Last night, the DeKalb Delegation hosted its annual public meeting, at DeKalb Tech's very nice new conference center.
Unfortunately, one a third of the delegation members attended, and many were late. Yes, they are in session and of course are very busy, but they only hold this public meeting once a year. For two-thirds of them to miss it, it makes a statement that public input is somewhat unimportant. And only a few of the delegation members e-mailed their constituents to even advertise the meeting.
Anyway, back to DCSS business. The huge inequity regarding school capital improvement funds from the state was brought up. Gwinnett is getting approx. $40 mil, Cobb is getting a big amount, and even Clayton is getting millions. But DCSS is getting just over a million.
But thankfully, all of the delegation members present readily acknowledges this is a problem they need to help solve. Rep. Fran Millar, who is AWESOME and a real straight shooter, took the lead and made it very clear this was a major issue for him and the delegation. His short speech was spot-on good stuff.
Even with the disappointment of so many delegation member no-shows, it was greatly reassuring that the delegation realized how important the state capital improvement dollars for DCSS issue really is. It was impressive to them get fired up and ready to work for DCSS students and county taxpayers! For DCSS to achieve to its fullest, we need the DeKalb Delegation and county commisisoners to work hand in glove with the BOE in certain areas. Things are looking up!