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T??M 1??AW??Ws20i4
COLLEGE BIG BUCKS
In less than a month, students will be
reporting for fall semester classes at the pub
lic colleges that make up the state's University
System. I'm sure they will be a smarter group
than the students who entered college with
me back in my freshman days. We hope they
will be a more diverse group as well, reflecting
the state's growing black, Latino and Asian
populations.
Unfortunately for Georgia's future, there
will be fewer students attending our public
colleges and universities than there were a
couple of years ago. After growing to 318,000
students in 2011, the combined enrollment at
public colleges declined to 314,000 in 2012
and then to 309,000 in 2013.
Enrollment numbers aren't dropping
because the state's colleges do a bad
job of educating their students.
Enrollment is declining because
potential students are being
priced out of higher education
by endless tuition increases. A
recent study by the State Higher
Education Executive Officers
Association found that tuition
and fees in Georgia's public col
leges increased by 93 percent
during the period from 2008 to
2013???the only state that increased
tuition more is New Mexico.
Part of the problem is that the legislature
slashed funding to the University System over
the past decade. The Board of Regents was
compelled to make up for the funding cuts by
raising tuition.
Another part of the problem, however, is
that the University System refuses to reduce
the money it spends on its top officials. The
rank-and-file employees who worked for gov
ernment agencies and school systems often
were furloughed or laid off during the eco
nomic downturn of 2008-13, and those who
could hang on to their jobs didn't get a pay
increase for years. Those cutbacks didn't apply
to the people at the highest levels of the
University System.
Georgia Tech President Bud Peterson will
receive $773,646 in total compensation
this fiscal year after getting a recent sal
ary increase of $16,980. Georgia Regents
University President Ricardo Aziz will be paid
$675,379 after receiving a $25,379 bump in
pay. Georgia State President Mark Becker will
be paid $570,604, thanks to a $20,604 sal
ary increase. University of Georgia President
Jere Morehead will be paid $567,380, which
includes a $17,380 pay hike. University
System Chancellor Hank Huckaby, who got
a $21,250 pay raise this year, will receive a
total compensation of $518,250.
Then there is Michael Adams, who stepped
down last summer after 16 years as the
University of Georgia's president. Normally, a
state employee who retires would have
to be content with drawing a pension.
Not Adams. The Board of Regents
agreed to pay him $2.7 million
over the five-year period after he
resigned.
Compare those numbers to
the salary paid the governor
of Georgia: $139,339 a year.
Whether you like or dislike the
governor, there is no argument that
he holds the most important job in
state government. He administers a
yearly budget that totals about $42 billion
in state and federal funds, and he decides
how the state will provide vital services to its
residents.
The top officials in the University System
are eminently qualified people, but should
they be getting paid four and five times what
the governor makes when they hold jobs that
are demonstrably less important than his?
Virginia Carson, of South Georgia State
College, the lowest-paid fulltime president in
the University System, makes 39 percent more
than the governor. The promising high school
graduate who can't afford to attend one of our
colleges might well ask why?
Tom Crawford tcrawford@gareport.com
THIS MtUIH WUKLft
BREAKING NEWS
fOUR YOUNG BOYS WERE KILLED BY
ISRAELI ROCKETS WHILE PLAYING
SOCCER ON THE BEACH IN GAZA.
IN A RELATED STORY, SOURCES SAY THE
WORLD IS A DARK AND CHAOTIC PLACE,
DEVOID of MEANING OR HOPE, IN WHICH
EVIL FREQUENTLY TRIUMPHS AND SOCIO-
PATHIC BRUTALITY IS THE NORM.
i HUMAN BEINGS ARE ADVISED
I TO FIND WHAT SMALL SOLACE
iTHEY can before tragedy
I INEVITABLY OVERWHELMS
THEIR INSIGNIFICANT LIVES.
HUNDREDS OF PALESTINIAN CIVILIANS
HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE
CURRENT BOMBARDMENT???
???AND WITH THE GROUND
OFFENSIVE UNDERWAY, THE
NUMBERS ARE ONLY
??X-
Ipected to rise.
Action \
At
McNews V
Ml
Ne
by TOM TOMORROW
MEANWHILE A MALAYSIAN JETLINER
HAS BEEN SHOT DOWN OUT op THE
SKY OVER EASTERN UKRAINE, KILLING
ALL ON BOARD.
AMONG THE PASSENGERS
WERE SOME OF THE WORLD'S
LEADING AIDS SCIENTISTS,
DEALING A DEVASTATING
BLOW TO RESEARCH INTO
THE DISEASE.
WIUT\ BVS Wit
f^Netwtrl^SD^. Ne
COMING UP next: can you BELIEVE
MARVEL COMICS HAS MADE THOR
A WOMAN?
WE'LL TALK WITH SOME
OUTRAGEb FANS AFTER
I THESE MESSAGES'
At in
Me si/vs
r Athens VFW
Post 2872
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
LIVE MUSIC
EVERY FRIDAY 8pm-12am
$ 2.50 MARGARITAS
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FRIDAY, JULY 25
BORDERLINE
PRE'K
still has openings!
Pre-K program has vacancies for fall
at Alps Road, Cleveland Road,
Early Learning Center, Gaines
and JJ LI arris Charter.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 1
WILDCARD
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835 Sunset Dr. ??? 706-543-5940
Find us on ^
To register, please visit the Early Learning
Center at 440-2 Dearing Ext. or call (706)
357-5239. If your child is on a waiting
list for another school and you want to
switch to one of these schools, please call
the number above.
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SALON N
NS.GA
MODELCITIZENSALON.COM
497 PRINCE AVENUE ??? 706.543.3656
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for fast
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Need it in a hurry?
No problem.
163 E. Broad Street 706-548-3648
Downtown Athens www.bel-jean.com
Your Friendly Neighborhood Bar Facebook
EVERY TUESDAY
INDUSTRY NIGHT
Service Industry Employees receive
25% off bill
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EVERY WEDNESDAY
KARAOKE CONTEST
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EVERY THURSDAY ???8PM
REV. CONNER TRIBBLE
ALL STAR JAM
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ERIDAY. JULY 25
REV. CONNER TRIBBLE ??? 6-8PM
THE HANDS OF TIME ??? 8:30PM
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SATURDAY. JULY 26 ??? 8:30PM
OVERNIGHT SENSATION
Open 2pm Monday-friday and 12pm Saturday
^Homewood Hills Shopping Center ??? 706.516.0810^,
JULY 23, 2014 -FLAGP0LE.COM 5