Newspaper Page Text
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♦ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2005
Green tree frogs back for a shot at legislature
By DOUG GROSS
Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA - The green
tree frogs are back at the
state Capitol.
For the third year in a row,
Georgia lawmakers will
attempt to get the tiny ani
mal designated as the offi
cial state amphibian.
The idea originally came
from a group of fourth
Lottery dip in first half of year raises fresh concerns
By DICK PETTYS
AP Political Writer
ATLANTA - Lottery sales
in Georgia took a $4.1 mil
lion dip during the first half
of the budget year, raising
fresh concern about the
health of two popular pro
grams it funds - HOPE
scholarships for “B” college
students and pre-kinder
garten for 4-year-olds.
Over the first two quar
ters of the fiscal year which
began on July 1, the lottery
took in $1.3 billion, some
$4.1 million less than in the
same period last year.
While that is only frac
tionally down, the
Private, home school students added to Perdue's virtual
By DOUG GROSS
Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA - Home school
ers and private school stu
dents would be allowed to
take online public school
courses under changes a
Senate committee has made
to a bill backed by Gov.
Sonny Perdue.
The Senate Education
committee approved a plan
to create the Georgia Virtual
School - giving students in
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graders studying civics at
Armuchee Elementary
School in Rome.
“They learned Georgia
doesn’t have an official
amphibian, and they decided
to try to change that,” said
Sen. Preston Smith, R-
Rome, whose bill was intro
duced in the Senate on
Monday.
Legislature last year adopt
ed a series of cost-curbing
steps that could kick in at
the end of the budget year if
the trend continues and the
year-end balance in the fund
is less than the year before.
If that should occur, the
book allowance for HOPE
scholars would automatical
ly be reduced from S3OO to
$l5O. If there is more slip
page the following year, the
book allowance would be
eliminated. For a third year
of below-par earnings, the
HOPE scholarship no longer
would pay for mandatory
college fees.
J.B. Landroche, a
small school systems com
puter access to advanced
placement classes and other
courses that may not be
available to them locally.
The classes would be fund
ed by state tax dollars based
on the number of courses
students were taking. A
change introduced by Sen.
Don Thomas, R-Dalton,
would open up to six online
courses a year to students
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Last year, the plan passed
in the House - despite some
complaints it was frivolous
and at least one lawmaker
croaking “Ribbit! Ribbit!” as
his colleagues voted.
But it died in the Senate,
where the tiny amphibians
may be in for another uphill
climb if comments from the
head of the committee that
spokesman for the Georgia
Lottery Corp., said he sees
no immediate cause for
alarm, in part because
throughout the lottery’s his
tory, “the second half of the
year has been stronger than
the first half.”
Too, he said, second-quar
ter growth was up by nearly
$1 million over the second
quarter of 2004. But that
was not enough to erase the
$5.1 million first-quarter
deficit.
Sen. Bill Hamrick, R-
Carrollton, took a different
view of the development, as
did Democratic Lt. Gov.
Mark Taylor.
not enrolled in public school.
“I want to be fair to every
student,” Thomas said.
“Their parents are paying a
lot of taxes.”
The amendment was
opposed by Democrats on
the Republican-controlled
committee and by represen
tatives of teacher’s groups,
who said the change would
effectively take money away
from school systems.
STATE
allows bills onto the Senate
floor are any indication.
“I haven’t thought about
it and I don’t think I will be
thinking about it any time
soon,” said Sen. Don
Balfour, R-Snellville, who
heads the Senate Rules
Committee. “There are a lot
more important issues we
need to get to.”
Hamrick, co-chair of the
blue-ribbon commission
whose report led to last
year’s safeguards, said he
has grown increasingly con
cerned over the condition of
the lottery “because we are
further into the year and
still in the negative.”
He added, “It’s a concern
because in the best-case sce
nario, even with increasing
lottery revenues you are not
going to keep up with the
cost. If lottery revenues
actually decrease then it’s
obviously a major concern.”
Taylor predicted cuts to
the HOPE scholarship pro
gram will begin when the
“This is one more step in
weakening public schools,”
said Sen. Vincent Fort, D-
Atlanta, a committee mem
ber who voted against the
amendment. “Public school
students should not have to
wait in line.”
Ben Scafidi, Perdue’s top
education adviser, said gov
ernment officials don’t
think the number of private
school and home school stu
dents interested in the
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Smith’s bill was assigned
directly to Balfour’s com
mittee on Monday.
The American green tree
frog is native to Florida,
South Carolina, Arkansas
and southern Georgia.
Green with cream-colored
stripes, the frog lives on a
typical amphibian diet of
flies, moths and crickets.
current budget year ends on
June 30 because of the effect
of tuition increases and
growing enrollment.
Last year he had proposed
an alternative safeguard - a
temporary freeze on tuition
and fees to help keep the
program solvent.
“He’s disappointed the
Legislature would not
address the impact of tuition
on HOPE,” said spokesper
son Kristi Huller.
But Gov. Sonny Perdue’s
spokesman, Dan McLagan,
said the safeguards Perdue
and his Republican allies
imposed last year will keep
the popular program in
courses would be great.
He said the state’s school
funding formula would pay
for non-public school stu
dents just as if new students
had enrolled in Georgia
schools.
“It’s just like if there were
an increase of people moving
from Alabama to Georgia,”
he said.
Representatives for
Perdue and state schools
Superintendent Kathy Cox
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If its fates change, the
green tree frog would join 43
other official state symbols -
including “Georgia on my
Mind,” the state song, and
the Vidalia sweet onion, the
state vegetable.
Georgia already has an
official reptile, possum and
pork cook off - the Slosheye
Trail Big Pig Jig in Dooly
County.
operation even if the lot
tery’s downward trend con
tinues.
“HOPE scholars are grow
ing faster than lottery rev
enue, and Georgians are for
tunate that the head-in-the
sand crowd didn’t have their
do-nothing way,” he said.
Second-quarter lottery
ticket sales were mixed.
Instant ticket sales were up
compared to the same period
a year ago, increasing from
$756 million to $783 million,
Landroche said. Mega-
Millions revenue was slight
ly ahead but Cash 3 and
Lotto South were somewhat
down.
school bill
spoke on behalf of the bill at
the committee meeting.
Neither group publicly
opposed Thomas’s amend
ment.
The virtual courses would
count as class credit toward
graduation, but the Virtual
School itself would not issue
diplomas.
The bill, part of Perdue’s
legislative package, now
goes to the full Senate for
consideration.
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