The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, April 05, 2023, Image 14

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The times., April 05, 2023, Image 14

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Newspaper Page TextJohn Chambliss | Managing Editor 770-718-3407 | news@gainesvilletimes.com The Times, Gainesville, Georgia Midweek Edition-April 5-6, 2023 M =1 OUR REGION UNG president: Budget cuts ‘concerning’ University expects funding to shrink by about $24 million by 2025 BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. University of North Georgia is bracing for tough times ahead after state lawmakers on Wednesday passed a budget that cuts $66 mil lion or just over 2% in funding for the University System of Georgia. As a result, UNG would lose about $2.54 million in state funding for the upcoming fiscal year. When combined with a 10% cut in total state spending in 2020 and a $13 million cut caused by a drop in stu dent enrollment, UNG expects its budget to shrink by about $24 mil lion by 2025. It is unclear at this point exactly how that loss in funding might impact UNG, but President Bonita Jacobs called it “concerning” in a letter to faculty and staff on Friday and seemed to hint at potential lay offs in the future. “This new and unexpected bud get cut is concerning,” she wrote. “The severity of the budget cut passed by the legislature this week will further impact teaching bud gets, staffing and student services as the university seeks to reduce costs.” Will there be layoffs? “We’re not planning any layoffs specifically, and the budget is not final at this point,” UNG spokes woman Kate Maine said in an inter view. “But I think President Jacobs is trying to be as transparent as possible with our university com munity. This is a significant funding decrease if it goes through, and it will impact our operations.” UNG avoided significant lay offs last year by leaving vacancies unfilled, cutting the travel budget and reducing spending in other areas. Three non-tenured faculty were laid off in August, and some fear there might be more layoffs on the horizon following this latest cut. “It’s just a lot of uncertainty at UNG at the moment,” said Mat thew Boedy, an associate professor of English at UNG and president of the Georgia conference of the American Association of University Professors. “We do know we’ve had similar cuts in the past, and retire ments and unfilled positions have saved people’s jobs. But on this new one, we just don’t know how it’s going to go.” “If they laid off three non-tenure- track faculty last year,” Boedy said, “I would expect that number to go up now.” Decline in enrollment UNG’s enrollment fell by 8.6% from fall 2019 to fall 2022, from 19,748 to 18,046 students. Jacobs wrote that the decline in enrollment is attributable to a “strong local labor market, the effects of the pandemic on student enrollment, and national decreases in the number of traditional college- age students.” “At UNG, those trends have been particularly evident in losses of stu dents seeking associate degrees,” Jacobs wrote in her letter. All the while, she added, UNG is paying more for employee health insur ance, and its utility costs have increased by more than $1 million. Will tuition go up? It is not clear whether or how much tuition costs will rise. Those decisions are not made by universi ties. They are made by USG’s Board of Regents. In one of their last acts of the leg islative session, lawmakers passed a bill requiring legislative approval of tuition increases of more than 3% at state universities. In an interview with The Times, USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue said he was puzzled by the decision to slash the university system’s fund ing on the one hand and limit tuition hikes on the other. “I don’t believe the Board of Regents would really contemplate anything greater than that any way,” Perdue said of the 3% tuition cap. But, he added, “I’m not sure what the motive would have been to decrease the funding on one side and then cap any opportunity for tuition increases on the other side.” Lawmakers react to USG budget cut The House and Senate on Wednesday approved the $32.5 bil lion state budget, which will take effect July 1. The Senate voted 54-1 in favor, and the House then approved it 170-3 in the closing hours of this year’s legislative ses sion. It will now go to Gov. Brian Kemp for final approval. “There was a lot of good things in that budget, but I felt like that was not one of them,” said Rep. Lee Hawkins, R-Gainesville and mem ber of the House appropriations committee. “We’ve got a decreas ing enrollment, so that affects our budget also. And I definitely would not like to see tuition increased due to this cut.” “I didn’t lobby for it and wouldn’t have lobbied for it,” said Rep. Emory Dunahoo, R-Gillsville. “I think if (the USG Board of Regents) really do what I did in my busi nesses, when we had a tough one year, I just tightened my belt up and I did without a few things and then I made it till the next year. ” Rep. Matt Dubnik, R-Gainesville, and chairman of the appropria tions subcommittee on education, blamed the Senate for the USG bud get cut. “I’ll put it to you this way. When the budget left the House, there were no cuts to the USG budget. When it left the Senate, USG was cut by $105 million,” Dubnik said. The House objected, he said, and restored $39 million to USG’s bud get. “That left a $66 (million) gap. So I would suggest anyone who has an issue with that should pick up the phone and call the Senate appro priations chairman.” Senate Appropriations Chair man Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, and other lawmakers have pushed back against critics, saying USG’s 26 public universities can make up for the budget shortfall by using the roughly $500 million in cash they have on hand, called carry-forward funds. UNG, for example, had $7.6 mil lion in carry-forward funds at the end of 2022. “I’m not saying that that’s gonna make everything better for you UNG, but I also will say that clearly their carry-forward costs triple the cuts USG has told them they will take,” Tillery said. Senators Shelly Echols, R-Gaines- ville, and Bo Hatchett, R-Cornelia, declined to say whether they sup ported or opposed the $66 million USG budget cut and instead issued a joint statement through the press office. On a positive note, some say, this year’s $32.5 billion state budget will pay full tuition for all college students receiving a HOPE Schol arship and also give all state and university employees and public school teachers a $2,000 pay bump. But the juxtaposition in priori ties has left some scratching their heads. “I’m confused that the state leg islators think so highly of us to give us $2,000 raises and then think so poorly of us that the cut is so deep like this,” said Boedy. ‘Shot... with his own gun’ Quaran Jackson enters Hall County Magistrate Court Monday, April 3, for a committal hearing. Jackson, 17, is accused of shooting Gabriel Ledford, 19, of Gainesville, near the 3000 building at Summit Place at Limestone Place around 5 p.m. on Jan. 9. SCOn ROGERS The Times Investigator testifies in shooting involving 17-year-old suspect BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. A Gainesville teenager told law enforcement he was shot at with his own gun, leading to serious injuries that almost cost him his life, accord ing to court testimony. Quaran Jamir Jackson, 17, of Gills- ville, appeared Monday, April 3, in Magistrate Court with attorney Chloe Owens in an attempted murder case. Jackson also faces charges of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, aggravated battery, aggravated assault and armed robbery from the Jan. 9 shoot ing in Gainesville. He was arrested a month after the shooting. Gainesville Police Investigator Brad Raper said it happened around 4:51 p.m. Jan. 9 on Shades Valley Lane. Officers were called out to a person who had been shot, finding Gabriel Ledford, 19, inside his moth er’s apartment. Ledford was transported to North east Georgia Medical Center in critical condition after losing a “tre mendous amount of blood,” Raper said. “They gave him multiple (transfu sions) of blood to bring him back,” Raper testified. “It was told to me that he would not have made it had he not been so close to the trauma center, given the amount of blood that he was losing.” Five shell casings were found at the scene, all 9 mm caliber. Ledford said he was outside wait ing for a friend to come over when he was approached by a vehicle pulling up behind him, according to Raper’s testimony. The 19-year-old said a per son jumped out and grabbed his backpack. “Part of Gabriel’s statement was he had a gun in his backpack, that they got out, they tried to take his phone,” Raper said. “They tried to take his gun from him and they ultimately just took his phone and left the scene with his phone. But he claimed they took his gun away from him and shot him with his own gun as well as another gun that they had brought.” Ledford said he did not know who they were, Raper said. Ledford’s gun was found at the res idence, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was able to determine there were two different firearms used. The other gun has not been found, the investigator said. The stolen cell phone is also still missing despite attempts to ping and call it. After determining who had the car, law enforcement arrested another 17-year-old Gainesville man following a traffic stop. Raper said that man told him a story that the investigator has since debunked, but a search of his phone found a message between him and Jackson roughly an hour after the shooting. Raper said Ledford sent a name and a picture of the person who he thought it was, identifying Jackson, though he wasn’t completely certain. Raper obtained search warrants for Jackson’s phone records, and geo location records put Jackson’s phone at the scene at the time of the crime. After getting a more current photo of Jackson, Raper said Ledford immediately identified Jackson. Following Raper’s testimony, the prosecution brought Hall County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Mark Newberry, who took out two war rants accusing Jackson of breaking into vehicles. Newberry said both break-ins hap pened in Jackson’s neighborhood. Owens focused her questions on the evidence at the scene and how Jackson was identified as the suspect. Raper said they have not found witnesses to the incident itself, but people heard the gunshots and saw the car driving away. Owens argued that the ID of Jack- son as the suspect is tenuous and circumstantial. She also felt there was not sufficient evidence of intent to commit murder in an attempt to have the charge dismissed. Judge Michelle Hall moved all charges on to Superior Court. Brenau names athletic center after longtime head Schrader BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com Brenau University on March 31 dedicated the Schrader Ath letic Center to honor President Emeritus Ed Schrader, who led the university from 2005-2019, the university announced Monday. Additionally, the basketball court inside the center is now the Ed L. Schrader Court. “It is important that Brenau recognize Dr. Schrader’s contri butions to the university in a way that reflects his passions and his contributions throughout his more than 14 years of leader ship,” Brenau President Anne Skleder said in a news release. Skleder praised Schrader’s impact on the university’s ath letic program. Brenau’s student athletes earn an average GPA of 3.33. “His vision for an expanded athletic program continues to positively impact the university, with our athletes contribut ing to both the academic and personal success of our student body,” Skleder said. “I didn’t need tonight to feel like Brenau is always a part of my life going forward, but it was very nice,” Schrader said after the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “I feel that my legacy is the diplomas that were granted during the time I spent here at Brenau, because I know those women and men are living lives they wouldn’t have lived had they not been with us. I do believe that Brenau provides a special experience and a special oppor tunity for our graduates. That really is the reason to be here.” Brenau’s Board of Trustees approved the naming in late 2022 to honor Schrader’s time as president. “On behalf of the board, we are humbled to be bestowed with this opportunity to show appreciation for what Ed and his wife, Myra, have meant to Brenau and the Gainesville and Hall County community,” said Mike Smith, chair of the Board of Trustees. For 13 years running, Brenau’s athletics program has earned national recognition as a Champions of Character Five- Star Institution for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Brenau’s 15 teams compete in 12 varsity sports in the President Emeritus Ed Schrader and wife Myra, center, cut the ribbon on the new Schrader Athletic Center at Brenau University. Joining the Schraders are Board of Trustees Chair Mike Smith, far left, and Brenau President Anne A. Skleder, far right. Photo by AJ Reynolds/ Brenau University NAIA Appalachian Athletic Conference. 2 Hall students advance to Young Ga. Authors BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com Editor’s note: This published in a previous E-Paper edition and is being provided here for print-only readers. A couple of Hall County students are moving on to the final round of a prestigious statewide writing competition. Hall County Schools made the announcement over the weekend, congratulating fifth grader Chloe Clark of Wauka Mountain Multiple Clark Bennett Intelligences Academy and senior Harleigh Bennett of Johnson High School for winning the regional round of the 32nd annual Young Georgia Authors writing competi tion, open to students grades K-12. They will now compete against other students from across the state after beating out students from the 15 school systems that make up the Pioneer RESA region, which repre sents Northeast Georgia. The state wide winners will be decided in late April. Clark and Bennett are among 13 Hall County students who were named district-level winners for their respective grade levels. “Students become authors when they find a way to write what no one else could say,” said Laurie Ecke, director of innovative and advanced programs. The Young Georgia Authors com petition, sponsored by the Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia Council of Teachers of English, encourages K-12 students to develop enthusiasm for and expertise in their writing. The competition does not require students to respond to a specific prompt or place any boundaries on their choice of genre, according to the Department of Education. state finals Students are judged on the four domains of the Georgia Perfor mance Standards — ideas, organi zation, cohesiveness and language — and they can submit short sto ries, poetry, essays, personal narra tives or other original writing. “Their writing springs from their unique experiences while com municating something universal,” Ecke said. “We are grateful for the parents and teachers who inspire these young writers and are proud that they so well represent Hall County Schools.”