Archive for September, 2009

School dress codes are a subtle way to prepare our children for the real world where they must dress for success. As I pass by at least six school bus stops every morning, it’s nice to see our kids looking so good out there these days as opposed to when it was sometimes hard to tell the parents from the students.

Initially, many were against school uniforms for various reasons. But there has been little fanfare from parents about the expense, nor from students about the willingness to wear them. Even based on this petition seemingly geared towards high school students who are at least 18 years old, with only 1,758 signatures (from both parents and students), the majority aren’t opposed.

I stopped by a couple of the bus stops in my area, and while a few kids admitted they don’t mind wearing uniforms, none wanted their name attached to that statement in print. But they all begrudgingly acknowledged that the new dress code has made their lives a little easier. And …

Continue reading Loving school uniforms yet? »

While other counties are fighting to preserve what water they do have, this is one natural resource that Clayton residents don’t have to worry about.

Although the Clayton County Water Authority has consistently received various “water smart” awards for many years, they recently collected another from conservation nonprofit American Rivers for its “green” water recycling system.

“The [CCWA] uses an innovative water recycling wetland system to bolster water supply and has undertaken a number of water quality and efficiency initiatives,” says American Rivers. “The use of recycled wastewater provides a consistent drought-resistant supply of water, while the wetlands gradually release water over time, reducing vulnerability to droughts.”

I remember last summer when friends and family from out of state were offering to find ways to get us water after hearing about Georgia’s drought via news reports. It was nice to tell them that my area didn’t have this problem …

Continue reading Clayton quenches its own thirst »

During these financially difficult times, it would have been very easy for the Clayton County Board of Education to accept our share of the government’s economic stimulus package and worry about how it would be paid back later. Instead, they did the fiscally responsible thing by turning down money it knew they couldn’t afford to repay and remain out of debt.

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The Qualified School Construction Bonds allocation would have added almost $14 million to the CCPS coffers for construction projects. While some residents probably would prefer they have accepted this loan instead of extending SPLOST III, monies to repay this loan were not included in the original SPLOST’s estimates and the money would have had to come from somewhere else. According to news reports, CCPS has managed to stay out of debt since 1997 and if it can continue to stay that way, all the better for our …

Continue reading No stimulus money for CCPS »

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Clayton County Public Schools is asking residents to vote for an extension of SPLOST III (expiring Dec. 31) for another five years to help fund various school projects. A SPLOST tax has been in place since 1997 here, which adds one penny onto every dollar spent on taxable items.

According to the ballot, SPLOST IV will pay for “…the costs of acquiring, constructing, and equipping one new 6-12 charter school and nine new auxiliary gymnasiums (each for an existing high school), the costs of completing one new elementary school currently under construction, the costs of acquiring land for future schools, new school buses and upgrades to existing school buses, and instructional and administrative technology improvements for existing schools, the costs of adding to, renovating, replacing, repairing, improving, and equipping existing school buildings, existing stadiums, and existing …

Continue reading SPLOST, take IV »