The first question Kent Bishop asked at the Chamber’s Candidates Forum,
where he got eight minutes to speak for school consolidation while
each of the candidates for Valdosta Mayor only got five,
still hung in my mind at the end:
What qualifies you to come talk about education?
Like so many CUEE speakers, he isn’t an educator and he hadn’t done his homework.
You know, what I hear is that, from the other side, is that our taxes would go up
because of consolidation.
The facts just don’t point to that.
Generally what you’d see is some blending of the costs.
And if we do that and average it out, we’re gonna find the two
millage rates will come out somewhere in the middle.
It makes total sense.
Well, maybe it makes total sense if you like just making stuff up.
Or you can see, hear, and read
the extensive research by the Lowndes County Board of Education
that demonstrates if consolidation passes taxes will go up and public
school services will go down.
The speaker went on about ongoing white flight,
without ever mentioning that consolidation would cause
bright flight to head out of the county to Lanier and elsewhere.
He did come right out and admit something I’ve been saying:
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When we installed solar panels on our farm workshop in 2009, the closest certified solar installer was in Marietta. There were only four in the state. Now there are forty. Georgia may yet catch up with North Carolina and even New Jersey!
