The University System of Georgia Board of Regents‘ decision to raise in-state tuition by 1 percent for the state’s 26 colleges and universities is upsetting parents and students. Even a one percent hike denies college slots to students from working class families earning, for example, $90,000 a year. Higher tuition also increases student debt. Some state lawmakers sought to save money by by reducing funding to the University System, refuting the Regents’ claims that online courses were too expensive and that they needed more revenue. Others point to a bloated System bureaucracy, honeycombed with duplicative and high-paying salaries, that remained untouched. This tuition hike, occurring a year since a previous hike, has the Regents SINKING…
Atlanta, Fulton Co. square off in tax fight
The City of Atlanta has long used tax allocation districts (TADs) as an economic development tool, leveraging property tax increases to pay for local infrastructure projects. But the Fulton County Commission has slammed on the brakes, voting 4-1 to reject a proposed 30-year extension of Atlanta’s TADs. That sets up a major budgetary clash, as the Fulton TADs would be expected to generate over a billion dollars over that period. Now the county will vote on TADs on a case by case basis, with stricter oversight and enforcement, leaving Atlanta’s money faucet DRIFTING…
