Newspaper Page Text
Page 12— Wednesday, August 2, 2023, The True Citizen
Student test scores moving to pre-pandemic levels
DAVE WILLIAMS
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia students have yet
to fully recover from the dis
ruptions of the pandemic,
but they’re making steady
progress, according to the lat
est results from the Georgia
Milestones tests.
This year’s results, released
Friday, showed increases on
13 of 21 assessments. Most
of the gains came in English/
Language arts and math, and
at the elementary and middle-
school levels.
Most declines occurred in
science and social studies and
Vogtle
at the high school level.
Third-grade students scored
some of the largest increases,
gaining on average three points
in English/Language arts over
2022 scores, three points in
math, and three points in read
ing. Elowever, third-grade
scores were still three points
below the pre-pandemic year
of 2019 in English/Language
arts, while scores fell seven
points in reading and six points
in math.
Also, fewer than half of third
graders scored at a proficient
level in either English/Lan
guage arts or math. On the plus
side, the third-grade students
did better at reading, with 66%
scoring proficient or above.
“Even for this year’s third
graders, whose entire academic
career has been impacted by
the pandemic, we can see evi
dence of growth,” State School
Superintendent Richard Woods
said Friday. “It’s particularly
encouraging to see increases
in English/Language arts and
literacy, especially in the early
grades - given all we know
about the importance of learn
ing to read and then reading to
learn by third grade.”
On the other hand, Georgia
Milestones scores continued
to drop for 8th-grade students
in science and social studies.
Only 26% of eighth graders
Continued from front
per year. For the county that
means that property tax rev
enue deposited in the general
fund will peak at approximate
ly $32 million per year and de
crease annually afterward. The
county’s general fund will lose
about $900,000 one year after
Unit 4 is online. The decrease
alone is larger than some of the
departments’ annual budgets,
said County Manager Merv
Waldrop.
The Fire Fund will peak at
approximately $15 million and
the school district will peak at
approximately $100 million.
Their revenue
will also decline
at approximately
3% per year.
“They are
considered like
a piece of equip
ment,” Waldrop
said of why the
units depreci
ate. “The value
of the equipment
goes down every
year. Once Unit
4 goes online, that will be the
peak, and then there will be a
decline.”
The property tax is based on
the utility digest value. A coun
ty worksheet shows the utility
digest value of Plant Vogtle in
1990 was roughly $1.8 billion.
By 2005 that had decreased by
more than $668.6 million. With
the construction of Units 3 &
4 it increased to approximately
$6.4 billion in 2022.
The second way the county
benefits is from the sales tax
generated at refueling times.
Every refueling adds about $ 1
million in revenue. They will
continue for as long as the units
are in operation.
Indirectly, the county ben
efits from the increased sales
tax generated while temporary
construction workers shop at
local businesses.
Electricians Victor and Bil-
ner Sandobal have been stay
ing in Burke County for three
years while they worked at
Plant Vogtle. Last week, they
were told it was time to head
back home to Orlando. As
they hooked up their camper
Monday, they said they had no
regrets. The money was good
and they enjoyed staying in
Girard.
They are not the only ones
heading out of Burke County.
Many of the RV parks and
tiny houses are beginning to
resemble small ghost towns. A
& A DeLaigle Camper Park is
situated about four miles from
the plant. Carolyn DeLaigle
said the RV park, which stayed
full previously, is operating
with less than half occupancy
now. She said during refueling
“We are flushed with money and we have
gotten spoiled with spending and spending
is where we need to start trying to control
because Plant Vogtle is very soon going to
start depreciating. ”
—Chief Appraiser Philip Wren
periods temporary workers
will rent spots for much shorter
times than construction work
ers did.
The county is already expe
riencing a decline in sales tax
as construction workers leave
the area. Financial Director
Michael Wiseman reported
monthly sales tax revenue has
been lower than the 10% -15%
decrease that was predicted as
construction moved toward
completion. Some months
have seen a 20% - 30% reduc
tion, he said. The county is
budgeting conservatively for
FY 2024.
Concern for the decreased
revenue
Chief Appraiser Philip Wren
urged the BOC July 11 to begin
to curb spending.
“We are flushed with money
and we have gotten spoiled
with spending and spending is
where we need to start trying
to control because Plant Vogtle
is very soon going to start de
preciating,” he said.
Resident James Coble ap
proached the BOC July 26
asking them to consider cutting
every department’s budget by
10%. He said he believed that
necessary cuts now will help
eliminate shortages in the
future.
“I’ve heard stories over the
years about the county depend
ing heavily on Vogtle money
back in the 1970s and they
spent more money than they re
ceived and we had some really
tough years where it was hard
to meet the budget when the
revenues decreased,” he said.
“If we keep the same millage
rate that we currently have, and
we have our
new property
assessment
values, then
we are going
to be collect
ing a lot more
money.”
Waldrop
said during
the lowest
revenue-gen-
erating times
associated with
Units 1 and 2, the county
struggled as it dealt with the
depreciation mixed with the
recession that began in 2008.
He said the county is better pre
pared this time to deal with the
loss of revenue. Better financial
planning and more conserva
tive spending practices will
ensure a softer impact.
“We are in a better position
this time,” he said. “(Previous
ly), we built all the fire stations.
We had all this money and built
all these things and we didn’t
have debt, but we had assets
we had to maintain. We spent
a lot of the money initially
building a lot of properties. We
have been more cautious about
what we have spent the money
on now.”
However, the end of the
construction phase at the power
plant may not be good news for
some employees. Waldrop said
the key solution is to reduce
the total number of county
employees over the next few
years.
“Payroll is what will hurt us
down the road,” he said.
Office: 478-401-0495
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scored as proficient or above
in science, down three points
from last year and six points
from 2019.
Proficiency in social studies
among eighth-graders fell to
36% this year, down one point
from 2022 and five points from
2019.
The state Department of
Education (DOE) is launching
several initiatives aimed at ad
dressing those poor results. The
agency is hiring 100 certified
teachers to serve as virtual tu
tors in a program set to to start
with the upcoming 2023-24
school year.
The DOE will partner with
AmeriCorps to provide tutor
ing for up to 5,000 students at
schools identified as in need
of tutors and expand the avail
ability of BEACON, which
measures students’ progress
throughout the school year
to allow educators to target
instruction.
“There is still work to do,”
Woods said. “We will continue
to invest in strategies to address
lost learning opportunities.”
STATE OF GEORGIA
City of Waynesboro
QUALIFYING FEE NOTICE
Pursuant to O.C.G.A. 21-2-131 (a) (1), On January 17,
2023, the following qualifying fees were set by the City of
Waynesboro Council:
Mayor
$298.80
Council Member, Ward 1, Post 1
$158.40
Council Member, Ward II, Post 2
$158.40
Council Member, Ward III, Post 3
$158.40
Oualifying for the offices listed above will begin at 9:00 a.m.
on Monday, August 21, 2023, and will end on Friday, Au
gust 25,2023, at 12:00 noon, at the Burke County Board of
Elections and Registration Office located at 602 N. Liberty
St. Waynesboro, GA 30830. The General Election will be
held on November 7, 2023.
Angela Parrish, Supervisor
Burke County Board of Elections and Registration
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
A petition for zoning amendment has been filed with the Burke Coun
ty Board of Zoning Appeals, requesting the zoning of this property:
6.6 ACRE TRACT LOCATED ALONG HANDCOCOK LAND
ING RD ACROSS LROM MARIE VANN RD Map/Parcel: 107-
044B be changed from zone A-l to zone Rl. A public hearing will
be held at The Burke County Court House, located at 602 North
Liberty St., Waynesboro GA. 30830 on 8-22-2023 at 7:00 p.m. All
those in favor of or objecting to this petition should be present to
voice their support or objection. For more information call
(706) 554-8758
Burke County Planning Commission
DO NOT REMOVE UNDER PENALTY OF LAW
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
A petition for zoning amendment has been filed with the Burke
County Board of Zoning Appeals, requesting the zoning of this prop
erty: 12.79 ACRE TRACT AT THE SOUTH WEST CORNER
OF HANCOCK LANDING RD AND SON DELAIGLE RD IN
TERSECTION Map/Parcel: 107-044C be changed from zone A-l
to zone Rl. A public hearing will be held at The Burke County
Court House, located at 602 North Liberty St., Waynesboro GA.
30830 on 8-22-2023 at 7:00 p.m. All those in favor of or objecting
to this petition should be present to voice their support or objection.
For more information call
(706) 554-8758
Burke County Planning Commission
DO NOT REMOVE UNDER PENALTY OF LAW
513 Cotton Ave. Millen, Ca
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PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
BURKE COUNTY AND THE CITIES OF GIRARD, KEYSVILLE,
MIDVILLE, SARDIS, VIDETTE, AND WAYESBORO
UPDATE OF JOINT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
Burke County and the municipalities of Waynesboro, Girard, Keysville, Mid-
ville, Sardis, and Vidette have prepared a draft Joint Comprehensive Plan Up
date for 2024-2028 according to the 2018 Minimum Planning Standards set by
the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and the Georgia Planning Act of
1989.
Accordingly, a joint public hearing is scheduled for the County and Cities to ac
cept comments on the draft Joint Comprehensive Plan Update for Burke County
and the City of Waynesboro, Town of Girard, City of Keysville, City of Midville,
City of Sardis, and City of Vidette, for the period of 2024-2028. This draft has
been prepared by Burke County and the municipalities of Waynesboro, Girard,
Keysville, Midville, Sardis and Vidette with broad public participation and guid
ance from a stakeholder committee of public and private sector individuals. After
the public hearing and receipt of public comment, the draft plan will be submit
ted for review by the Central Savannah River Area Regional Commission and the
Georgia Department of Community Affairs. Plan approval by October 31, 2023
is required to maintain Qualified Local Government (QLG) Status for each local
government per the Georgia Planning Act of 1989, allowing continued eligibility
for State loans, grants, and permits for another five years.
The public hearing on the draft plan will be held at the Old Burke County Court
house Building located at 602 Liberty Street, Waynesboro Georgia 30830 at 6:00
p.m. on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.
Copies of the draft plan will be available for review at county and city offices,
or the Central Savannah River Area Regional Commission’s website prior to the
hearing date at https://csrarc.ga.gov