ATLANTA – Students at more than half of the University System of Georgia’s 26 colleges and universities will return to classes next week with one eye on their studies and another on a widening global pandemic.
As the number of deaths from coronavirus in Georgia surpassed 4,000 last week and the number of confirmed cases passed 200,000, students and teachers worried a decision by the system’s Board of Regents to press ahead with in-person instruction this semester could have grave consequences.
That concern was dramatized Thursday when about four dozen students and teachers held a “die-in” demonstration at the University of Georgia’s main campus in Athens.
“The Board of Regents is a terrible obstacle to the health and safety of the students and faculty of the state,” said Janet Murray, associate dean at the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts at Georgia Tech, the top signatory to a statement early last month signed by 865 Tech faculty members. “They have not acknowledged we’re in a state that’s having spiking rates of infection.”
A system spokesman said the campuses are taking every precaution to make sure students, faculty and staff can return safely.
“We have been stressing the best public health practices,” said Lance Wallace, associate vice chancellor for communications. “We’re not taking any measures we have not discussed with the Georgia Department of Public Health. We’re letting public health experts guide us. … We can’t eliminate all risk, but we’re working very hard in order to make it as safe as possible.”
The university system shut down in-person instruction in mid-March as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Georgia. Classes continued to be held online throughout the remainder of the spring semester and during the summer.
But by July, system and campus administrators had decided to resume in-person instruction for the fall semester.
“Resuming in-person classes this fall will be a difficult but important task, and it is one we are committed to achieving, as it serves the best interests of our students and the state of Georgia,” 25 of the 26 campus presidents wrote in a joint letter to the Board of Regents. “The campus experience is an essential part of the educational growth that is critical for the overall success of our students.”
“The reason students go to college is to be in an environment, inside and outside of class, where they can have conversations that lead to growth and development,” Wallace added. “You can’t replicate that online.”
But Murray dismissed such arguments as “sentimental nonsense” that is inappropriate while a global pandemic rages. Besides, there’s no way for students to realistically realize the benefits of a campus atmosphere during these difficult times, she said.
“The college experience is going to be very different,” she said. “It has to be. To say it’s better to meet with masks on in a distanced classroom is wrong-headed.”
While administrators at each campus have put together plans to resume in-person classes that fit their individual needs, certain key elements will apply throughout the university system.
“The plan calls for the things we’ve been stressing: wash your hands for 20 seconds, use hand sanitizer, disinfect frequently touched surfaces, stay home if you feel sick, practice social distancing, wear a mask,” Wallace said.
The system has purchased and made available 50,000 COVID-19 test kits, with testing available at all 26 campuses, Wallace said. Also, each campus has a liaison who will work with a local public health office to ensure contact tracing is being carried out, he said.
Students and teachers say they appreciate the system’s decision to impose a mask-wearing mandate on all students, faculty, staff and visitors to the 26 campuses.
But Bhavin Patel, president of the College Democrats of Georgia and a rising sophomore at Kennesaw State University, said there’s been a lack of communication from administrators about specifics of the reopening.
He cited as an example a lack of information on how fraternities and sororities will be affected.
“Many of these organizations are planning to host mass gatherings for recruitment,” Patel said. “Knowing college students, we need to have proper guidelines set in place for Greek life.”
Patel called on the Board of Regents to make attendance at in-person classes optional, so students could take their courses online if they choose.
But Wallace said the benefits of in-person instruction to students are so great it’s worth doing everything possible to make it happen and ensure it can be done safely.
“Our mission as a state agency is to educate,” he said. “We can’t back away from our mandate to perform our mission even though a pandemic makes it harder.”
ATLANTA – Georgia tax collections rebounded last month after a dismal second quarter, boosted by a delay in the normal income tax filing deadline from mid-April until mid-July.
Tax revenues in July increased by $311.8 million over July of last year – or 17% – the state Department of Revenue reported Friday.
The agency also released figures for all of fiscal 2020, which ended June 30. Including the extra two weeks in July folded into the report because of the delayed filing deadline, the state took in $23.7 billion during a year scarred by the coronavirus pandemic, down just 0.4%, a far better showing than expected.
The state moved the filing deadline back three months to follow the example of the federal government, which gave taxpayers more time because of COVID-19.
Individual income tax revenues last month were up 20.2% over July of last year, reflecting a large jump in payments combined with a big decrease in refunds.
With Georgia’s economy opening back up after being virtually shut down during the early months of the pandemic, net sales tax collections increased 9.6%.
July’s rosy numbers followed three consecutive months of falling tax revenues brought on by the economic impact of COVID-19 on Georgia businesses and their employees.
The General Assembly responded last month to the dismal economic picture of the second quarter with $2.2 billion in spending cuts in a $25.9 billion fiscal 2021 budget that took effect July 1.
While Gov. Brian Kemp indicated this week he will call lawmakers back to the Gold Dome for a special session later this year, the more optimistic revenue picture now emerging might let the governor and legislature avoid additional reductions.
ATLANTA – First-time unemployment claims in Georgia fell by 11,053 last week to 73,931, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday.
Still, the nearly 3.4 million initial claims the state agency has processed since March 21 is more than the labor department handled during the last eight years combined.
The labor agency has taken some heat this week from Democrats in the General Assembly over a backlog of unprocessed claims and benefit payments that has piled up as the number of unemployed Georgians soared during the coronavirus pandemic.
Georgia House Democrats have held news conferences across the state to call attention to the number of unprocessed payments, a problem that has become even more critical since Congress allowed the federal program paying $600 a week to unemployed Americans to expire at the end of last week.
“We are at a critical time for many Georgians,” said Rep. Sandra Scott, D-Rex. “Failure to pass the extended unemployment benefits has left individuals, families, workers and businesses at risk.”
Responding to the criticism Thursday, Georgia Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler said 92% of all valid claims submitted in the last 19 weeks have been paid. However, more than 135,000 other initial unemployment claims have been filed by Georgians who have not worked in the last 18 months and are, thus, ineligible for unemployment benefits, he said.
“Unemployment insurance is not a guaranteed benefit,” Butler said. “Each claim has to be thoroughly reviewed for eligibility and verified before payments can be issued.
“A claimant may not be granted benefits if they have not worked and earned insured wages in the past 18 months or were fired for cause or quit a job of their own accord. Many times, the employer and employee have different versions of what happened, and that takes even longer to gather information for a complete decision.”
Since March 21, the job sector accounting for the most first-time unemployment claims is accommodation and food services with 802,990 claims. The health care and social assistance job sector is next with 398,353 claims, followed closely by retail trade with 368,039.
More than 122,000 jobs are listed online at EmployGeorgia.com for Georgians to access. The labor department offers online resources for finding a job, building a resume, and assisting with other reemployment needs.
ATLANTA – Atlanta’s Turner Field is getting a new name.
The baseball stadium the Atlanta Braves used for nearly 20 years converted three years ago to a football stadium for Georgia State University is to be rechristened Center Parc Credit Union Stadium.
The University System of Georgia Board of Regents’ Real Estate and Facilities Committee approved the new name Thursday, the result of a sponsorship agreement with the Atlanta Postal Credit Union.
The agreement calls for the credit union to pay a sponsorship fee of nearly $21.6 million in 15 annual installments.
The credit union will have the right to change the name of the stadium no more than twice during the term of the agreement and will be responsible for all costs associated with any subsequent name changes, including the design, production and installation of new signage and development of new logos.
Turner Field has gone by the name “Georgia State Stadium” since 2017, when the Braves moved into a new stadium in Cobb County and the Georgia State football Panthers began playing their home games in the former Turner Field, which was converted into a 22,000-seat stadium for football.
The full Board of Regents is expected to approve the renaming resolution next week.
ATLANTA – Manufacturers that use the cancer-causing chemical ethylene oxide face new restrictions in Georgia under legislation Gov. Brian Kemp has signed into law.
Senate Bill 426 was among a flurry of 40 bills Kemp signed on Wednesday, the legal deadline for the governor to sign or veto measures the General Assembly passed during this year’s session.
Ethylene oxide is used primarily to sterilize medical equipment, a need that has garnered a great deal of attention during the coronavirus pandemic.
The bill, which was introduced by Sen. Brian Strickland, R-McDonough, requires manufacturers that use ethylene oxide to report any waste spills or gas releases to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) within 24 hours. The director of the EPD then must post the information on the agency’s website.
The need for tighter regulation of ethylene oxide became apparent last winter after public concerns were raised over unreported releases of the chemical at a Sterigenics plant in Smyrna and a facility in Covington operated by BD Bard.
The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the state Senate and House of Representatives, with strong support from the Cobb and Newton county legislative delegations.
Also on Wednesday, Kemp signed a constitutional amendment calling for a statewide referendum in November on whether to require that dedicated state funds be spent on their intended purpose.
Committing dedicated state money such as Georgia’s Solid Waste and Hazardous Waste trust funds to their intended use was a longstanding priority of the late state Rep. Jay Powell, R-Camilla, who died unexpectedly last November.
Another measure Kemp signed on the final day for bill signing will reserve a permanent slot in annual state budgets for the funding of freight rail improvements.
Opponents had urged the governor to veto the bill, sponsored by Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, because it could be used to put state funding toward privately owned “short-line” freight railroads, not just those owned by the state.
While the legislation authorizes the Georgia Department of Transportation to fund freight rail projects, this year’s tight state budget doesn’t contain any money for that purpose.
