5.a) Consideration of an Ordinance for a referendum to allow citizens of
the City of Valdosta to vote on whether to annul and repeal the special
independent school system so that the City of Valdosta public school
system shall become part of the Lowndes County public school system.
This appears to be a pro-forma vote to put the referendum on the ballot.
But you never know what might happen, especially in council comments
or Citizens to Be Heard.
Maybe FVCS will show up.
On Monday, qualifying week begins for candidates interested in running
in the November election for
Valdosta Mayor, City Council At Large and
Council Districts 1, 3, and 5;
Hahira City Council Districts 2 and 3;
City of Dasher
Post 3 and 4;
City of Lake Park Mayor and four council
positions;
Remerton Mayor and five council seats;
Valdosta School Board
Districts 4, 5, and 6.
The VDT points out that city elections usually don’t get much turnout,
but this year there are two referendum questions on the ballot that
may cause record turnout.
They are:
Continue reading →
Less than one percent of the registered voters in Valdosta have made
the difference between CUEE’s school consolidation petition getting on
the ballot and not.
Your children’s education at stake —Sam Allen, FVCS, 7 July 2011
No school consolidation,
Press Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Jordan Leman is a student at VSU who had just spoken to the
Valdosta City Council in Citizens to be Heard, at the same
regular session yesterday where they approved putting referendum
about Sunday alcohol sales on November’s ballot.
“…try to get as many college students and as many non-college students
here in Valdosta and Lowndes County
to go out and vote for it or to go register to vote.
…
Get the word out to go vote on Sunday sales.”
Valdosta City Council just passed motion for alcohol referendum —Jordan Leman
Regular Session, Valdosta City Council (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 21 July 2011.
Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
Buying alcohol on Sundays just got one step closer to reality Thursday evening, with the Valdosta City Council’s passage of an ordinance to authorize a referendum for the Nov. 8 General Election.
The referendum will allow voters in the city of Valdosta to decide whether package sales of malt beverages, wine and distilled spirits should be allowed by retailers on Sundays between 12:30 and 11:30 p.m. Currently, citizens can purchase alcoholic beverages on Sundays at local restaurants. This measure, approved by the state of Georgia’s legislature this year, will allow package and grocery stores, and other retailers, to sell alcoholic beverages on Sundays.
The measure passed 5 to 1, with Councilman Robert Yost opposing. Councilman Deidre White was not in attendance.
Paragraph I. School systems continued; consolidation of school
systems authorized; new independent school systems prohibited.
Authority is granted to county and area boards of education to establish
and maintain public schools within their limits. Existing county and
independent school systems shall be continued, except that the General
Assembly may provide by law for the consolidation of two or more county
school systems, independent school systems, portions thereof, or any
combination thereof into a single county or area school system under
the control and management of a county or area board of education,
under such terms and conditions as the General Assembly may prescribe;
but no such consolidation shall become effective until approved by a
majority of the qualified voters voting thereon in each separate school
system proposed to be consolidated. No independent school system shall
hereafter be established.
It’s interesting what paying people to collect petition signatures can accomplish.
The CUEE press release of yesterday is
on their web pages.
Here’s an excerpt:
9,000 and Counting!
Petition Drive Hits Key Milestone In Effort to Give
Valdosta Residents Opportunity to Vote on Unification
Plan to Attend Saturday Event at McKey Park to Join the Movement, Sign
Petition
(Valdosta, GA) The petition drive campaign giving Valdosta residents
the chance to vote on school unificationreached a key milestone Friday
when it topped its goal of 9,000 signatures.
The 9,000 signatures was the target set by the Community Unification
for Educational Excellence (CUEE),which launched the petition drive May
12 after three years of planning. The minimum number of validsignatures
needed to place the issue on the November ballot is 25 percent of
registered voters in Valdosta, or7,375. The target figure of 9,000
represents a 22 percent increase over the minimum required and nearly
31 percent of all registered voters.
It’s too bad they haven’t dedicated all this organizing to something
that might actually help education around here, such as
prison reform or preventing bright flight by squelching sprawl.
Here is one person’s opinion on the current expansion plan for the Lowndes County Commission. LAKE is also making available a
web page and an OpenOffice version of this statement.
LAKE will be happy to post other opinions on either side as part of citizen dialog for transparent process.
Vote NO on Expansion Referendum
Voters in Lowndes County are being asked in a referendum to vote YES or NO on expansion
of the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners by the addition of two
super-districts:
Shall the governing authority of Lowndes County be
changed to a six-member board of commissioners to be composed of a
nonvoting chairperson and five voting district commissioners, three
of whom shall represent the existing three districts created by
dividing Lowndes County into three districts and two of whom shall
represent additional districts to be created by dividing Lowndes
County into two districts which shall overlay the three existing
districts?
Here is my
explanation of why I am voting NO and why I think you should vote NO
too.
5.a) Consideration of an Ordinance for a referendum to allow citizens of the City of Valdosta to vote on whether to annul and repeal the special independent school system so that the City of Valdosta public school system shall become part of the Lowndes County public school system.
