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In 1969, my wife, Kathy, and I came to Gainesville for me to become assistant principle of Fair Street School and for Kathy to teach English at Gainesville Junior High.
After two years, I joined the administration of the Hall County Schools. Our intent was to return to our home part of the state after I had more administration experience.
Forty-two years later, we are still here because we found Hall County to be the best place in the state to live. Kathy and I are very pleased that we chose this community as the one where our three daughters were born, grew up and received an excellent education, preparing them for advanced college degrees.
I have worked for both school systems and they are both great places to work. The boards of education for both systems and the citizens have always had the best interests of our students at heart. During these years, both systems have made outstanding progress.
From a funding standpoint, the 1-cent SPLOST has been a lifesaver for school systems by providing funds for facilities and technology. In fact, I think the SPLOST and the Hope grants have been the two best funding improvements for education in Georgia during my career.
The first three SPLOST programs have primarily been spent to provide facilities for growing student bodies. However, with the current trends in student growth slowing, both systems will be able to devote more funds to renovating and — in the case of Gainesville — replacing aging structures.
Hall County will use funds to continue to improve the delivery of instructional technology to its students. This is a must in today's highly competitive world. Also, all existing school bond debt will be completely paid.
On March 15, I urge you to vote for the education SPLOST. If it fails, we will still have school, but we will have missed the opportunity to give our students of today and tomorrow the best that they could have had.
Lee Lovett
Gainesville