Seeds for a “free” public school system for Gainesville were sown as far back as the 1870s, but two decades of debate followed, and in the end citizens were faced with a choice between providing education or sewers. They eventually decided on both, but the school system was birthed only after lengthy labor pains and opposition from some of the leading citizens of the time. James E. Dorsey’s “The History of Hall County, Vol.
Johnny Vardeman: Gainesville school system survived after years of debate