By Tommy Smith
The pace at the Capitol has quickened as we have now worked past the halfway point of the 2011 legislative session. There were several important issues that the House voted on last week. Five of these included subjects about which I have received a large amount of correspondence from constituents. These include the HOPE Scholarship funding, pre- Kindergarten funding, billboards, education and immigration.
Smith addresses concerns about HOPE and Pre-K
The HOPE programs have had overwhelming success and become trademarks of the state, but their popularity continues to outpace lottery revenues. Governor Deal, Speaker Ralston, Lt. Governor Cagle, House Democratic Leader Stacy Abrams, and other state leaders have outlined their HOPE-saving program changes, which will allow HOPE to be maintained and adjusted yearly according to lottery revenues. This bi-partisan supported plan to save Georgia’s HOPE programs was overwhelmingly approved by the House as House Bill 326 and now goes to the Senate for its consideration. Next week’s report will detail the proposed changes.
While I support these efforts to save the Hope scholarship program, I am also concerned about proposed cuts to Pre-kindergarten education that is utilized by a number of parents for their children. Many parents are blessed to have either the mother or father or grandparent to provide personal guidance to their children at this age. However, this is not the case with everyone. For example there are single mothers and others who for various reasons are required to work in order for the family to survive when their children are pre-kindergarten age. If the time that children are allowed to stay in Pre-kindergarten classes is reduced from six and one half to four hours, it will be an added expense to local schools in that they will have to duplicate bus transportation. Currently pre-kindergarten children who utilize school transportation travel home on the same bus with the older children, many of whom are their brothers and sisters. The proposed changes will mean that many of the children will arrive at home before the parents currently get off from work or their older brothers and sisters get out of school. Many parents who pick up their children from school would have to make two separate trips. Parents of the children attending Pre-k have adjusted their work schedules to the current time frame. Many of these parents would have difficulty with their employers in reducing or changing their work time. In addition, the time spent at school for Pre-Kindergarten teachers would be significantly reduced, resulting in unanticipated pay cuts for these individuals. Therefore, I along with others, will be working with the House leadership, the Governor, and the Senate, along with local school administrators and parents to save the Hope scholarship program without such a vast disruption in the lives of families who participate in Pre-kindergarten. This report is being written the day before the Governor plans a major press conference on the issue. Hopefully some viable solutions will be proposed at that time.
House Bill 192 addresses the need to adequately fund the state’s K-12 public schools; this legislation will create the State Education Finance Study Commission, which would study and evaluate the costs and resources needed to educate children in Georgia. It is my hope that this commission will develop a proposal that insures that students will have the same amount of funds allotted to their education regardless of where they attend school in the state. This bill passed the House and will now go to the State Senate.
House Bill 179 is legislation that would allow billboard companies to clear-cut state-owned trees in front of their signs, and billboards would be displayed at a lower height no higher than 75 feet above the ground. This bill passed the House after much debate. I did not vote for this legislation because I felt that it went too far in allowing older trees and beautification of the roadway to be eliminated.
Recently Alma-Bacon County hosted the Annual Ole’Time Seafood Boil and Oyster Roast. This event was an overwhelming success. I understand other counties in the district I represent are considering joining them in sponsoring this occasion next year. These types of gatherings allow local officials to get to know and share their needs and concerns with legislators and various state leaders.
The House and Senate begin each day with a 10 minute devotional and prayer. Rev. Dr. Foley Beach gave the morning devotion to the House recently and spoke from Psalm 1. He stated, “As a legislator you are constantly pulled in many directions-by your peers, by your constituents, by your family, and by your conscience. But ultimately there is One you will have to answer to for your decisions and votes. He is the Lord.”
My office is located in the Capitol building in room 131, which is located on the first floor. This is YOUR office, so please come by for a visit; my staff and I would be delighted to meet you and show you around YOUR Capitol.
I welcome your thoughts and ideas on the issues discussed in this report or any other matters before the General Assembly this year.
Tommy Smith can be reached by calling 404-656-5105 or 912-614-2077.
While I support these efforts to save the Hope scholarship program, I am also concerned about proposed cuts to Pre-kindergarten education that is utilized by a number of parents for their children. Many parents are blessed to have either the mother or father or grandparent to provide personal guidance to their children at this age. However, this is not the case with everyone. For example there are single mothers and others who for various reasons are required to work in order for the family to survive when their children are pre-kindergarten age. If the time that children are allowed to stay in Pre-kindergarten classes is reduced from six and one half to four hours, it will be an added expense to local schools in that they will have to duplicate bus transportation. Currently pre-kindergarten children who utilize school transportation travel home on the same bus with the older children, many of whom are their brothers and sisters. The proposed changes will mean that many of the children will arrive at home before the parents currently get off from work or their older brothers and sisters get out of school. Many parents who pick up their children from school would have to make two separate trips. Parents of the children attending Pre-k have adjusted their work schedules to the current time frame. Many of these parents would have difficulty with their employers in reducing or changing their work time. In addition, the time spent at school for Pre-Kindergarten teachers would be significantly reduced, resulting in unanticipated pay cuts for these individuals. Therefore, I along with others, will be working with the House leadership, the Governor, and the Senate, along with local school administrators and parents to save the Hope scholarship program without such a vast disruption in the lives of families who participate in Pre-kindergarten. This report is being written the day before the Governor plans a major press conference on the issue. Hopefully some viable solutions will be proposed at that time.
House Bill 192 addresses the need to adequately fund the state’s K-12 public schools; this legislation will create the State Education Finance Study Commission, which would study and evaluate the costs and resources needed to educate children in Georgia. It is my hope that this commission will develop a proposal that insures that students will have the same amount of funds allotted to their education regardless of where they attend school in the state. This bill passed the House and will now go to the State Senate.
House Bill 179 is legislation that would allow billboard companies to clear-cut state-owned trees in front of their signs, and billboards would be displayed at a lower height no higher than 75 feet above the ground. This bill passed the House after much debate. I did not vote for this legislation because I felt that it went too far in allowing older trees and beautification of the roadway to be eliminated.
Recently Alma-Bacon County hosted the Annual Ole’Time Seafood Boil and Oyster Roast. This event was an overwhelming success. I understand other counties in the district I represent are considering joining them in sponsoring this occasion next year. These types of gatherings allow local officials to get to know and share their needs and concerns with legislators and various state leaders.
The House and Senate begin each day with a 10 minute devotional and prayer. Rev. Dr. Foley Beach gave the morning devotion to the House recently and spoke from Psalm 1. He stated, “As a legislator you are constantly pulled in many directions-by your peers, by your constituents, by your family, and by your conscience. But ultimately there is One you will have to answer to for your decisions and votes. He is the Lord.”
My office is located in the Capitol building in room 131, which is located on the first floor. This is YOUR office, so please come by for a visit; my staff and I would be delighted to meet you and show you around YOUR Capitol.
I welcome your thoughts and ideas on the issues discussed in this report or any other matters before the General Assembly this year.
Tommy Smith can be reached by calling 404-656-5105 or 912-614-2077.
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