Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024
Good morning! This week we begin with the stumbling start of the state’s new private-school voucher program. We then look at Coastal Georgia Congressman Buddy Carter’s enthusiastic embrace of president-elect Donald Trump’s appointees. Finally, we note some stories you may have missed. Questions, comments, or story ideas? You can reach me at craig.thecurrent@gmail.com
NEWS: EDUCATION
A list …of questions
Georgia’s new private-school vouchers program is off to an inauspicious start, with the state office in charge of implementing the controversial initiative issuing, revising and finally withdrawing a list of underperforming schools whose students will be eligible to apply for the subsidy.
In one of the first steps to implement the program, which Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law in April, the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) released the list of deficient elementary, middle and high schools last month.
Confusion soon set in. The criteria for inclusion on the list weren’t clear, even among those most affected by the rankings: school district administrators.
Denise Watts, superintendent of Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, which had 18 schools on the list, was one of the befuddled.
“We still don’t know how they [the 18 schools] got on the list,” Watts told The Current at a gathering of school district officials and local lawmakers meeting Thursday morning with local lawmakers to discuss the school district’s legislative priorities.
“We’ve asked a lot of questions, but we don’t have an answer.”
To no avail so far, GOSA is trying to clean up the mess, The Current’s Craig Nelson and Maggie Lee report.
NEWS: POLITICS
‘I’m excited’
Coastal Georgia U.S. Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter is hailing president-elect Donald Trump’s appointees a potential “dream team.”
In the latest edition of his weekly newsletter, Carter praises the president-elect for forming a government of “strong patriots, including several Georgians, who are going to shake up Washington and bring the change that voters demanded when they went to the polls.”
“Folks, I’m excited,” Carter says.
In particular, Carter applauds as a slam dunk the appointment of “change-makers” Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to head a newly a presidential advisory commission that Trump has designated the Department of Government Efficiency.
“Who better to make our government more efficient than two incredibly successful businessmen who understand the importance of managing the bottom line?” Carter asks.
Carter has been largely unwavering in his support of Trump’s appointments, even the controversial ones.
In an interview with NewsNation last month, as concerns about Pete Hegseth’s alcohol abuse and treatment of women were already swirling, Carter responded to a question about him leading the Defense Department by explaining that Trump “wants people who are going to be loyal to him. He wants people who are going to shake things up.”
Asked during the same interview if he had any reservations about Matt Gaetz’ nomination as U.S. attorney general, Carter sidestepped the question, saying the former Florida congressman was “one of the smartest people I know.”
Pressed again about whether he had ethical reservations about Gaetz, Carter said the allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use against Gaetz, while “egregious,” were “just that,” adding that he didn’t “agree with that kind of behavior” and “didn’t really hang out with those people.”
Amid a House ethics committee investigation into Gaetz’ misconduct, Gaetz withdrew his nomination three days later after the interview, saying his confirmation had become a “distraction to the Trump/Vance transition.”
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NEWS: UPDATES
ICYMI
- “Taking the Pulse of Georgia’s Hospitals” (Georgia Trend, Nov. 29, 2024) “Away from the urban areas, hospitals often struggle for cash and fail to make enough to cover their operating expenses. For example, Liberty Regional Medical Center in Hinesville, about 43 miles southwest of Savannah, reportedly is debating whether to close its labor and delivery unit. . . . More than half of Georgia’s rural hospitals are struggling financially, and 18 are at risk of closure, according to a 2024 study by the Chartis Center for Rural Health. The state has lost nine rural hospitals since 2010, putting Georgia third in the nation for closures behind Tennessee and Texas.”
- “UGA economists peer into crystal ball and see slowing Georgia economy in 2025” (Georgia Recorder, Dec. 9, 2024) “Georgia’s economic growth could slow down in the new year, University of Georgia economists predict, but Georgia could fare better than the nation as a whole, even as questions loom about the financial policies of president-elect Donald Trump.”
- “If Trump initiates mass detainment of migrants, Georgia sheriffs say they have no space available in jails” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dec. 6, 2024) “There’s just not much more space available inside county jails, nine sheriffs in Georgia told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, especially not if the government wants to use them as federal detention centers to hold potentially thousands of migrants living in the state without permission.”
- “Reality of repealing green credits sinks in for divided GOP” (E&E News, Dec. 5, 2024) Buddy Carter said he “wants his party to adopt a narrow, deliberate approach to changing the Inflation Reduction Act rather than a sweeping elimination of funds that have created hundreds of thousands of jobs — mostly in Republican-led districts.”
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Georgia’s private-school vouchers program gets off to shaky start
The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement has issued and now withdrawn a list of underperforming schools whose students are eligible for the subsidy.
Georgia students show across-the-board improvements in CCRPI scores
Elementary-school students posted the highest score in closing gaps, which measures how well schools meet annual improvement targets for student subgroups.
Georgia lawmakers recommend status quo for fishing rights
A debate over a long-assumed right of passage along Georgia waterways – including the right to fish and hunt – began early last year when a property owner banned fishing there and sued the state to enforce it.
Georgia economy to grow in 2025 but more slowly
Georgia will continue to outperform the nation, which economic forecasters project to grow by 1.6% in 2025.
Chatham County shelves anti-homeless ‘urban camping’ law, for now
The Chatham County Commission’s withdrawal of the homeless camping code came after fierce public opposition, but the measure may return at a future meeting.
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