Albany State University, one of the colleges not arbitrarily merged with another nearby institution, does not win the gold-star of excellence this week. A recent audit revealed that several hundred freshmen were admitted to the university without having appropriate credentials.

I think Albany State is a good school; I’ve got a couple of friends who are graduates. (And let me take this time to direct your attention to one of the better political blogs in this state written by an ASU alum.) I’m sure they will rebound from this and they appear to already be working on addressing many of the issues the audit discovered.

But I can’t help but wonder what is going on at other schools across the state. It seems like threshold test-scores are something easy to keep track of. Little Jimmy either had a high enough verbal or he didn’t. I noticed a few days ago that transcript fees at the University of Georgia were increasing substantially, in part because of the need of new software for the Registar’s office.

Both subjects, while remote, are related in the sense that they involve data and, to a degree, technology. Which begs the question; are our universities and colleges behind the times on data entry and management?

This week is National School Choice Week and on Wednesday the Georgia chapter of Americans for Prosperity will host four free screenings of Making the Grade in Georgia, a film shows the how kids in our state are being left behind (no pun intended) and highlights the need for reform.

Even though Georgia currently ranks 48th nationally in education, possible and proven remedies, such as charter schools, have been threatened by the state Supreme Court and local school boards. At the same time, powerful special interest groups and teacher unions stand in the way of competition among schools.

The screening of Making the Grade in Georgia will be held on Wednesday at the Sloppy Floyd Building (across the street from the state capitol) each hour from 2 to 5pm. AFP-GA will also host a Q&A after each showing. Regardless of your political views or thoughts on education, the dialogue on the issue needs to be open and this event could serve as a forum for a real discussion.

To find an National School Choice event in your area, visit here and enter your zip code.

It’s déjà vu all over again as Gwinnett’s School Board rejected an extension of Ivy Preperatory Academy’s charter. Ivy Prep had asked for a five year extension but the Board rejected it…

…citing “significant deficiencies” including its financials and curriculum as well as its vision.

If the School Board is concerned about Ivy Prep’s finances they can start by giving them more than the $4,368 per FTE they give them now.  GCPS spends over $7500 per student, not counting building costs.

As for the curriculum and vision problems, let me point out that according to the 2010 CRCT scores students at Ivy Prep perform better in almost every category then GCPS students.

So what exactly was the basis for the rejection?

Gwinnett County voters should know that three Gwinnett County Board of Education members are up for election this year. Mary Kay Muprhy has already drawn a challenge from Jen Falk, who just happens to be a founding board member of Ivy Prep.

Gwinnett’s action comes on the heels of the Fulton School Board rejecting a charter extension for Blue-Ribbon Award winning Fulton Science Middle School. Last year in the mad scramble cause by the Supreme Court ruling overturning Georgia’s charter school law, charter schools in Cherokee and Coweta were rejected. Additionally, Atlanta Public Schools and Doughtery County Schools were the subject of high profile CRCT cheating investigations. Recently Atlanta Public Schools and DeKalb County Schools have been in various levels on trouble with the accreditation agency SACS, and who can forget about Clayton County Schools losing their accreditation in 2008?

All of these things took place in a State that is by most measures at the bottom of the educational pile in the nation – a nation whose students each year fall further behind students in other industrialized nations in math, science and reading.  It’s past time to address Georgia’s problems.  It’s time to stop using local control as an excuse to deny school choice and accept poor results for our students.   We’ve got to pass a Constitutional Amendment reversing the Supreme Court’s charter school ruling and give parents more options.

My local Kroger has over 15 varieties of mustard.  Why?  Because the mustard consuming public demands choice.  Far too many people accept the notion there should be only one type of school provided by the government.   We demand a free market for condiments but not education.

As Jason mentioned, next week is National School Choice week.  There will be a pro-school choice rally at the Capitol on Wednesday beginning at 10 AM. I plan to be there.

Rep. Ed Setzler was a guest on the “Political Talk With Todd and Todd” podcast and talked about education and what we need to be doing to make it better.

First let me say that I encourage my friends on the left and middle, as well as fellow conservatives to critique this list – and hopefully add to it. The state legislature will convene in a few days, and I’m sure they are all waiting breathlessly to know what we citizens want. What do you really want? Please share your ideas.

Dear Georgia Legislature, The citizens of the state, with a few exceptions. have been good this year and so they deserve some consideration. Here is my Christmas wish list for the state of Georgia. I hope you’ll look at it carefully.

Georgia Capitol Building - Image via Wikipedia

1. The state needs to give individual counties the flexibility to increase the limit on local option sales taxes subject to the same current restrictions (other than the overall cap) but limit that authority to the next five years with tax receipts to go into the local government’s general fund. Some poor, rural counties may need this to remain financially viable in this economy. I don’t like increasing taxes, so if there is a better way, I’ll certainly accept it.

2 – EVERY department at the state level needs to implement zero-based budgeting.

3 – Stop thinking about education in its present form. Look for alternatives that work whether they are within the current framework or not. Look at eliminating grade-levels so that students can work at different levels within each subject matter without regard to age. Grade levels stifle students in their best subjects and bewilder them in the areas in which they struggle. Could you please pass legislation making it possible to fix this?

4 – The most independent, politically neutral ethics commission possible should be established. There is a great motivation for this: The majority today may not be the majority tomorrow and this commission must be established in a way that no one can manipulate it for political gain and so that it is effective, consistent and renders the closest thing to justice available in this world.

5 – Commission a committee to study the state government, focusing on duplication of services and resources and make recommendations on reducing the cost of state government. Think of it as Georgia’s Grace Commission.

a – Put people on the committee from varied industries and backgrounds such as financial, manufacturing, agricultural, academic, logistics, health, medical, legal and all levels of government. Put the best and brightest forward, not necessarily the most politically connected. Set up a liaison with the Georgia Congressional delegation to obtain any necessary federal information.

b – Give that committee the keys to get any and all information from any state official and agency that can be legally obtained.

c – Make public all recommendations without interference from any elected officials. Establish a website to receive suggestions from citizens. Divert any suggestions for local and county governments to another website and make them available to the public, as well.

6 – Increase the penalties for the commission of voter fraud in state and local elections.

7 – Hey state senators and Lt Governor Cagle! Pay attention. The country is in a financial mess and state unemployment is at an unacceptable level, meanwhile you’re in a contest to see who’s the most juvenile. This is unacceptable. I have my own beliefs on who is mostly responsible for this, but it no longer matters. Fix it or it’s going to get really ugly and you may not get your fondest wishes in the coming years.

8 – Is there an organization that seeks out “best practices” from other state governments and reviews those practices to see if they will help Georgia? If not, isn’t it time to do so?

9 – I remember hearing you were going to review and improve the state tax structure. How about it?

10 – When Austin Scott was campaigning for governor, he suggested a state-wide grand jury to handle some matters that seem to fall in the cracks. It’s still a good idea, so how about looking into that?

Merry Christmas!

Any other wishes?

In keeping with the Festivus sprit, it’s time for the airing of grievances. I’m looking at you Fulton County School Board. You’ve have made it abundantly clear your desire is to shut down the Blue Ribbon award winning Fulton Science Academy Middle School. After rejecting the school’s charter renewal application Tuesday night citing the need to renew it for only three years, you reject the school’s agreement to everything you asked for.

Samantha Evans, Fulton School’s spokeswoman said the district received an amended application meeting their demands for a three-year term Thursday, but it was too late. “This vote is a legally binding action,” she said.

Legally binding??? So take another “legally binding” vote to accept the amended application and declare victory. Heck, rub their noses in it, whatever makes you happy, just keep the school open for the benefit of students who are thriving there.

Kyle Wingfield is right. This episode demonstrates Legislative action is needed.

It’s this: While adults argue about the length of the contract for one particular school, the worst schools throughout Georgia have perpetual contracts with scant chance of ever losing them due to poor performance, fiscal mismanagement, cheating scandals — you name it.

Like a lot of big school systems, Fulton has some schools that are stars, and others that are so pitiful, you’d be forgiven for thinking you can’t spell education without “dud.”

It’s going to be a tough fight next year to move forward on Charter schools but it’s a fight worth having – just ask the students at Fulton Science Academy Middle School.

Burke County, Georgia is home to the AAA State Champion Burke County High School Bears, who overcame not only opponents on the field, but crushing poverty and physical hunger. Coach Eric Parker attributes much of the team’s success to the federally-funded Healthy Hunger-Free Kids program, which helps feeds 500 students at the cost of $3 per meal.

Burke County’s trailed by two touchdowns at the half, but took over in the third quarter.

Burke took control of the game midway through the third period, moving 79 yards in eight plays and scoring the equalizer on Green’s 35-yard run and Mayton’s two-point run.

The Bears pulled ahead on Mayton’s 1-yard run with 21 seconds left in the third period, and Green’s 13-yarder put the game away at the 2:48 mark in the fourth.

Before Burke County instituted the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids program, such a victory would have been unthinkable for a team whose players were weakened by chronic malnutrition.

Seventeen-year-old defensive lineman Jessie Bush remembers how different things were just four years ago. “A lot of people – they was hungry, tired, and sleepy sometimes.”

Those were signs that his coach Eric Parker recognized as the dangerous symptoms of dehydration and malnutrition.

“We had kids who literally by Tuesday had to be removed from practice because of the intensity and the amount of energy they were having to expend,” Parker said.

The idea that some students might be going to school or practice hungry probably wouldn’t surprise anyone who knows Burke County, Georgia – one of the poorest counties in the country – where 48 percent of kids live below the poverty line.

Coach Parker knew the school needed to do something. So he met with Donna Martin – the school nutritionist. Martin said Parker told her, “Our kids need more calories – they’re falling out by the end of the fourth quarter and we need more calories – what can we do? Wouldn’t it be great if we could feed them supper?”

“I’m not going to cut the nutrition program and what it did for us short at all,” Parker said. “I thought it was a big part of our success.” He added there’s “no doubt” the nutrition program played a part in the big win. It gave them a sweet victory on and off the field.

Good people can disagree over the role of the federal government in feeding the poor, but I believe we each have a personal duty to help our neighbor.

“Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’” Matthew 25:34-40

Whether you agree or disagree that this is a role to be performed by government, this is a time of year to consider how you can help feed someone else.

By my count, we have three education departments in Georgia: the Department of Education (K-12), the University System of Georgia (colleges), and the Technical College System of Georgia (formerly known as the Department of Technical and Adult Education).  The TCSG/DTAE decided to collapse some of the schools under their domain, and the USG is considering doing the same with some of its member institutions.

I can understand the purpose of separate departments for K-12 education and college education, but would there be a benefit of placing the technical colleges under the jurisdiction of the university system?  There are 2 USG institutions that have a technical school/division on campus.  Those divisions have to play to two masters: the University System and the Technical College System.  It just seems to me like we’re involved in duplication.  If we place post-secondary education institutions under one umbrella, wouldn’t that increase the ease of someone who might start off at a technical institution to enroll at a state college or university?

Perhaps it’s time to take a serious look at our entire education infrastructure in Georgia.

I got this booklet (thanks to Baker over at TJP for posting a link to the PDF version) via snail mail yesterday from the Center for an Educated Georgia.  They’re looking towards the Peninsular State Just Below The State of Georgia (a.k.a. Florida) and the reforms they did to their education system.  The Florida legislature passed an education reform bill, termed the A+ Reform Plan, and signed into law by then-Governor Jeb Bush in 1999 to address student learning.  A few of the highlights are:

• Expanded parental choice that would allow parents to choose charter schools, online programs, and scholarship programs for low-income an special-needs children
• Evaluation of school performance on an A to F scale so that parents would have a clear, simple understanding on how the school was performing overall
• Elimination of social promotion and ensuring that children can perform the basics of that grade-level before being promoted up to the next grade
• Extension of the alternative teacher certification that would allow highly qualified professionals from the “real world” who are interested in teaching to teach in the classroom

There is a link to the A+ Plan in the PDF, but the link is broken.  Hopefully they’ll get it fixed.  In the mean time, here’s an article from TCPalm reviewing the performance (some good, some not so much) of the reform and here’s a blog post from the Heritage Foundation on other states that are signing similar reform bills into law.

Discuss.

UPDATE:  The link to the A+ Plan works now.

I enjoy talking politics with members of our district GOP. I was on the phone with one of the executive committee members this weekend to discuss the transition and organization of district committees. We ended up on the topic of federal funding of state activities. He eventually said “I wish the state legislators would lay out an 8-10 year plan to ween us off of federal funding of highway projects.”  We also agreed on extending that plan to education as well.

From what I understand, there are many requirements/regulations/laws that are obeyed just to get full federal funding. A governor, state executive, or legislator wouldn’t be arrested…just wouldn’t get funding. Wait a minute…the state can’t make a decision to do something contrary to the federal government (and say that the law requires) because we won’t get money? Sounds like about 50 donkeys are being lead around with one big green money carrot tied to a stick by Uncle Sam.

It would be interesting to see how much (percentage-wise) that the federal government sends highway dollars to Georgia. Then, it would be interesting to see a few rising conservative stars in the state House and Senate that would lay out a plan to make Georgia more self-reliant starting with federal highway and education funding. It would be hard. We’ve been getting federal funds for years, so it would take many years to get ourselves off of it.

It might be a worthy experiment though.

Warren County head football coach David Daniel is recovering from reconstructive facial surgery with inserted metal plates and over 100 stitches after a violent altercation between his team and the hometown Hancock Central team Friday night. Several bones around Daniel’s cheek, nose and eye were “crushed” when a Hancock Central player allegedly struck Daniel in the face with a helmet. Doctors believe there was no brain damage caused by the blow.

Warren County Schools Superintendent Dr. Carole Jean Carey said that the incident occurred after the game. According to Carey, the visitors’ locker room was locked and it appeared that a large group of Hancock Central players and fans were waiting for the Warren County players and staff. While the Warren County team was waiting for someone to unlock the door, a Hancock Central player struck a Warren County player from behind with a helmet. Daniel stepped between the players and was then hit in the face. Multiple Warren County players were attacked by the group during the brawl. The story in The Augusta Chronicle provides the details:

The incident occurred, Carey said, as she was walking with Daniel after the game. After the Screaming Devils reached their locked locker room, they were “caught off guard,” she said.

Carey said Daniel saw a Hancock Central player hit a Warren County player from behind with a helmet. According to Carey, Daniel stepped in and said something to the effect of “What are you doing?” The Hancock Central player, who has not been identified, then struck Daniel with a helmet.

Daniel was released from the Medical College of Georgia Hospital on Sunday night but will go back as doctors decide what’s next.

Warren County High School Principal Kaveous Preston has stated that several Warren County students were also sprayed with pepper spray at the game. The Georgia High School Association is investigating the incident and Preston is urging fans and players to focus on this week’s game and to give the system an opportunity to work.

The rival schools are less than 30 miles apart and to add to the drama, the Hancock Central defensive coordinator Marleau Blount had been the Warren County head football coach until August. Blount resigned after some players were allowed to practice before passing their physicals. Daniel was the defensive coordinator under Blount at that time.

With the Coach Daniel on the mend, though several more surgeries will be required, the focus is now on what Hancock County Sheriff Tomlyn Primus will do regarding the incident. Carey has requested that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation look into the events, but the Hancock County Sheriff has declined to do so. He also declined to tell The Augusta Chronicle if he was investigating the allegations though he has reportedly told other news outlets that he is doing so and that the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office is capable of handling the investigation.

So is this event an indictment of organized sports, our culture or just a group of idiots who should wind up in jail? Warren County school officials are stating that they will not play Hancock Central again this year in any sport. Have they overreacted to this one incident?

If anyone cares, Warren County beat Hancock Central 21 – 2. It was Hancock Central’s homecoming.

Additional sources:

Hancock County School Calendar
WRDW-TV Sports
WJBF News Channel

Rep. Brooks Coleman and Sen. Fran Millar, Chairmen of the Education Committee in their respective bodies, have undertaken the task of looking at how Georgia funds education. In a nutshell, education is funded from three principal sources: State funds, Federal funds, and local property taxes. Some local school boards also have a local option sales tax. The amount of State and Federal funds each local school system gets is governed by the Quality Basic Education(QBE) formula.

Coleman and Millar have formed a committee and are taking testimory from experts on what changes need to be made to the QBE formula. The AJC’s “Get Schooled” blog has some advice from Joeseph Martin, a Democrat who helped write the original QBE formula and ran for State School Superintendent.

The original intent of QBE was to provide funds to local school systems in a rational way on the basis of student needs. That premise is still sound, but the mechanics of the formula have become so detailed and arbitrary that the basic concepts have lost much of their meaning.

It is essential in building public confidence to articulate the needs of our schools in a way that is understandable and transparent. Only then can we explain why our students and state will benefit from investing in our schools. This is why the funding formula must be clear, fair, and flexible and focused on the goal of improving student achievement.

The overall approach I’ve suggested to you is a significant departure from QBE, because it is not based on a weighted student cost. Instead, it relies on the number of “teaching positions” earned by each school system according to approved staffing ratios (but with broad latitude in how these positions are filled). There would also be allocations for various forms of support at each school. Once these needs have been determined, the level of funding would have to be adjusted in relation to the fiscal capacity of each system, but in ways that differ from QBE.

I encourage you to read the entire article.

This review of the QBE formula is timely. On Friday I attended the Georgia Public Policy Foundation’s annual Legislative Briefing. The final topic of the day was about online learning and how it’s rapidly gaining popularity and changing the way education is delivered. While listening to the presentation from Michael Horn (author of the book “Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns”) I was struck by how online learning could cause upheaval in our funding model.

Our current funding model of State and Federal funds added to Locally raised funds becomes a hindrance if technology renders a student’s location irrelevant. With online learning gaining popularity and indeed changing the way the classroom functions we need to rethink how we fund education in this State.

It’s not all bad news out there folks. Nine Georgia schools were designated “Blue Ribbon” by the US Department of Education. According to the press release from the Georgia DoE:

Blue Ribbon Schools are chosen in two categories (see the full criteria descriptions):
- HIGH PERFORMING SCHOOLS: Schools that scored in the top 10 percent in student achievement.
- DRAMATICALLY IMPROVED SCHOOLS: Schools with at least 40 percent economically disadvantaged students that have dramatically improved student achievement to high levels.

The Schools are:

Public
- Big Creek Elementary, Forsyth County
- Calhoun High, Calhoun City Schools*
- Fulton Science Academy, Fulton County
- Mount Yonah Elementary, White County
- Peachtree City Elementary, Fayette County
- Shirley Hills Elementary, Houston County
- Timber Ridge Elementary, Cobb County
- Trion Elementary, Trion City Schools

*Pending final AYP results

Private
- Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School
- Savannah Christian Preparatory School

Congratulations to the excellent schools.

Enrollment is booming in Decatur schools. Add that to an increase in ITP population and it would appear that a city to busy to stop the sprawl is beginning to curl in on itself. In a good way.

As in-town schools swell, it includes parents that work and shop, keeping the economy of Atlanta viable in very trying times.

Talk amongst yourselves about good things that are coming out of this bad economy.

In order to curb expenses, some of the units of the Georgia Technical College system have been merging.  Georgia Northwestern Technical College was the product of one of those mergers.  Now, new University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby is talking about the possibility of some of the 35 university system institutions merging:

The idea of merging some of the smaller Georgia colleges into larger campuses has been talked about off and on over the years but never has gone past the discussion stages. The staff, students and parents from the affected schools and their representatives in the General Assembly pose the most likely obstacles to consolidation plans becoming reality.

“I know this will be somewhat controversial to many,” Huckaby told members of the system’s Board of Regents. “I would urge campuses and communities around the state not to panic. We will be deliberate and objective about our work, and this board will have substantial input and every opportunity to discuss final recommendations.”

Huckaby emphasized that no specific schools have been identified for consolidation at this point.

“There is no list,” he said.

What if there was a merger of UGA and Georgia Tech?  Oh, heads would explode then…

Allow your speculation to run wild on what schools will merge.

We all know that Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, gonzo writer and Lord of Excess, would have likely had the internet hard-wired into some type of brain port if he had chosen to continue his existence. Senior citizen or not, Thompson embraced new experiences and over-stimulation and so the internet – if done to excess – was a likely destination for his attention. Unfortunately, the good doctor shuffled off this mortal coil at the time and method of his own choosing, so he is not here to serve as a role model for other seniors.

I would remind seniors of Thompson’s words, at least the ones I can use here, “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”

For some reason senior citizens seem to fear the internet. Perhaps it’s because they know, on some cosmic level, that Hunter S. Thompson’s quotes still lurk there. As Walter Jones writes for Morris News Service, as reported in the Augusta Chronicle:

While 94 percent of all Georgians have access to broadband Internet service, only 65 use it, largely because older Georgians don’t think it’s relevant to their lives or they’re afraid of it, witnesses told a Senate committee Tuesday studying the economic and generational digital divide.

“There is an ongoing fear that I’m going to be digital-ed out,” said Marcia Wallace, a 64 year-old secretary. “It’s not that I don’t want to be on the Internet … I need somebody somewhere that can teach me.” Story continued here.

Of course there is a committee. Senator Valencia Seay (D-Riverdale) has sponsored legislation to create a committee to study the divide between internet users and those who avoid the web. The committee will meet throughout the year and study different programs within the state of Georgia as well as programs in other states. They will report during the next regular session of the Georgia legislature.

Of course, one way to help senior citizens is to make them less afraid. Again, Dr. Thompson could serve as a role model for seniors planning a road trip on Al Gore’s internet highway:

We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers… and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls. 
Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can
                                                               - Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Please note that you may have to help Granny find the mescaline. It’s not as popular as it once was.

But not the kind you’d expect.

In her final months as the APS Superintendent, Beverly Hall racked up over $125,000 in legal fees. 11 Alive News:

According to legal invoices obtained through an Open Records request made by 11Alive, the law firm Jones Day billed the school system $74,152.74 for the month of May alone.

Dr. Hall’s legal bills for the months of March, April and May totalled $127,386.46.

Add that to the estimated $1 million price tag per month for teachers placed on leave with pay while they are investigated and you’re talking about real money here.

People talk about “leaving a legacy.” This is more like a disfiguring scar, not just for Atlanta, but the entire state of Georgia.

Good news for DeKalb students and parents.

The Georgia Board of Education on Monday unanimously approved Ivy Preparatory Academy’s plan to open k-12 boys and girls schools in DeKalb County.

The schools, Ivy Preparatory Academy at Kirkwood, will be housed on the former campus of Peachtree Hope Charter School. Each campus will have 265 students and a staff of 10. A parent information session will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday on the DeKalb campus.

State charter school officials said the plan will help keep more educational options available for DeKalb students.

It doesn’t seem that way seeing that spending increased from $5.4 billion in 2007 to a projected $7 billion for this year according to the AJC.

Spending has gone from 
$5.4 billion in 2007 to a projected $7 billion this year, as colleges built expensive buildings, hired high-priced administrators, bought top-of-the-line technology, added football teams and dozens of new academic programs and even bought a golf course.

To help pay the rising costs, the system raised tuition and fees. Tuition at the University of Georgia has increased by 50 percent since 2008, and student fees have increased 87 percent.

System officials say growing enrollment and cuts in state funding are to blame for students paying hundreds or thousands of dollars more annually.

State lawmakers consider funding higher education a top priority, regularly borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars for construction projects on top of the more than $1.7 billion in taxpayer funding the state provides colleges.

But they have grown frustrated in recent years, arguing that the system isn’t sharing enough in spending cutbacks.

As other departments in state government are cutting into their spending, the USG appears to be spending more.  It’s good that our USG and legislature views quality post-secondary education as a priority, but with our lagging economy and state budget, shouldn’t the USG be putting additional scrutiny on expenditures?  Especially when they’re shifting more of the burden to the students and parents paying the additional tuition and student fees.  Certainly something the new chancellor will have to tangle with as well as the legislature.

Senator Vincent Fort yesterday called for the resignation of Sam Williams, President of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Fort is not the only one calling for resignations at the Metro Chamber:

“In the event they (Williams and Senior VP Renay Blumenthal) refuse to resign, the Taxpayers Foundation intends to sponsor a professional investigation of the role of the business community in the massive cheating scandal,” John S. Sherman wrote in an e-mail to Atlanta Business Chronicle.

At issue is the report of a Blue Ribbon Panel created by the Metro Chamber to look into the APS cheating allegations. The Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation alledges the Blue Ribbon Panel’s investigation was a “sham.”

It was Sam Williams, President of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, in his February 26, 2010 email, who orchestrated the sham investigation for the purpose of letting “the facts from this investigation guide us in our support of Dr. Hall.” It was Renay Blumenthal, Executive V.P., Metro Atlanta Chamber, who urged that the Blue Ribbon cover-up report be “finessed to pass Governor Perdue’s
approval.” It was John Rice who defended Beverly Hall after the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement announced the massive cheating. The firm selected by the Metro Atlanta Chamber to investigate the massive cheating, Caveon, issued a report that the State Investigation described as “flawed and which understated the potential for cheating.”

Indeed the Blue Ribbon Panel’s report found “no direct evidence of cheating.”

But the deeper investigation, by an independent commission using a national firm that specializes in rooting out cheating, found no evidence of “any district-wide or centrally coordinated effort to manipulate” test scores, and no direct evidence of cheating.

As we know, the report didn’t pass Governor Perdue’s approval, another investigation was launched uncovering the scope of the cheating.

Should heads roll at the Metro Atlanta Chamber?