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Classic Car Show
KIWANIS CLUB
CAR SHOW,
Saturday, September 21,
2013 at Bass Pro Shops,
5000 Bass Pro Blvd, I-75
Exit 172, Macon, GAThe
show is open to all cars &
trucks. Entry Fee is
$20.00 (pre-registered)
and $ 25.00 on day of
the show.
It’s this Saturday! Join the Walk
to Defeat ALS. Tread For Ed,
our local 2K Walk, honoring the
memory of Ed Tomberlin, will start
at the City Park in Roberta, GA, at
5 p.m. (on-site registration begins
at 4 p.m.). Saturday, September
21st.
The Crawford
County Board of
Education public hearing
on the tax increase to be
held at the Crawford County
Board of Education Board Room
on September 19,2013
at 6:50 p.m.
Issue 36 Thursday, September 19, 2013 The Voice of Crawford County Since 1921
also serving Byron and Peach County
2 Sections, 14 Pages One Dollar
Come dance with Martha
A ribbon cutting and official dedication was held Monday at Corps d’Elite
Initiatives on the square downtown Roberta, 88 East Agency Street. Charles
Cook, president of Roberta-Crawford Chamber of Commerce assisted own
er Martha McAfee, along with other Chamber members and many friends,
students and supporters in attendance. McAfee displays the attitude “When
life gives you lemons, you can still dance!” as she goes about the business
of her new company. After the death of her father over a year ago, Martha
began to think more seriously about the things she wanted to do while on
“this side”. She said she has always loved to dance. “Just something about
being able to forget all things around you and just move,” she said. She held
her first group dance class on July 8th, in celebration of what would have
been her father’s 82nd birthday. “It was crazy and beyond my expectations.
Folks showed up and we danced! Daddy would have been proud,” she said.
Martha provides dance instruction in Zumba, Line Dancing and Detroit style
Contemporary Ballroom Dancing. She also offers fund raising consulting,
event planning and proposal writing. Corps d’Elite is French for “the best
of a group”, Martha explained. “Our mission is to provide the best services
and to help make our clients reach their goals, whether it be physical or
fiscal health.” To learn more contact Martha McAfee at 478-957-5673 or via
email at martha.mcafee@gmail.com. Martha’s slogan is “Come Dance With
Me” and her clients run the gamut in age from children to her own mother. A
dance demonstration was given during the ceremony Monday.
Budget approved 3-1 by BOE
Final hearing tonight on 2.5 mil tax increase
With all Crawford County Board of
Education members present a vote
was taken to approve the published
budget last Tuesday, Sept. loth. Tim
Johnson voted against the others,
but the budget vote passed 3-1.
Three hearings were set and the
final ones will be tonight September
19, 2013. Tonight’s hearing will be
conducted in a definite procedure;
at 6:50 the hearing will begin and
promptly close, then reopen at 7
p.m. to set the mill rate, driving the
final nail in the board and raising
the millage needed for the school
budget. Households will pay school
property tax 18.75% after adding the
2.5 mills for the increased property
tax.
Board members Raymond Dickey,
Chairman, Lee Sanders Vice-chair,
Brad Cody, Tim Johnson and Jake
Howell poured over information
on the budget items trying to find
what they felt to be a cut to be made
that would not cause more harm
than good. Programs as the ROTC,
Arts and Agriculture, if stripped
would cause students to travel to
schools offering programs reducing
the student population by which
the state pays per-student. Salary
cuts, furlough days, and cutting the
days of school down and going by
the minutes spent in class to save
the dollars helped, but members
found the fund balance in a deficit
providing no more than a promise of
further decline of the dollars it takes
to run a school.
Blaming state government mak
ing cuts to education produced yet
another $1 Million in Crawford
County Schools pre-K - 12 grade.
This cut has been felt for the last
three years. In summary by the
superintendent, John Douglas, the
first cut at the state level has been in
education and the cost passed down
to each of the systems throughout
the state. Locals bare the burden of
the cuts and those paying taxes will
feel the pinch. The SPLOST Funds
come with specifics to pay for certain
projects and cannot be used to
fund anything other than what was
specified. Grants received in Titled
programs have restricted dollars
with guidelines for use, as well.
“The one positive note is that we
are still paying less tax than any of
the surrounding counties,” Superin
tendent John Douglas noted.
State cuts along with option by
taxpayers to divert taxes to private
school to the tune of $20,000 per
household and $75,000 by business,
loss in timber taxes, losing students
more and more to private schools
have also caused the increase,
according to Douglas. But as noted
this is the first time in a decade the
increase takes the budget over the
roll backs in the past.
Currently, the student popula
tion requiring busses, lunchrooms,
and teachers is approximately 1850
with a possible increase at the high
school. Each of these children have
$2500-$2700 price as reimburse
ment known as the FTE paid for the
children. Special needs students are
the most expensive and receive more
through other sources like the titled
programs.
A once ample fund balance used
for the past three years to pay unex
pected bills or make up for funding
unavailable caused by the state cuts
and other cuts or for other reasons is
now in a deficit. To fill the coffers re
viving the fund balance the increase
will allow for the funding to be made
available again with the increase.
After a call for the question by
Dickey to approve the over $ 14 mil
lion budget to include a fund balance
that had been depleted over three
years to approve a budget silence fell
BUDGET, Page 3
Lady
Eagles win
Region
game
The Lady Eagles softball
teams won a big Region
game against Taylor County.
#2 Amber Rowland had two
homers against Taylor Co.
and three for the season. In
the photo at left, she gets her
second homerun.#11 Rachael
Hortman was on the mound
for the CCHS Lady Eagles.
PHOTOS BY CAREY LEE
BOE hearing
brings lively
discussions,
other ideas
Only nine people attended
the second public meeting
to discuss the Crawford
County Board of Education
(BOE) millage rate increase.
Discussions were very lively
and led to some very inter
esting ideas for ways to cut
costs and drum up revenue.
Lasting for two hours, the
meeting included a slide
presentation from board
member Brad Cody, he
created to better understand
all of the cutbacks from the
different programs that
the state had implemented
and how they had impacted
Crawford County.
Due to the Stimulus cuts
and increase in funds going
to the conservation proj
ects in the county, a larger
portion of the financial
responsibility for the school
funds has been placed on
the local taxpayers. Many of
the taxpayers no longer have
children in school but own
their homes, thus they are
more affected by the in
crease. $800,000 that once
went to the schools now
goes to conservation and
forestry programs and these
funds are mandated by the
state.
Many people are upset
by the millage rate increase
because it will raise taxes
on their homes that aren’t
worth as much for resale
value as they are being
taxed. The 2.5 millage rate
increase will add approx
imately $100 extra every
year per every $100,000
your house is worth (at 40%
of assessed value). “Locals
are paying taxes on their
houses that are higher than
their houses are worth so
they can’t afford the millage
increase,” said one citizen.
Suggestions were made
to sell any assets that the
BOE owned from any vacant
buildings to land that isn’t
in use. Lee Sanders said that
they had looked at cutting
the ROTC program, sports
and other extra-curricular
activities that could have
saved the budget about
$200,000.
However, the impact of
those cuts would mean a
drastic decrease in students
that would cut the funds
from the state even more
and put even more of a bur
den on the taxpayers. The
students who wanted to par
ticipate in these programs
would have to move or
transfer to other schools in
another county which would
mean their tax dollars would
be transferred as well.
For more information on
the school budget you can
go to the website for the
Crawford County BOE at
crawfordcounty.schoolin-
sites.com.
The final meeting will be
held on Thursday, Septem
ber 19, 2013 at 6:50 p.m.
