The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, March 26, 2023, Image 3

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The times., March 26, 2023, Image 3

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Newspaper Page TextLOCA^STATE The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Sunday, March 26, 2023 3A Spring job fair set for April 13 at civic center BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Those seeking work or a better job can meet with poten tial employers at the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce’s annual spring job fair. The Spring Job Fair & Career Expo, set for 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday, April 13, will feature 60-plus employers looking for workers. The fair will take place at the Gainesville Civic Center, 830 Green St. The event, including a shuttle service, is free, and job seek ers can complete applications on site. Exhibit space costs $350 for chamber members, $450 for non-members and $300 for nonprofit organizations. Coordinating the event are the chamber, Lanier Technical College and the Georgia Department of Labor. More information can be found online at ghcc.com. Ga. Senate budget would slash GPB, cyber center funds BY JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANA — Beyond cutting overall university and col lege spending, a Georgia Senate budget proposal also targets Georgia Public Broadcasting and the Georgia Cyber Innova tion and Training Center in Augusta. The budget passed the Senate on Thursday on a 51-1 vote has mainly drawn attention for a $105 million proposed cut to teaching and health insurance funds for the state’s 26 public universities and colleges. But the spending plan also proposes a $5.1 million cut to Augusta University’s Cyber Center, out of $5.5 million in direct state funds. There’s also a $3.7 million cut to the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission, the state agency that oversees GPB. That’s out of $14.2 million in state funds. The House did not seek similar cuts in its budget proposal. Representatives and senators must work out their differences on the budget by Wednesday, when Georgia’s 2023 legislative session is scheduled to end. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Blake Til lery, a Vidalia Republican, was questioned Thursday about the cuts to Georgia Public Broadcasting, which operates nine public television stations and eighteen radio stations across the state. Its programming including television’s Sesame Street, Curious George and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, as well as National Public Radio, public affairs programming and high school football games. “The importance of public education via TV and radio can’t be overstated,” said Sen. Josh McLaurin, an Atlanta Democrat. Tillery responded that other broadcasters have com plained about the state funding GPB. “Let’s be honest, what they’re really saying is ‘Why are you funding my competition?”’ Tillery said. “But I think that’s actually a very valid point. Why are we picking winners and losers? I don’t think that’s the space we want to be in.” Tillery referenced a proposed earlier budget cut of nearly $500,000 in early 2021 that was not enacted. Emails obtained through a public records request by blogger Brian Bannon showed that, at the time, GPB President and CEO Teya Ryan believed the cut was intended as retribution for “liberal” news coverage. Ryan noted then that state funding doesn’t pay for TV and radio programming. Instead, it pays for GPB’s transmission towers and its educational outreach, including extensive educational content available to teachers beyond its broadcast television programming. Georgia Public Broadcasting declined to comment Friday. WABE, which operates an NPR affiliate and public televi sion station in Atlanta that don’t get state funding, said it knew nothing of any such complaints. The Georgia Association of Broadcasters, which represents television and radio stations in Georgia including GPB, did not respond to a request for comment. “We don’t see GPB as competition,” WABE Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications Sherri Daye Scott wrote in an email. “In our view, the more independent, unbiased news organizations and content hubs serving the Greater Atlanta region, the better.” Tillery denied partisan ill feeling, saying Thursday “there’s not a hatred of GPB in this building” and noting the state this year has contributed to GPB capital improvements. He said senators “would love” for GPB to have a “continued focus on educational programming.” CUSTODIANS ■ Continued from 1A said. “It’s actually about $2.8 (million) more, but then there’s some bonus opportunity in there if the buildings are clean, so it could be up to ($3.5 million),” Schofield said. “ Do we have any complaints with the folks we’re currently using?” school board member Bill Thompson asked Scho field before a vote was taken on the new contract. “Regular complaints,” Schofield said, before explaining the district’s decision to outsource its custodial services. “People harken back to a day and think, ‘Man, when we used to employ the custodians, all the buildings were clean.’ They’re living in a different world than I’m living in. I mean, it’s all dependent upon who they have in those buildings who the head custodian is. We have learned a lot over the last several years.” He added: “We save seven digits plus a year outsourcing custodial services. And we have some buildings that do tre mendously well, some that struggle. And I believe that’s the way it will always be and it’s the way it’s always been. So, yes, we get some complaints.” AFS Vice President Harold Angel would not allow The Times to interview any custodians, and he did not respond to requests for an interview. Officials said the district is taking new measures to make sure schools are spic and span going forward. “So we put in place now an evaluation system with two custodial evaluators that are going in every week,” Cox told board members. “And then also we have a better communi cation method with school staff back to the outsourced cus todial group, and those are things that we’ve put in place that we will now require from any of our vendors from this point forward.” Even when custodians manage to mop the floors and keep the toilets clean, the extra workload right now is simply unsustainable, officials said. “Sometimes, even though you may have the coverage, and you may have a reasonably clean school, it just isn’t a healthy situation,” Cox said. “So what we want to do is get fully staffed, and that’s really our biggest goal.” UNG waiving application fee for freshmen through March 31 BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@ gainesvilletimes.com University of North Georgia is waiving its $40 application fee for all incoming freshmen through March 31. Students must apply through their Georgia Futures account and use the code “ungad- missions” on page three of the applica tion, the university announced in a press release Thursday. The application fee for undergraduate stu dents is being waived as part of the Georgia Student Finance Com mission’s Apply to Col lege Initiative. This is the second round of application fee waivers offered this academic year, following Geor gia Apply to College Month in November 2022. UNG is one of 43 institutions across the state participating in the initiative. The waiver comes as colleges across the country face declines in enrollment. UNG is bracing for an esti mated $5 million bud get cut due to a drop in enrollment, which declined 8.6% from fall 2019 to fall 2022, from 19,748 to 18,046 students. So far, UNG has laid off three lecturers, and it sent a proposed bud get reduction plan to the University System of Geor gia last July. But officials have said freshmen applications for the fall semester are up compared to this time last year, which is “an encouraging indicator that undergraduate enrollment seems to be stabilizing,” UNG spokesman Clark Leonard told The Times in January. Learn more about apply ing to UNG on the Under graduate Admissions webpage. RTH GEORGIA PREMIUM OUTLETS JOIN US FOR OUR PREMIER DISCOVER NORTH GEORGIA TRAVEL AND LEISURE GUIDE The Event will feature great places to Visit, Dine, Play & Stay! It's a must have for families planning a day trip or weeklong holiday. SPONSORSHIP AND BOOTH SPACE AVAILABLE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL SALES REP OR MARKETING@GAINESVILLETIMES.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION. jobfair Thursday, April 13 10am - 2pm I Gainesville Civic Center Meet Hiring Managers Apply for Jobs Onsite Northeast Georgia Health System 60+ Companies Hiring • Open to the Public Ace Hardware Retail Support Center Affinis Hospice ALBAform Arrendale State Prison Badger Daylighting Boys & Girls Club of Lanier Cantrell - Gainco Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED Department of Public Health Express Employment Professionals Fastenal Fox Factory Gainesville Mechanical Gainesville Parks & Recreation Gainesville School Nutrition Gainesville Water Resources Georgia Department of Driver Services Georgia Department of Public Safety Georgia Department of Transportation Hall County E-911/Central Communications Kloeckner Metals Koch Foods Kubota Manufacturing of America Longstreet Clinic Mansfield Oil Company of Gainesville Mars Wrigley Milliken & Company/New Holland Northeast Georgia Health System Northside Hospital Forsyth Panera Bread Performance Foodservice Pilgrim's Resilux America Salford BBI Spherion Staffing & Recruiting Star Choices SYFAN Logistics TD Automotive Compressor GA (TACG) The Sherwin-Williams Company The Times University of North Georgia Voyant Beauty Wahoo Docks Whitworth Women's Facility Limited Exhibit Space Available! Call 770-532-6206 to Reserve a Booth Resiluxc*) The power of PET MARS WRIGLEY Greater Hall STAFFINC & AEC8UITINC R- y y y Jf j* iraca ToyDtaCompressDr.com CHAMBER OF COMMERCE a* TOYOTA /NOUS TRIES GROUP NORTHSIDE HOSPITAL Find a Job | No Entry Fee | GHCC.com/J0BS | Bring Resume | 770.532.6206 Transportation Forum Tuesday, April 11 11:30 am -1:00 pm University of North Georgia Gainesville Campus I Performing Arts Center $20 Chamber Members • $25 Guests Includes Lunch ■ Reservations Required Cerri Collins, 770-532-6206 x 106 Email: gcollinsfalghcc.com Reservations Online: GHCC.com/EVENTS Presented by ff c Rgchester pinnacle rank One Bank for Life Featuring Russell McMurry Commissioner Georgia Department ofTransportation This important forum with CDOT representatives, City of Cainesville and Hall County officials, creates discussion with Chamber members, businesses and community leaders. Greater Hall CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Open to the Public | 770 532 6206