.
We must continue to look at education and education reform systemically,
ensuring that our efforts, while well intentioned, are not simply
random acts of improvement. As such, the Partnership report draws
attention to the educational process from pre-kindergarten to college.
While there has been some attention to the achievement gaps that
persist between minority students and their counterparts, less attention
has been given to those trends as they emerge in college completion
rates. Again, it looks like the Ten Issues are right on-target.
Data from a new web tool of the Education Trust indicates that
all but two of Georgia's 18 public four-year colleges and universities
graduate fewer than half of their students after six years. This
data certainly suggests that academic weaknesses that aren't addressed
in K-12 persist when students enter college.
I encourage all Georgians to get involved in our educational process.
The Top 10 Issues report is a good place to start. It is available
at www.gpee.org. We are all stakeholders.
ELLIOTT
BRACK
Public
transit system in Gwinnett: Free rides in its future?
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
FEB. 1, 2005 -- Pick a community in most built-up areas of the
country and you hear the same concerns about transportation: "We
need better transit alternatives."
 Up
until recently, there was virtually no talk about this in Gwinnett,
since we had no public transportation. But starting with express
buses in 2001, with an initial routing in 2002, and expanded to
five routes in 2003, Gwinnett now has an operating bus system which
is seeing better use.
That wasn't always the case. Many buses in the first few months
of operation ran close to empty. But recent statistics show an increasing
use of the bus by riders. You can see it in clutches of people sometimes
waiting at bus stops around the county.
The Express buses to downtown Atlanta have seen ridership increases
this year from an average of 26,676 in January, 2004, up to a high
of 35,022 in October, 2004. Altogether, some 364,871 people took
express routes into Atlanta during 2004, at $3 a ride.
The recent growth has been substantial in local riders, at $1.75
per ride. Figures show that in Gwinnett during 2004 1,206,543 people
boarded local buses.which amounts to fare box revenues for Gwinnett
of $1.8 million. That's out of a total budget of $10 million, or
17 per cent.
Federal and state grants, plus Gwinnett general fund revenues, make
up the overall transit budget.
In neighboring Chattanooga, transit is also a topic. Recently the
transit issue there shifted somewhat with proposals to consider
making the entire transit system a free service. A shuttle service
in downtown Chattanooga, is already currently free, hauling 503,250
people last year. Ridership of local buses in Chattanooga was 804,263
last year.
Chattanooga has a transit budget of $12 million, though only about
$1 million comes from collecting fares. This is what prompted the
idea of having an entirely free bus system.
With fares so low a revenue producer, you wonder what the impact
would be in Gwinnett of having a transit service that was free to
riders. You would assume that there would be many more riders; you
would not have to man a fare system, which is costly; and the overall
impact could be a greatly reduced use of private automobiles, which
would lessen traffic congestion.
And it could cause a higher demand for even more transit, more
buses, more routes, around the community.
In the 1970s, the transportation community in many parts of the
nation floated the idea of free mass public transit. However, it
has not been a "hot" topic in recent years.
Yet as transportation problems increase nationwide, and as congestion
becomes more of a problem, you wonder if something like free public
transit could work in a spread-out county such as Gwinnett.
Free transit is not an entirely new idea across the country, though
no large community has adopted it. However, the idea of getting
people out of their private automobiles and onto public transit
seems far removed from current preferences in Gwinnett. Yet could
it be workable for the future?
We watch with interest the steadily-increasing use of public transit
in Gwinnett. Looking 10-20 years ahead, there must be major change
in the way we go about getting around the community. Could public
transit---for free---be one link in the transportation solution
for the future?
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FEEDBACK
2/1: Sees another post
being readied for Don Lee bern
Editor, the Forum:
Will confirmed adulterer, Board of Regents rulemaker AND UGA winemaker
Don Leebern be given the nod by Gov. Sonny Perdue to head his ethics
and morality campaign?
-- Brian Luders, Duluth
2/1: Feels slighted, so gives more details of fair tax proposal
Editor, the Forum:
I read with interest your column on the proposal to fund schools
via sales taxes instead of property taxes. While I'm unconvinced
of the merits of such a proposal, I'm glad that at least some changes
are being discussed.
However, I must disagree with you on your stance of John Linder's
Fair Tax proposal. You really sloughed over the various aspects
of the proposal, so much so I wonder if you've actually looked into
what it entails besides a "sales tax."
Hitting the high points, the proposal would eliminate the income
tax on individuals AND corporations (you didn't mention this in
your criticism of the idea). The ultimate effect of this would be
to lower the price of goods to the consumer. Since investments and
savings would be from pre-tax dollars, a built-in incentive for
people to save more would also occur, benefiting the overall economy.
The fact that a sales tax is regressive in nature to people on the
lower end of the income scale is not lost on Linder and the authors
of the proposal. There are many protections and benefits built into
the proposal to ensure that low income earners are not unduly burdened.
After reading all I can about the proposal and discussing it with
many knowledgeable people, I simply cannot find ANY argument of
merit against adopting it. I think you owe it to your readers to
go deeper than the inflammatory first glance that the headline "How
would you like to pay a tax of 31 percent on each sale?" gives.
At least give a link to the website www.fairtax.org so that people
can learn first hand the details of this excellent proposal.
-- Lee Hutchins, Hog Mountain
2/1: Says not just bad fat cats will benefit from "fair tax"
Editor, the Forum:
I know you are a lot smarter than you appear to be in your column
yesterday or did you fail to mention the following on purpose:
1. All property owners (not just the bad fat cats) would receive
a considerable reduction of their property taxes under the state
plan to fund education from an additional sales tax.
2. John Linder's Fair Tax plan would eliminate federal income tax.
You are smart enough to make an opposing argument without neglecting
to include all the facts or resort class warfare. Try again.
-- Patrick Malone, Snellville
Dear Lee and Patrick: Yep, we've discussed the
merits and demerits of the Fair Tax before, so I didn't feel the
need to repeat for the readers. We appreciate you giving your
views. It doesn't convince me, as we have different opinions,
and nothing wrong with that. -eeb.
2/1: Check out amount
withheld to see another viewpoint
Editor, the Forum:
With respect to your story on the sales tax of 31 percent, I would
suggest a much different view. I suggest that you consider how much
money most people currently spend for the income tax as it now stands
- not the amount you have to add at tax payment time. Check the
TOTAL WITHHELD and then see just how little 31 percent adds up to.
We could cut the IRS payroll, plus have the folks with the money
who spend the money pay the bill.
Your view of the "little guy" not being able to pay is
just plain wrong in my opinion, look at the food stamp and welfare
folks buying beer and cigarettes using MY tax dollars. No system
will ever be perfect, but I would suggest that a sale tax version
would be much more fair than the current system.
-- Steve Rausch, Norcross
2/1: Tries to maintain that only Republicans have solutions
Editor, the Forum:
Now, now, Elliott. Please try to be somewhat ethically responsible
with your column and present the facts (Reference the recent "How
would you like to pay a tax of 31 percent on each sale?" article).
Your ascertain that the "Fat Cats" will benefit while
the "Average Joes" will suffer as it relates to proposed
changes in how our government is funded is absolutely absurd. Your
word limit on comments precludes me from presenting all the facts
that dispute your claims; otherwise I could probably write a book.
At least the Republicans are trying to come up with solutions to
problems and broken systems, such as the current Federal income
tax system and Georgia's public school system. Seems the only thing
we get from most Democrats these days are complaints and criticisms.
-- Craig Heighton, Buford
Dear Craig: Now, now, Craig. You know what the
usual role of the Loyal Opposition, the party not in power is,
right? Those out of power, no matter which party, moan and groan
all the time about whatever the party in power proposes. That's
our two-party system, for better or worse. Don't just lay it on
Democrats today. When Democrats were in power, are you going to
argue that Republicans didn't moan and groan? -eeb.
2/1: Republicans rejected
it when Forbes first proposed it
Editor, the Forum:
Don't worry. They'll never change the current tax monstrosity except
to make it more unintelligible.
Remember when Steve Forbes proposed the flat tax and privatization
of Social Security? The Republican establishment beat up on him.
They had nothing worthwhile to offer; Steve did.
The two primary opponents (Lamar Alexander and Phil Gramm) ridiculed
Forbes, who had some neat ideas. Those two guys just wanted to get
elected and were jealous that they hadn't thought of it first. They
were get along by going along types, just like most Republican politicians
in Congress today.
-- Marshall Miller, Lilburn.
CALENDAR
Series of breakfast
meetings feature key Gwinnett women
The Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce will hold a breakfast Women's
Leadership Series, sponsored by RBC Centura Bank, highlighting Gwinnett's
women leaders.
The forums will touch on their lives and how they got to where
they are today, what has contributed to their success, what brought
them to Gwinnett to build a career, what makes them different or
more successful than others in the community, what makes them want
to be involved in the Gwinnett community, what obstacles they have
faced being a female and how being a female has been an asset to
their careers.
Those being honored include
- Charlotte Nash, former Gwinnett County Administrator, on February
4;
- Sharon Rigsby, president of Gwinnett Technical College, on February
11; and
- Victoria Chacon, president of La Vision newspaper, on February
18.
The last forum in the series, on February 25, will be a roundtable
featuring Judy Waters, executive director of the Community Foundation
for Northeast Georgia; Barbara King, executive vice president of
Corporate Relations for Primerica Financial Services; and Grace
Williams, CEO of Grace M. Williams, CPA, PC. The breakfasts will
be held at 8:00 a.m. in The 1818 Club located on the third floor
of the Gwinnett Chamber building at 6500 Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth.
"The Gwinnett Chamber is pleased to a host series of forums
highlighting the key role Gwinnett's women leaders play in our economy,"
comments Meghan Beard, Program Manager, Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce.
"Women-owned businesses continue to thrive in the pro-business
environment fostered by the Gwinnett Chamber."
Cost is $30 for breakfast or $100 for the series. For more information
about the Women's Leadership Series, please contact Meghan Beard
at 770-232-8816 or meghan@gwinnettchamber.org.
RECOMMENDED
READ
- An invitation: What Web sites or books have you enjoyed?
Send us your best recent read along with a short paragraph as
to why you liked it, plus what book you plan to read next. --eeb
ENCYCLOPEDIA
TIDBIT
2/1: February is important
month in history of Georgia
Possibly the most important event in Georgia's history occurred
in February 1733, when James Edward Oglethorpe founded the colony
of Georgia and subsequently laid out the plans for the city of Savannah.
 Other
important historical events that took place this month in Georgia
include the Battle of Kettle Creek in 1779; the signing in 1825
of the Treaty of Indian Springs, Which relinquished all the remaining
Creek Indian land in Georgia; and the official ratification in 1970
of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, 50
years after the amendment took effect.
Also in February, Elias Boudinot published the first issue of the
Cherokee Phoenix , a newspaper printed in Cherokee and English,
in 1828; Tiger Flowers became the first African American to win
the world middleweight boxing championship in 1926; and the movie
version of Gone With the Wind won eight Academy Awards in
1940.
Several famous Georgians have celebrated their birthdays in February:
baseball great Hank Aaron (1934), football coaching legend Wally
Butts (1905), writer James Dickey (1923), aviator Ben Epps (1888),
poet Sidney Lanier (1842), writer Carson McCullers (1917), and writer
Alice Walker (1944).
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Odd at w hat we ought
to be protecting ourselves from
"Since we humans have the better brain, isn't it our responsibility
to protect our fellow creatures from, oddly enough, ourselves?"
-- Author (Born Free) Joy Adamson, (1910-1980), Austrian
writer.
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