Newspaper Page Text
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♦ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2008
EDITORIAL
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Thoughts on BOE’s ‘Be There’ campaign
The National School Public Relations Association, the
Georgia School Superintendents Association, a few
Florida and Sout Carolina agencies, along with education’s
retail giant, The Parent Institute, have come together in an
effort to tell parents to, Be There.
Perhaps initial responses to the 2008 campaign rhetoric
may lead some to think that parents are not there and/or
consider the movement deplorable that tax payers contrib
uted to a campaign ordering presumably dead beat parents
in the school system to simply, Be There for their children.
However, I would ask you to take a minute or two to delve
beyond the surface of the Be There campaign to at least see
if there might be more to the story than meets the public’s
browsing eye.
For instance, the term Public Relations means: image
management, spin doctoring, media manipulation, self-pro
motion, and/or publicity. Additionally, the Be There campaign
is not a process it is an outcome for some, but does not
apply to all parents.
I’m reminded of the volleyball parents who wanted to use
a couple of the school gyms to promote fitness, scholarship
opportunities, and the well being of adolescents in Houston
County. Whilst all of those students lost out on the physical
activity, the Warner Robins basketball league solicited stu
dents in our public schools and was permitted to freely use
school facilities.
Furthermore, who can forget the hundreds, if not thousands
of parents who have addressed the elected board members
within the three-five minute period to express suggestions,
concerns, ideas, or information about areas that include, but
not limited to: appealing administrative decisions, pleading
for a rezoning pardon, the school calendar, the dress code,
suggesting a holistic approach to teaching all four of the core
curriculum during each school day, or inquiring when parents
will really be permitted to be part of the local decision-making
process promised in state law?
As a primary stakeholder and involved parent (when per
mitted to Be There) I wonder why the school system chose
a campaign targeting the few laissez faire parents when
they could have just as easily campaigned for the majority
of involved parents letting them know when schools actually
want them to “Be There."
- Kathy Brown, Warner Robins
Thanks extended to Mahala Clubs
The Houston County Friends of the Library wishes to
thank the Mahala Club for including us in their 2008
Spring Fund-raiser. Attendees at the fund-raiser, which was
held on March 1, received one raffle ticket for every four
books donated to the Friends of the Library.
These books will be included in our 2008 Old Book Sale,
which will be held on May 1,2 and 3at the Georgia National
Fairgrounds in Perry.
The 2007 Old Book Sale raised $6,500 for each of the
three Houston County branch libraries, and we hope to raise
even more this year. At last count, we had processed 50,000
books for the sale and we receive new donations every day.
Thank you, Mahala Club members, for your generous sup
port of Houston County libraries.
- Christine Hoskins, President, Houston
County Friends of the Library
Seeing no reason to update FIS Act
I see no vital reason to update the FIS Act that has not
proven effective except in allowing our so-called “intel
ligence services" to spy on innocent Americans. It is more
important to comply with the results of the bi-partisan 9/11
Commission that would make us safer. Mr. Bush just wants
our telecommunications companies to receive immunity for
spying on innocent Americans.
Congressional Republicans don’t know what bi-partisan
ship actually means and didn’t when they were in the major
ity. They have spent Bill Clinton’s surplus and wasted a
trillion dollars on an unjustified, illegal war in Iraq.
Our borders and ports are wide open to any terrorist that
wants to come here. Jim Marshall‘s patriotism and desire to
fight terrorism has been proven. He just wants a more effec
tive FISA to get the bad guys.
- Frank W. Gadbois, Warner Robins
ton Pome 3)oimtal
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Choosing to save schools money
Many people I know have
access to some form of school
choice. They can move to a
new home so that their K-12 student
lives in a district with better schools,
or educate their children at home, or
perhaps squeeze enough money out of
their household income to send them
to a private school.
None of these are without sacrifice
and hassle. Quite frankly these options
only reinforce my belief that there
is not enough school choice available
in Georgia. And for many parents it
doesn’t exist at all.
The most common way parents in
this state decide where their children
go to school is when they choose a resi
dence. Typically the best schools are
in higher income areas where families
can already exercise choice. But many
families cannot afford to move into
these areas - or take advantage of the
other options I mentioned. To choose
a better school for their children (if
necessary), another way must be avail
able.
Currently there is a bill before the
Georgia General Assembly that would
give parents access to funds to help
send their children to private school.
HB 1133 would establish a system of
state income tax credits and autho
rize creation of student scholarship
organizations that grant private school
scholarships to qualified students. Any
taxpaying individual or corporation
would be allowed to donate within the
guidelines laid out in the bill.
Now it’s pretty easy to see how this
would benefit taxpayers who want to
It was a quest ion of bonding
a jrnie stepped gingerly knowing
ry one false move could leave his
JLJ elf family of four without a
father. There were traps everywhere and
those were just the least of the dangers.
Still, he had to go on. Herman had
Lowenda.
Up until then Herman and his band
of hobgoblins had just been a nuisance,
their mischief pretty much left to raid
ing hen houses or pig-sticking a hog
or two here and there. But this, this
was serious. Lowenda was the king’s
daughter. Ernie could empathize. He,
too, had a daughter. If something were
to happen to her, he couldn’t imagine
what he would do.
That thought entertained his mind as
he rounded the corner and found him
self staring face to face with a fimir.
Oh no, Ernie thought, this is the end
Ah yes.. Ernie the elf. I remember
him well. He was me. Ernie was my
imaginary character - a pewter game
piece - from a game called Hero Quest.
He was my character, at least on those
rare occasions when I wasn’t the dun
geon master. Ernie was me. Charlie
the Cleric belonged to my best friend
- and coworker in the Air Force - Brian
Purtell. Bob the Barbarian was my old
est son, Jeremy, and Dude the Dwarf
was the playing piece of choice by my
youngest son, Josh. (Dude also provid
ed comic relief as it turned out. Charlie:
“Dude, that’s an ogre.” Bob: “I know.
And I’m not Dude.” Charlie: “No, I was
just saying... aw, never mind ...”)
This band of heroes - which as you
can tell from “Dude” played out more
like a group of 21st Century misfits
Randy
Columnist B,
Georgia Family Council wi
"Parents can access financial
assistance for sending their
children to a school of their
choosing, taxpayers who
contribute to scholarships
get a reduced tax burden and
school systems save a ton of
money."
reduce their tax burden and parents
who would like to send their child to
private school. But, there’s an addi
tional beneficiary as well - the public
school system.
A new study released by my organi
zation (Georgia Family Council) and a
host of others including the Friedman
Foundation, the Black Alliance for
Educational Options and the Georgia
Public Policy Foundation, finds that
public schools in Georgia could save
a whopping $94 million dollars under
this tax-credit scholarship plan.
Here’s how. When a student leaves
a public school and moves to a private
school using a tax-credit scholarship,
"No need to worry...as long as
we've got Admiral Perdue at the wheel!"
Managing Editor Jp? ’ _ J§pi
donm@evansnewspapers.com | iffn S
- originated back around 1993 when I
was stationed in the United Kingdom
and bought the game.
It came with 14 quests, but once we
finished those, we were hungry for
more.
I had one of the original Mac’s back
in those days. It didn’t have a hard
drive. Instead, everything was done
via a 3.5 disc (remember them). Using
that, however, I was able to make up
a miniaturized version of the game
board, and from there designed and
wrote quest after quest for us to play.
Further, I started going out and buying
more pewter figurines to expand and
expand and expand upon our brave,
new world.
Talk about good times. I know. It was
only a “silly” little game. But to us, it
was a mqjor bonding experience. We
typically only played on the weekend,
but when we did, it was hours upon
end.
Around 1998 came a move to Valdosta.
Ernie and gang were relegated to a
plastic container and storage under the
bed at that point. And there they have
remained until I stumbled across them
the other day.
Further, the move to Valdosta ush
ered in a whole nother lifestyle for my
"One voice can make a difference "
the local school district experiences a
reduction in state aid, but also experi
ences a reduction in its costs associated
with that child. The study found that
the reduction in costs is much greater
than the loss in state aid. The result: a
net gain of thousands of dollars to the
school system and the students who
remain there. Also, when a student
leaves, local school funding does not
decline, also producing thousands of
dollars in gains. Each student who uses
a tax-credit scholarship could save the
school system about $6,600.
In addition, the state budget would
also see savings to the tune of around
$6 million because of its own reduction
in costs.
Tax credit scholarships would be a
much more fiscally responsible way to
help fund education than just increas
ing state spending. Every time the
state increases education funding,
local school districts reduce their own
spending by shifting money elsewhere
or cutting taxes.
Our study found that for every dollar
increase in state funding for education
local school districts reduce their own
spending by 47 cents. In other words,
a one dollar increase in state funding
for education really equals a 53 cent
increase.
A scholarship, on the other hand, is
not susceptible to these changes. So
every dollar given to a scholarship is a
dollar spent educating a child.
So what we have here is a win, win
... win.
This is certainly likely to go
See HICKS, page §A
sons. They made new friends, got jobs,
bought cars and drifted away.
Today, they are both grown. Each has
gotten married and each has children
- one has two, the other one - of their
own.
They have their own lives now. They
are like so many of our children in
that they are just too busy to slow
down and spend a whole lot of time
with “mom” and “dad”. And I know I
mention our time together in that past
setting as if we were always doing stuff
like that, but the truth is, in so many
ways I epitomized that song “Cat in the
Cradle”. In other words: My sons are
just like me.
So it was with both joy and a bit of a
heavy heart that I looked through the
contents of Hero Quest in that plastic
container - re-reading some of the 23
quests I had written above and beyond
the 14. (My latest hobby has been to
buy a bunch of paints and the tiniest of
paintbrushes and to begin transform
ing them from plain pewter to lifelike
images.)
It brought back so many memories
and yet they were of a time that seemed
so long, long ago. And gone forever.
Unless... and then a thought occurred
to me. Maybe, just maybe ... I quickly
looked for a pencil and a pad and began
to write.
Quest 24: Heroes reunited ... Ernie’s
knees almost buckled as his eyes lined
up point blank with the razor sharp
teeth of the fimir. What he wouldn’t give
to have his friends here now. And then
he remembered ‘the wishing spell’...
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