Take Action to Save HOPE!!!

This weekend is a crucial period for Georgia as a bill that would deliver massive blows to Georgia's public education system is going to be voted on in the senate. It has already passed in the House and passed through the Senate Higher Education Committee--it will most likely be voted on on Tuesday. We're calling on all Georgia residents to make a quick phone call to their state senator. This bill has been rushing through the legislature, and it's critical that the members of this committee hear the voices of the public as they consider which path to take.

This bill signifies the beginning of the end of the HOPE scholarship. The only people receiving full HOPE aid will be those who graduate from high school with at least a 3.7 GPA and 1200 SAT score. These changes would push tons of young people out of public colleges, particularly students of color and students from low income families. Our office has fielded dozens of calls, countless emails, and several personal visits for students and parents who will be priced out of an education if this bill passes.

CAN YOU HELP SAVE HOPE?

We need you to call your state senator and ask them to vote NO. To find your senator's contact info, you can go to congress.org and type your zip code into the box on the right. (If necessary, you can then enter your full address if there multiple senators for your zip code). If you click on the senator's name, you will see a tab that says "contact": this will have their phone number. Take a few minutes to call. All the talking points you need are included below.

An idea of what to say:
"Hi my name is ______________. I'm a constituent of Senator _______, and I'm a __________ (worker, student, parent, etc). I'm calling in opposition to HB 326, the bill to cut funds for the HOPE scholarship. This bill will price out working families who are already struggling. Students and young people did not cause the financial crisis, and they should not have to pay for it."

JOIN US AT THE CAPITOL
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=171317916250013
Please also come to the press conference on Monday, March 7, from 4:00pm - 6:00pm. It's a the Georgia State Capitol, in the Senate Mezzanine room (3rd Floor across from the Secretary of Senate office). Elementary, Middle, and High school students will speak out against the defunding of their future, will you stand with them? We are delivering the failing report cards that people from all over the state have signed. Georgians demand that the legislature bring its grades up this legislative session by addressing the following demands:

1. Recognize that education is a human right.
2. No more fee hikes, tuition hikes, or budget cuts!
3. Reassess Georgia's budget priorities.
4. No more furloughs or layoffs!
5. Take local action for better education!

This is a crisis of priority, not resources. Several alternative solutions have been purposed but the Governor, and others in his party, seem dead-set on making public education the first thing on the chopping block.

When they need money for corporate welfare, war, new prisons, or wall street bailouts it always rains cash. Why is it that education and other programs of social uplift are always the first to have their budgets cut?

After the press conference there will be a candlelight vigil outside the capitol until 12am.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Dell MacLean 404-939-7699 or Tim Franzen 404-414-5521.

Marching for Public Education on King Day!

For the past five Years American Friends Service Committee staffers and volunteers have worked with the Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition and other groups to build a strong social justice contingent to the annual King day Parade.

This year we decided to congregate at the same corner, but to try something new. We wanted to step out from our usual position in the social justice contingent, which has always been the caboose of the parade. Instead we wanted focus our message on defending the public education system in Georgia, which is in severe crisis. So we teamed up with several members of Georgia Students for Public Higher Education(GSPHE), and Student Career Alternatives Program(SCAP) to create a small but lively block in the Parade. Though small, I would say we got as much attention as any other block. Our crew consisted of elementary, high school, and college students, along with a few others.

We basically just wedged ourselves into the parade right behind Martin Luther King Jr. High School. The GSPHE folks had a pretty rad banner that said, "Tuition is To Damn High". They got got tons of, "hell yeah's", "Amen's", "Damn straight's", and general nods of approval. We also had two very enthusiastic elementary school students who passed out hundreds of AFSC's, "One Minute For Peace" fold outs, which highlight the federal economic crisis of priorities.

Our message was clear, that public education is under attack, and that we're all obligated to protect that which most believe is a basic human right. Children are perhaps our most precious natural resource, they represent our hopes and dreams, they are literally our future. Can we afford to defund their education. There have been legitimate solutions to Georgia budget issues that have not included radical education budget cuts, like a cigarette tax and a tax increase on folks that make over $400,000. It seems these have been cast aside in favor of defunding our future. The real crisis is in our law makers priorities and policy.


Photos by Al Viola and Edric Figueroa


Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee
tfranzen@afsc.org

Georgia Students Prepare To Resist!

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of participating in the Georgia Students For Public Higher Education's(GSPHE) winter conference in Athens. It was a great excuse to bust out our shuttle bus, get a crew and drive to Athens.

When we showed up it was clear that this Athens crew had it together. In a short period of time they not only put together the conference, which included speakers from around the globe, but they were able to pack the room full of people. I must also mention that the food situation was pretty amazing, hats off to my old pal Kelsea Norris for whipping up all that deliciousness!

I was tasked with facilitating a one hour movement building workshop that had a focus on base building, legislative work, and media. It was a challenge packing what could be a conference of its own into 60 minutes but I managed not to be long winded guy. No one booed me out of the room so folks were either being polite, or I did a satisfactory job.

I was really impressed with the next session which brought folks from around the world, through skype, into the room with us to share their analysis and organizing experience. It's that type of global connection that we need now. In this global economy I think it's safe to say that we can no longer wait for the leaders of our individual nations to represent us, to usher in the change the world needs. We can't wait for our leaders to lead. We must build movements to big for borders and force our leaders to follow us, or be left behind.

The GSPHE crew seem to get it. Their conference program was a reflection of the connections they've identified between systems of violence and oppression. GSPHE has panelist from the Georgia Dreamers, they made clear statements of support for the Georgia prison strike, were clearly in solidarity with university workers, and they pointed out the crisis of priority in military spending.

GSPHE, along with the rest of our great state faces an uphill battle this legislative session. We know that k-12 budgets can afford to lose another penny, but it already seems that the new Governor hope to cut even more from an already broken system. University students are facing an even greater tuition and fee hike, and the wildly popular HOPE scholarship even appears to be on the chopping block. GSPHE seemed to have some potential solutions that make a lot more sense then relegating children to ATMS, or pounding the final nails into our public k-12 schools.
I for one am exciting to see what GSPHE develops in the coming months, we need them no more then ever.

To learn more or get involved with GSPHE please visit:
www.georgiastudents.org


Photos by Caitie Elle & Dawn Gibson


Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee
tfranzen@afsc.org

Activists in Millen, GA Resist Expansion of the Prison-Industrial Complex

On December 15, 2010, Governor Sonny Perdue attended the groundbreaking ceremony of Jenkins County Correctional Center in Millen, GA. Activists from Jenkins County, the Central Savannah River Area and Atlanta came to voice their opposition to this expansion of the prison-industrial complex.

Defending Public Education In Statesboro!

Last year over four billion dollars was cut from Georgia k-12 public education, and students attending publicly funded universities saw their fees increase by 17%. The long term effects of these cut, if they remain, on the future of education in our state seem unmeasurable. We already know that some school districts are being forced to ration calories at the lunch line, institute four day school weeks, and of course cut teachers and school workers. It's hard to imagine things getting much worse...but they can, and they might.

This upcoming legislative session could see even more budget cuts for k-12, and more tuition and fee hikes for college students. That's why are work to build a movement to defend public education is literally a fight for the future, that's right our future is on the line here; not just the future of every current student but every future student.

This past week kicked of the first of several dozen trips we are organizing around the state in our effort to build a campaign to defend education. We had two organizers from Georgia Students For Higher Education join me on the road to Statesboro Georgia, home of splash in the boro, Georgia Southern University, and the best Howard Johnson in the Country. We had the pleasure of meeting with Bobbi Jo Rogers, Jeremy Foreman, and Dr. Rosemarie Stallworth. They couldn't have been a better trio. Jeremy is and extremely hands on staff with the hands on network, he also just seems to know every single soul in the boro, no joke. Bobbi Joe is an education major at Georgia Southern, and Dr. Stallworth has very to Georgia Southern. It seems that, during our meeting, we established some pretty clear challenges and next steps to begin organizing in the boro and ways to plug into te broader statewide network.

Big Ups to Sofia Lipko and Hira Mahmood for rolling out there and helping to make this meeting be a success!

If you're interested in bringing us out your way just let us know!


Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee

Research Session Lays the Groundwork for Education Campaign

This Saturday the "Be the Change" Youth Education Campaign hosted a research session at the UGA library in Athens, GA to gain research skills and put together some solid facts for use in upcoming events, particularly the National Day of Action in Defense of Public Education on October 7th. We have been working in partnership with the Georgia Students for Public Higher Education to spread awareness about the value of public education and to fight the budget cuts that have threatened it.

We had about 10 folks--from Athens, Atlanta, and Statesboro--gathered with a librarian who walked us through some of the most useful websites and resources to get information on Georgia's education system and budget. She even made us a handy website, so we could share the most important sites with those who couldn't attend:

Research Guide on Georgia's Education Spending

After some initial direction, we decided we should aim to put together two items by the end of the session: a fact sheet on higher education and a fact sheet on the K-12 system in GA. The overall goal of understanding the education crisis proved to be pretty daunting, with different pieces of information spread all over the place. However, we learned a lot and made significant progress on our fact sheets.

For example, did you know...

...that during fiscal year 2011, the amount that GA is spending per student on K-12 education will drop to its lowest level in a decade?
...that in every county in GA, the K-12 system is one of the top 10 employers (and that in 27 counties, public post-secondary institutions are one of the top 10 employers as well)?
...that in 2009 Georgia State President Mark Becker made $325,000 and that a security guard at Georgia State makes $25,305 per year?

Thanks to everyone who came out to the research session and the potluck and poster-making session afterward. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, and we are looking for help! Please email me at erica.scap@gmail.com if you'd like access to our fact sheet material as it still needs some additions and clarification. As always, please visit GSPHE or "Be the Change" to get more involved in the fight for education as a human right in Georgia!

Special thanks: Librarian Amber Prentiss for a wonderful research guide, Liz Kinnamon for photos, and the Presbyterian Student Center for hosting our potluck.

Stay tuned for more as we approach October 7th!!

Erica Schoon
American Friends Service Committee-Atlanta