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Georgia schools chief, state lawmakers at odds over proposed performance rating system

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Georgia schools chief, state lawmakers at odds over proposed performance rating system


(Georgia Recorder) — It’s not just students who bring home report cards. Since 2012, the College and Career Readiness Performance Index has offered a measure of the performance of schools and districts on a number of factors. Parents can use the scores to decide where to make their homes, and school leaders sift through the data to decide what areas to focus on.

For the past few years, the school report cards have been a little different, and one state lawmaker says it’s time to change back.

In 2020 and 2021, the U.S. Department of Education waived assessment requirements because of pandemic closures. In 2022, the feds approved a temporary modification to change CCRPI, including removing the overall score, because of data gaps caused by the pandemic, and that change was made permanent last year.

The report still lists 0-100 grades for the same five categories – content mastery, progress, closing gaps, readiness, and, for high schools, graduation rate – but since 2022, it has not included an overall 0-100 score.

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In the past, each of the categories was given a different weight, so calculating a composite score that is comparable with previous years is slightly more complicated than just adding up the categories or averaging them.

In December, State Superintendent Richard Woods said the change would be a good one for Georgia students.

“I have long said that the CCRPI’s 100-point single score vastly oversimplified the complicated factors that influence school quality,” he said. “With this change, the CCRPI is more like the ‘report card’ it was always intended to be – encouraging schools, families, and communities to dig into the data and both celebrate achievements and address issues that tended to be obscured by the single score.”

Rep. Scott Hilton (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)

Rep. Scott Hilton, a Peachtree Corners Republican, disagrees. His House Bill 1186 aims to require the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement to calculate a single score for districts and schools and the state Department of Education and local school districts to publish them on their websites. The bill passed the House Education subcommittee on Thursday and has until this Thursday’s Crossover Day to pass the full Education committee and the full House to have a smooth path to becoming law.

“Imagine going into a restaurant and not seeing a health score, instead seeing four or five different metrics, then you’ve got to decide, ‘Well, the dishes are dirty, but the food’s good.’ You don’t have time to weigh that,” he said. “You want to know, is it A, B, or C? So House Bill 1186 says you’ve got to go to a single score.”

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Hilton said the bill doesn’t specify how education leaders should weigh each factor to come up with the single score, but he said it should be consistent so parents and administrators can compare different schools and districts as well as track their progress over time.

“I’m going to let the experts and the grownups in the room get together and decide what the best calculation is. My only ask is that that calculation is one number, and that calculation is consistent year over year,” he said.

Scores were previously published by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. In an email, Executive Director Joy Hawkins said GOSA supports single scores. The Department of Education did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

Last year’s single scores are available, albeit unofficially. The Georgia Public Policy Foundation, a right-leaning think tank, calculated and published scores for schools, grade clusters, and districts on its website. President and CEO Kyle Wingfield said the calculations were done with the same formula used in 2018 and 2019, the most recent years with complete data, to make the scores comparable.

“Real transparency means information that’s clear and meaningful, not requiring the public to be experts themselves to know what their government is doing,” Wingfield said.

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The foundation’s report shows overall declining scores for Georgia elementary, middle, and high schools between 2019 and 2023 – down 5%, 8%, and 6.8%, respectively, though Wingfield said looking at individual districts and schools shows that some have demonstrated impressive growth.

“And frankly, I would say that’s one of the things that gets lost when you muddle this sort of message is you’re not celebrating the folks that are achieving really highly either,” he said.

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WATCH: Driver smirks in mugshot after allegedly hitting group of cyclists in caught-on-camera road rage

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WATCH: Driver smirks in mugshot after allegedly hitting group of cyclists in caught-on-camera road rage


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An elderly man offered a smirk for his mugshot after being arrested in a caught-on-camera hit-and-run involving a cyclist group.

Jerry Wayne Ross, 72, faces charges for an alleged hit-and-run with his Honda Pilot, all caught on video, on April 23 in Cherokee County, Georgia, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

The North Georgia Cycling Association was on its weekly Thursday night ride when the driver was accused of driving up on the group in a suspected road rage incident.

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One rider, identified as Richard Collins, the leader of the group, told Fox 5 Atlanta the black SUV tailed the group and laid down the horn.

FLORIDA MAN VIOLENTLY HIT BY SUV, POLICE SAY ROAD RAGE SPARKED THE INCIDENT

“Just excessive,” he told the outlet. “Didn’t let off the horn.”

The hit-and-run was caught on camera after a driver allegedly hit a cyclist participating in a group ride in Georgia April 13. (WAGA-TV)

The incident was caught on camera as the black Honda Pilot allegedly struck the cyclists after the driver honked at them.

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The group of cyclists, who fell after the clash, collided into the side of the SUV and fell onto the pavement.

STUDENTS ON CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL TRACK TEAM INJURED AFTER SUSPECTED DUI DRIVER ACCUSED OF HITTING THEM

“I turned to my left to see it at that moment that vehicle was on my left leg,” Collins said.

In the video, the vehicle speeds away.

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Richard Collins, leader of a North Georgia Cycling Association group ride, told WAGA-TV that an aggressive driver followed the cyclists for two minutes while honking continuously. According to Collins, the vehicle’s side mirror clipped a cyclist behind him before striking Collins directly, knocking him from his bike. (WAGA-TV)

Collins said he sustained road rash on his shoulder, elbow and knee and was treated by paramedics who were called. He later visited an orthopedist who discovered a fracture of his lower spine.

LAS VEGAS MEN WHO PLEADED GUILTY TO MOWING DOWN RETIRED POLICE CHIEF LEARN SENTENCE

Cherokee County Sheriff’s officials arrested Ross at a neighbor’s house nearby. Ross faces six charges, including hit-and-run, aggressive driving and failing to maintain a safe distance from a bicycle.

“I just hope this experience will raise awareness to the rules of the road for cyclists and how drivers should allow for the 3 feet distance in safe passing,” Collins said.

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Jerry Ross, 72, was taken into custody and charged with two counts of aggravated assault, hit-and-run, reckless driving, aggressive driving and failure to maintain a safe distance from a bicycle. (Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office)

In a statement, the North Georgia Cycling Association thanked law enforcement and emergency services for “their swift response and professionalism.”

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“We encourage all road users to follow the rules of the road, stay alert and respect one another. Sharing the road responsibly helps keep everyone safe,” the group said. 

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“We also encourage everyone to treat one another with care, patience and kindness — on and off the road. Most importantly, we are thankful that those involved made it home safely to their loved ones.”



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Georgia county’s HR policy council goes digital, boosting attendance, reducing grievances

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Georgia county’s HR policy council goes digital, boosting attendance, reducing grievances


To better serve county employees and streamline processes, the DeKalb County, Ga. Human Resources and Merit System (DeKalb HR) moved its quarterly policy council meetings online. The shift to digital has boosted attendance and made the meetings more efficient by enabling chat-based Q&A and real-time issue tracking, according to Jadia Haynes, the DeKalb County interim Human Resources director. 

Since the DeKalb County Department of Human Resources and Merit System-led policy council moved online, there has been a 50% reduction in grievances, a 67% increase in meeting participation and a 50% improvement in Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) processing efficiency for 6,600 employees, according to county data. 

DeKalb County has 45 departments, with more than 200 locations across the county where staff work, so many people who would otherwise want to attend the meetings when they were in-person were unable to, according to Katherine Furlong, interim deputy director, DeKalb County Human Resources Information Systems Division. 

Between the length of the actual meeting and the time it took to commute there and back, it could take up to three hours out of some people’s days, noted Haynes. 

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County survey feedback shows 88% of department liaisons feel more informed and aligned with human resource policies after participating in a policy council meeting. Since shifting the meetings online, attendance has increased from an average of 75 people to 126.

“This gives the employees a lot more flexibility,” Haynes said. “So now the time commitment is a lot less, and more people can participate.”

The meetings are much more efficient and interactive now, as people can submit questions through Zoom’s chat feature, said Furlong. 

People share more often with the comment feature, which Haynes attributes to people feeling more comfortable typing a message vs. speaking up in-person or on camera. 

Policy council participants include directors, deputy directors, managers and department administrators. Utilizing Zoom enables the human resources department to review meetings to better inform the process and make improvements moving forward, Haynes said. 

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“We can go back and check the chat too, and see what types of questions people ask, so we can make sure we can follow up to ensure that we’ve addressed them,” Furlong said. “If we don’t address them verbally in the meeting, we say, ‘OK, we’ll take that as an action item and come back and make sure we give that back to the team.’”

Human Resources has received “rave reviews” from county employees regarding the shift to virtual, Haynes noted. 

According to Kevin Buford, DeKalb County Parks and Recreation’s deputy director, the new structure has been “so valuable and useful.”

“We would be totally lost without this policy council,” said Debra DeBerry, DeKalb County Clerk of Superior Court. 



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Wild video captures elderly driver Jerry Ross, 72, crashing into group of cyclists on Georgia road

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Wild video captures elderly driver Jerry Ross, 72, crashing into group of cyclists on Georgia road


An elderly motorist is accused of driving through a group of bicyclists in Georgia – knocking one over and fracturing his spine – before speeding off in a hit-and-run that was caught on camera.

Jerry Wayne Ross, 72, flashed a wide grin in his booking photo as he faces charges for the alleged hit-and-run with his Honda Pilot, all caught on video, on April 23 in Cherokee County, Ga, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

The North Georgia Cycling Association was on their weekly Thursday night ride when the older driver was accused of driving up on the group in a suspected road rage incident.

Jerry Wayne Ross flashes a grin after his arrest for an alleged hit-and-run on April 23, 2026. Cherokee County Sheriffs Office

The cycling group was in the middle of its 32-mile ride through Cherokee County when Ross appeared behind them, blasting his horn for nearly two miles along Sugar Pike Rd in Canton.

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“Just excessive. Didn’t let off the horn,” Richard Collins, the leader of the group, told Fox 5 Atlanta.

The cyclists were riding double-wide along the scenic, rural road when Ross allegedly floored forward, alongside the leading pack of the group, according to video captured by one of the cyclists and obtained by the outlet.

Ross is believed to have pulled up alongside the first group of cyclists, striking one of the riders with his passenger side mirror.

“I turned to my left to see it, at that moment, that vehicle was on my left leg,” he said.

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Ross allegedly drove his Honda Pilot into the group of cyclists in Cherokee County on April 23, 2026. FOX NEWS

The cyclists, who became tangled up by the bump, collided into the side of Ross’ car and crashed onto the pavement.

The vehicle sped away as Collins was left lying in the road.

Collins said he sustained road rash on his shoulder, elbow and knee and was treated by paramedics who were called to the scene.

Richard Collins was struck by the driver in the middle of his 32-mile cycling ride. FOX NEWS
Collins said he sustained road rash on his shoulder, elbow and knee and was treated by paramedics who were called to the scene. FOX NEWS
The motorist fled the scene after striking the cyclists. FOX NEWS

He was later examined by an orthopedist and discovered he had suffered a fracture to his lower spine, he told the outlet.

Both cyclists were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

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Ross was found hiding out at a neighbor’s house down the road after officials from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office spotted damage to his SUV consistent with hitting a bicycle.

The suspected driver told authorities that he had encountered the group of cyclists but denied responsibility, blaming the bikers for the collision, saying the riders had been in the middle of the road, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

Ross was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault, aggressive driving, hit-and-run and failing to maintain distance, according to jail records viewed by The Post.

He remains behind bars in the Cherokee County Jail with his charges totaling $24,540.

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