“I am honored to serve the people of Georgia in my capacity as a member of these important committees,” said Sen. Millar.  “We have a challenging session ahead but I am confident that my colleagues and I will work together in our committees to place Georgia on the path to accelerated growth and prosperity.”

The 152nd Legislative Session of the Georgia General Assembly convened today at the State Capitol.

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Sen. Fran Millar serves as Chairman of the Education and Youth Committee. He represents the 40th Senate District which includes portions of DeKalb and Gwinnett counties.  He may be reached at (404) 463-2260 or by email at fran.millar@senate.ga.gov.

The HOPE scholarship program is “supposed” to be a merit-based scholarship.

Steps have been taken by the General Assembly to make sure the required B average is actually attained, but we all know grade inflation exists.

In these difficult economic times, there will be several proposals put forth in the 2011 General Assembly to help sustain HOPE.

If the goal of HOPE is to help outstanding students succeed, then we need to further examine the current eligibility criteria.

In fall 2009, 10.4 percent of the University System of Georgia’s incoming freshmen students receiving learning support (remediation) had the HOPE scholarship.

Furthermore, in 2008, 3,465 University System incoming freshmen students with SAT scores under 1000 (old 1600 maximum) received the HOPE scholarship; 1,982 of these students returned in 2009 to any University System institution. In other words, 43 percent were out of the University System after their freshman year.

In 2008, we gave $317 million in HOPE scholarships to students in our University System. Tuition continues to rise and certainly these automatic funding increases need to be examined by the General Assembly.

However, we also need to tighten up which students initially receive this HOPE scholarship benefit.

I agree with President Barack Obama that national standards are an important component in any academic evaluation.

Therefore, I propose we now add an SAT/ACT component to the current HOPE scholarship eligibility except for our technical college students.
Another positive from this action will be less pressure on our teachers for grade inflation. Bottom line — no minimum score attainment means no scholarship.

One argument that will be raised against that proposal is that these tests are racially biased.

As Georgia College & State University professor Ben Scafidi notes, “in states where standardized testing has been implemented, studies show that achievement gaps between racial and ethnic groups have narrowed as standards have been raised.”

High expectations should be demanded of all students and no more excuses should be tolerated.

With this change we will obtain significant dollar savings and this amendment plus other measures implemented by the General Assembly will help preserve this wonderful program for future generations.

Remember, this particular program is about rewarding actual achievement.

State Rep. Fran Millar, R-Dunwoody, elected to the state Senate in November, is vice chairman of the House Education Committee.

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Hope to see you there!

Directions:
Exit 4 off US 78, Stone Mountain Freeway. Right turn at exit and complex on left .2 of a mile. (turn left at Hampton Inn sign).

A Problem We Have To ‘Deal’ With

By Rep. Fran Millar
(11/16/10)

I have served in the Georgia House of Representatives for the past twelve years and am extremely concerned about the upcoming budget.
The stimulus funds are basically gone next year and unemployment remains at 10 percent in our state.
I recently was made aware that in order to pay unemployment benefits our state has borrowed substantial dollars from the federal government.
As of August 27, 2010 we owe the federal government $416 million. By the end of 2010 we will owe the federal government about $575 million.

If we make no changes in our collection of taxes or payments of benefits, this debt will be in excess of $1.1 billion at the end of 2013.

At the present time to fund unemployment benefits, employers are only taxed on the first $8,500 of an employee’s pay. This dollar threshold is ranked 16th from the bottom for all states. Furthermore, by statute the labor commissioner can only increase the tax rates by 35% through 2011.

In 2009 the state collected $482 million from employers and paid out $1.6 billion in benefits (reserve fund exhausted).

In 2010 the state will collect about $620 million and right now the monthly benefit cost is about $100 million. This deficit approach cannot be allowed to continue.

It is true that we are in a better debt position than many states. As of August 27, 2010 all debtor states in the aggregate owed the federal government $40 billion. However, as of that date three states had repaid their loan balances in full.

Our fiscal/tax policy is being reviewed and hopefully this component will be addressed. To not face this issue is inexcusable.
I assure you that very few members of the General Assembly (House and Senate) are aware of the magnitude of this liability. Hopefully, 2011 will be the year we “DEAL” with this problem.

Creating an atmosphere that motivates high school students to learn because they see the relevance of their studies to their career dreams and future is essential for Georgia and our economy.

Legislation is now being put in place in Georgia high schools that focuses on students receiving quality career advisement and links the high school course work with their future college and career goals.

The implementation of the BRIDGE (Building Resourceful Individuals to Develop Georgia’s Economy) Act — House Bill 400 — will become an integral part of a student’s educational plan this year. The BRIDGE Act will help students and parents work together to enhance their child’s education to reach their goals and dream career.

The most critical part of this recently signed law is the requirement for all students in middle and high school to receive annual career guidance and advisement to choose a career area, create an Individual Graduation Plan and graduate high school prepared to go to college or enter the work force.

The new rigorous performance standards and graduation requirements found in our Georgia secondary schools better prepare our students to enter life after high school graduation.

A qualified work force will attract strong, stable companies and industries to Georgia.

The BRIDGE Act initially focuses on students in grades
6-8 and their need to explore careers and receive career guidance.

This exploration and advisement can begin by logging into the GAcollege411 website to create a student account and complete one of the many career interest inventories found on the site.

The career inventories can help students discover who they are and the many talents and skills they possess.

With career advisement and guidance, eighth-grade students will transition to high school with a plan to learn, develop leadership and technical skills, and have a goal in mind for what they want to be when they grow up.

Another way middle school students may explore careers is through the Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) programs now in our middle schools. These programs provide students the opportunity to explore a career and technical field to see if it is a career they would like to pursue.

As students log in and use the GAcollege411 website each year, they will have additional skills and choices they will need to make and discuss with their adviser, parents and school counselor.

These discussions will lead to the next part of the BRIDGE Act that requires all eighth-grade students during their spring semester to create a graduation plan.

This graduation plan will help “map out” or develop a plan of all required academic and selected elective courses and give them flexibility to select additional elective courses of interests to take during high school.

Our secondary and postsecondary schools have worked together to provide instruction in our high schools while providing students the opportunity to earn college credits at the same time.

Upon successful completion of these courses, students will receive immediate credit for each course statewide and realize that they are capable of completing technical college or university course work.

The biggest benefit of this act is for our work force, as Georgia industries and companies will have a greater pool of future employees that have the essential technical skills, leadership qualities and work experiences.

Students will benefit because they will graduate high school with the college and career readiness skills essential to have a successful future. They will also benefit by seeing the relevance of what they’re learning.

Schools will benefit by having more students graduate ready to enter college or a career while reducing the drop-out rate.

And, parents will benefit by being involved in their student’s education and understanding the connection between high school courses and future career opportunities for their child.

All of these benefits will result in Georgia having a more educated, better qualified and stronger work force to support our growing economy.

These middle school CTAE programs align to high school CTAE program areas and give students many options to choose specific Career Pathways. Each Career Pathway consists of three or four courses for students to complete during high school.

A result of students completing courses aligned to a Career Pathway is the student can earn a nationally recognized industry credential. This credential documents the technical skills the student is able to do when they enter Georgia’s work force.

While choosing a Career Pathway and being ready to earn a national credential is important, students can and will change their minds while in high school about their career choices. Making sure that their decisions are based on career interest inventory data and solid reasoning is crucial.

As the student gets older, more choices and options will be available. Students will find that there are many adults dedicated to helping them make good career and academic choices that will lead them to their career goal as a member and leader in the Georgia work force.

The ultimate goal of the BRIDGE Act is to ensure that our secondary and postsecondary schools are working together to prepare and provide our great state with solid, educated workers with the soft skills and work ethic necessary to grow our state economically and responsibly.

Working together, we will Build Resourceful Individuals to Develop Georgia’s Economy.

Brad Bryant is Georgia state school superintendent, and Fran Millar is a state representative from DeKalb.

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Join us to hear National, State, and County candidates talk about the issues and answer questions. The following candidates have confirmed their appearance.

District 2 County Commissioner: Robert Byars (D) & Lynette Howard (R)

State Senate District 40: Eric Christ (D) & Fran Millar (R)

State Senate District 5: Gary Guan (R) & Curt Thompson (D)

US Representative District 4: Liz Carter (R)

US Representative District 7: Doug Heckman (D) & Rob Woodall (R)

So please join us:

Wednesday, October 20, at 7:00 PM,
in the Cafeteria of Midvale Elementary School
(3836 Midvale Road, Tucker, Georgia 30084)

I hope to see you there!

-Fran Millar

I hope to see you there!

-Fran Millar

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