1 Clarke County Schools Face Budget Gap of $8.

9 million
Slashed state funds, austerity cuts, unfunded mandates and a declining local tax revenues mean staff reductions, among other measures.
Posted by Rebecca McCarthy (Editor) , April 13, 2012 at 12:50 PM

A million here, a million there, pretty soon you're talking about real money, to quote the late Senator Everett Dirkensen. In the case of the, you're talking about $8.9 million. That's the amount that Superintendent Philip Lanoue told the school board must be cut from a new adjusted budget for the system. "We need to close the spending revenue gap by the end of the next year," he told the School Board Thursday night. They are expected to vote on the proposed budget in a called meeting on April 19. There will be public hearings on the budget on May 15, 22 and 24. What may be cut from the school district's already bare bones budget? First of all, there will be no raises for teachers or support staff. Lanoue is proposing to increase the number of furlough days (for those making $35,000 or more) from 3 to 5, thus saving $870,000. The opening of two new elementary schools, the one on the Westside and the Eastside new, will be delayed. Opening those schools could cost $1million each, and school officials realized they couldn't do it. Eliminating 32 parapro positions from first grade classrooms will yield $756,000. Twelve fewer high school teachers will mean $780,000 in savings. Redoing workers comp will save $1million.

Decreasing the elementary staff by 9 will produce $585,000. Good-bye 15 media center parapros, for a savings of $368,000. Before Lanoue explained the budget to the board, board member Vernon Payne gave an impassioned speech against charter schools and railed against how "public education has been shortchanged for years. This shortfall didn't start yesterday, it's been going on a long time." In other business, Lanoue told the board he's recommending that the student/teacher ratios remain unchanged from those used this year. So kindergarten classes will have a maximum of 22 students; first through third grade, 23 students; fourth and fifth grade, 30 students; middle school, 30 students a class; and high school, 34 students in standard classes.
Comment1

2 Caterpillar Strikes Deal to Build Georgia Plant

By JAMES R. HAGERTY
February 18, 2012

Caterpillar Inc. CAT +0.72% said it chose a site near Athens, Ga., for a new $200 million factory that will employ about 1,400 people and make construction equipment currently produced in Sagami, Japan. The selection came after the Peoria, Ill., maker of heavy equipment reviewed proposals from "more than 100 communities in three dozen states plus Canada and Mexico," a spokesman said on Friday. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal hailed the plant as "a game changer" for the Athens area in northeast Georgia. U.S. politicians are eager to trumpet their job-creating credentials in this election year. Manufacturing jobs tend to pay modestly better than service jobs and are seen as lifeboats for a sinking middle class. Caterpillar will receive incentives totaling more than $75 million from Georgia and two of its counties, Athens-Clarke and Oconee, state and local officials said. The plant will be built on a 265-acre plot straddling those two counties. The counties agreed to provide the land as well as property tax relief and new roads, sewers and water lines. The state is providing tax credits and grants to help train workers, among other things. Caterpillar said it hadn't yet determined wage levels for the Athens plant, but the company recently has been offering workers at a trainlocomotive plant in Muncie, Ind., starting pay of between $12 and $18.50 an hour, plus medical and dental benefits and a retirementsavings plan. The new one-million-square-foot plant, due to begin production in late 2013, will make small bulldozers and excavators typically used in construction and demolition projects in confined spaces. About 40% of the output will be exported, the Caterpillar spokesman said. The

Sagami plant, which currently makes this line of machinery, will be turned into a parts plant, Caterpillar said. Caterpillar already is building a plant to make larger excavators in Victoria, Texas. The company will use that plant to serve the North American market rather than importing the machines from Japan, allowing it to concentrate its Japanese production of large excavators on markets in China and the rest of Asia. Athens won the plant partly because it is near ports in Savannah, Ga., and Charleston, S.C., and has "a good pool of potential employees with manufacturing experience," Caterpillar said. It also cited "a positive and proactive business climate." Aside from workers hired for the plant, Caterpillar estimated that the project will create another 2,800 jobs among suppliers and other firms providing support services. Other products manufactured in the Athens area include pharmaceuticals, refrigeration equipment, fruitcakes and fishing lures. The University of Georgia is one of the region's biggest employers. The land provided to Caterpillar, a wooded area now used for hunting, was zoned for industrial use in the early 1980s but failed to attract a manufacturer until now. Write to James R. Hagerty at bob.hagerty@wsj.com

The Project

3 Caterpillar Fact Sheet

With 2011 sales and revenues of $60.1 billion, Caterpillar is the worlds leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. The new facility will become Caterpillars global source for small track-type tractors. For mini hydraulic excavators, the new facility will provide completed machines for customers in North and South America. Those machines are now made at another Caterpillar facility in Japan. Georgia competed with multiple states across the country for this project. Two of the factors that were considered by the company when selecting a location for the facility were: a strong workforce supportive of a manufacturing environment and a community with a high quality of life for their employees. The company also noted the state and local commitment to assist with recruiting suppliers along with the Quick Start and Athens Technical College training programs as major factors in their decision to locate here. The new facility will be built on approximately 265 acres of property near the intersection of Atlanta Hwy and Ga. 316, commonly known as the Orkin site. The property straddles the Athens-Clarke and Oconee County line with a portion also resting within the City of Bogart. The entire 860-acre Orkin property is bound by the Georgia Highway 316, US 78, Atlanta Hwy, and the City of Bogart. This vacant property was designated for industrial development in the early 1980s and has attracted the attention of several large project planners since that time. The company intends to break ground in March 2012 with production expected to begin in 2013. The company will construct and operate two primary product assembly lines and a product distribution center that will result in an initial workforce of approximately 800 during the first five years and escalating to approximately 1400 employees by 2020. The annual payroll at full employment and build-out for the facility is expected to be about $57,000,000 per year. It is expected that the average wage for all employees at the facility will be competitive with or above the current average salary in Athens-Clarke County of $37,596 and Oconee County of $33,748. Total investment for the project is expected to be $200 million. Collaboration Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties entered into a partnership to recruit and support this major American manufacturer through local incentives and company performance standards extending over the next 20 years.
Caterpillar Fact Sheet

In mid-December 2011, Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties were approached by the Georgia Department of Economic Development requesting that the local communities collaborate with the state to bring Caterpillar to the Orkin Site. In response, the communities formed a local project team to work with the Georgia Department of Economic Development team to ensure that all components of the project were addressed. Three local government entities (Athens-Clarke County, Oconee County, and the City of Bogart) and the development authorities of the two counties, in cooperation with the State, worked together to bring this project to the community by ensuring that company-required utilities, transportation access, and financing was made available. In addition, the Orkin family, owners of the project site, has been supportive throughout the selection process. The local governments developed an intergovernmental agreement to provide funding for the acquisition of the property and to streamline the development requirements for this and future projects that may locate on the Orkin site. This agreement provides for the communities to share

the costs and revenues associated with this project and future projects on the Orkin site. The Athens-Clarke Development Authority and the Oconee County Industrial Development Authority collaborated to ensure the property is acquired with the backing of both counties and to provide for any bond financing the company may require. Incentives Incentives offered for this project are typical of the type and magnitude of incentives being offered by communities and the state for projects of this size and community impact. Local incentives involving land purchase, transportation access to the site, utilities, partial tax abatement, and transition assistance are described below: Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties Industrial Development Authorities agreed to purchase the site with the support of both local governments and to transfer ownership to the company over a 20-year period. o Property taxes for this project will be phased in over a 20-year period using a graduated tax abatement schedule. This arrangement is consistent with financial considerations made previously for significant industrial projects in our community and other communities in Georgia. o In the interest of being a good corporate citizen, the company requested that abatement begin at 90% rather than 100%. This means that even in the first year of abatement the company will pay more in property tax than would have been paid if the property had remained vacant and undeveloped. Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties have agreed to work with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to provide necessary roadways and signalization to the site required for plant operations at no cost to the company.
Caterpillar Fact Sheet

Working cooperatively, Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties have agreed to share the cost of extending water and sewer to the site at no cost to the company. Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties have agreed to provide a staff liaison to serve as a local single point of contact working with both counties on planning, permitting, and other regulatory issues to ensure a seamless and timely construction process for the company. In addition, the local governments, working with the State, will assist with employee recruitment and new employee orientation to the local communities. The value of the local incentives noted above over the next 20 years is estimated to be in excess of $30 million. Economic Impact Electric Cities of Georgia provided a local economic impact analysis of this project using Georgia Techs Local Fiscal Impact Analysis (LOCI) model. The results showed an estimated $39,000,000 in increased annual retail sales in Athens-Clarke and Oconee County establishments, which is expected to generate an additional $945,000 in sales taxes collected per year. The new employment opportunities created by this project will provide quality jobs to local citizens who have different levels of experience and education. 27% of the jobs will require at least one college degree (primarily technical or engineering degrees). 23% will require two years of technical training (primarily in production skills). 70% will require a high-school diploma. People with previous assembly manufacturing experience are expected to be in high

demand. It is expected that several specialized vendors and suppliers will relocate to the area in order to support the production needs of the company. While the exact number is unknown, the company estimates the number of suppliers to locate in the area to be as high as 20-25. The State and both local governments will be actively recruiting these businesses to this area. The multiplier effect of the companys proposed operation indicates that the creation of 1400 jobs by the company will indirectly create an additional 2800 supply-chain related jobs tied to the new factory. The company will create $57,000,000 in payroll. "Investments in high output manufacturing operations like the new Caterpillar facility to be built in Athens can be a huge benefit to the local and regional economy," said Dr. Sharon Younger, President of Younger Associates research firm and faculty member of the Economic Development Institute. "Based on the production capacity of the new plant, I estimate the total economic impact to reach $2.4 billion per year as key suppliers locate in the region and the regional supply chain matures." These indirect effects result from the increased demand for goods and services due to spending throughout the area by the company and its employees.
Caterpillar Fact Sheet

4 Furlough days restored to Clarke County school workers

By DONNIE Z. FETTER AND LEE SHEARERNEWS@ONLINEATHENS.COM updated Friday, November 15, 2013 - 11:19pm
The Clarke County school board voted Thursday to return two of five previously scheduled unpaid furlough days to the school calendar. Effectively, that adds two days of pay to school system teachers and staff. Between salary and benefits, returning the days to the school calendar amounts to about $850,000 in pay for system staff, according to school officials. Clarke County School Superintendent Philip Lanoue said last week that school workers deserve the restored pay after going five years without raises. Our employees have done all that we have asked of them and they have said nothing, Lanoue said during at the boards agenda -setting meeting a week prior to the voting meeting. They have not complained. Clarke school workers, like many others across the state, have been sent home on unpaid furlough days during the past few school years as a cost -cutting measure. State funding cuts denied school systems millions in recent years. Georgia is now spending 15 percent less on education than it did in 2002, according to an analysis by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. In Clarke County, the problem was compounded by a reduction in property taxes due to a decline in real estate values. But the districts balance sheets have improved this year, Lanoue said. Income was higher than expected, while expenditures also came in below budget. Together, they add up to about a $9 million swing.