Local News
Consortium price tag $140,000 for Murray schools
By Mark Millican
markmillican@daltoncitizen.com
CHATSWORTH — The Murray County Board of Education is betting that inclusion in the Consortium for Adequate School Funding will pay off in the long run. The system in 2004 joined a group of 50 school systems in Georgia that have sued the state for what they say is inadequate funding.
The current bill from the consortium is $23,634, which board members agreed to pay half of during their meeting Monday night. In January, when they pay the second half, the system will have spent $140,529.
The consortium (www.casfg.org/litigation/) will take its case to Polk County Superior Court on Oct. 21. Almost one-third of Georgia’s schools are represented in the lawsuit.
“The suit was filed because Georgia has obligation under the state constitution to provide adequate school funding,” said Joe Martin, executive director of the nonprofit consortium, Monday night. “The state has a primary obligation to support schools, but the state has been abdicating that responsibility to the local level. Some systems can take up the slack, but others can’t.”
Martin said 500,000 pages of documents have been filed in the case, which will be a bench trial with no jury. He told the board he expects a decision early in 2009.
“We are so sure of a favorable decision in the first part of next year that we’ll be able to tell legislators (as the General Assembly convenes) that this state is not fulfilling its responsibilities,” he said.
Martin said Murray Superintendent Vickie Reed will be called as a witness.
“Murray County has been a leader (in the consortium),” he said, “and Steve Loughridge (finance director) has been acknowledged as an expert in school financing.”
“It’s put us under a terrible financial strain,” said board chairman Julius Weyman. “We’ve had to cut back and cut back.”
Elizabeth Gould, a board member for two years, agreed and said she saw the cutbacks as an educator and knows they have cut into schools’ abilities to purchase materials for the classroom.
In other action, the board:
• Announced that collections for the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax in July jumped a startling 56.2 percent, from a projected $209,326 to $582,025.
• Heard a presentation from Frank Adams of Keep Murray Beautiful on fledgling recycling projects at each Murray school.
- Local News
-
-
Derby time
Owen Halman, 8, of Dalton, lines up his car “Fire Bullet” before a race during the Boy and Cub Scouts grand championship Pinewood Derby Saturday at First Presbyterian Church.
-
Helpin’ and paintin’
With his bracket busted and interest in the men’s college basketball tournament waning, Pierce Montgomery spent Saturday re-painting the Dalton home of a Vietnam veteran who couldn’t do the work himself.
-
DSC officials explain possible cuts
Dalton State College officials know the state budget cuts they planned for almost a month ago won’t be as deep as expected. What they don’t know is exactly which of the proposed cuts they’ll have to implement.
-
Higher education funding is at center of debate
More than 4,000 students, including several at Dalton State College, have banded together to push back against proposed state cuts to higher education funding.
-
Local officials view possible cuts at college with concern
Dalton State College plays a big part in plans by local leaders to grow and diversify the area’s economy, so they are viewing proposed cuts to the college with some concern.
-
Young couple awaits Habitat for Humanity home
Luis Sanchez knows how the Gutierrez family feels as they watch their house being built by the Dalton-Whitfield Habitat For Humanity.
-
Superintendent decision coming Monday night
The Richland 2 school board in Columbia, S.C., has chosen a superintendent — Whitfield County Schools superintendent Katie Brochu was one of three finalists — but won’t publicly say who it is until Monday, according to The State newspaper.
-
Area arrests for March 21
Recent arrests from the Whitfield and Murray County jail reports.
-
Marilyn Helms: Companies vary on correcting products, services
In the first half of my column on my Dalton State College quality management systems class quality “problems” project, I discussed the situations that companies did not resolve.
-
“Do You Remember?” cast announced
Members of Dalton Dance Company will perform in Dalton Arts Project’s “Do You Remember?” spring concert — a look back at the music they grew up with as well as the music enjoyed by previous generations of teenagers (now parents and grandparents).
- More Local News Headlines
-
