COMMUNITY
FINANCE
WELLNESS
Jason Carter might have won the special election for Senate District 42 without his famous grandparents hitting the campaign trail on his behalf, but it surely didn’t hurt. 3
Michael Keller of Lithonia was one of about 300 job-seekers who attended a career expo in Norcross, hosted by 4th District Congressman Hank Johnson. 5
An Atlantain-DeKalb community is growing food for itself and others with help from Scotts Miracle-Gro and DeKalb County partners . 7
Family influence
Copyright © 2010 CrossRoadsNews, Inc.
In search of work
May 15, 2010
Goodness from the garden
Volume 16, Number 3
Need for MARTA dramatized
www.crossroadsnews.com
School board OKs deep cuts By Jennifer Ffrench Parker
Photos by Carla Parker / CrossRoadsNews
More than 200 supporters converged on the Five Points station on May 11 to urge more funding for the cash-strapped transit system. Many wore surgical masks to raise the specter of increased air pollution. MARTA CEO Beverly Scott attended the rally organized by transit union locals.
Transit advocates seek more funding for buses, trains By Carla Parker
Commuters, workers and other supporters of MARTA and mass transit donned surgical masks Tuesday to dramatize the pollution problems that Atlanta would face without MARTA. More than 200 adults and children rallied outside the transit system’s Five Points station in Atlanta to press their case for more funding for the cash-strapped system that has experienced a reduction in federal and sales tax revenues this year. Leading the effort was the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rainbow PUSH’s founder and president. Jackson called for an end to the legal cap on MARTA’s use of its reserves for capital improvements only. “We need to be more flexible – use money for riders and workers,” he said. Jackson was in town to help press Gov. Sonny Perdue into signing House Bills 227, 1393 and 1446 that will give MARTA and other transportation systems the freedom to use their capital reserve funds to keep buses and trains rolling. HB 277 grants the transit authority use of its capital reserve funds for three years, but MARTA supporters want the cap to be lifted permanently. The transit system is facing a 30 percent cut in operations this year and says it needs $120 million for operations and to prevent the loss of 1,000 jobs. The rally was organized by local transit workers, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 732 members, and attended by MARTA
The Rev. Jesse Jackson of Rainbow PUSH called for an end to the legal cap on MARTA’s use of its reserves for capital improvements only.
officials, including the transit system’s CEO Beverly Scott. Jackson said that MARTA, which carries 500,000 passengers a day, is helping to keep 185,000 cars off the roads and keeping pollution down. “If you put more cars on the road, that means more [dependence] on gas and oil,” Jackson said. Benita West, Local 732’s president, said that although a “transit bill is in the works, there won’t be enough to cover job cuts.” MARTA faces significant funding gaps, and without additional support, the 200 buses and trains that were marked with large red X’s during an April 20 protest, soon will be eliminated. Transit workers marked X’s on 200 buses, about a third of MARTA’s fleet, to show the number of buses that would go out of service without access to more money. If the buses are cut, officials say traffic congestion and compromise metro Atlanta’s already would increae and air quality would decrease.
The American Lung Association ranks Atlanta among the nation’s 25 most polluted cities. Many protesters at Tuesday’s rally wore surgical masks to show what the city’s residents soon would be reduced to if public transportation is compromised. A Texas Transportation Institute’s Mobility Report says that if MARTA ceases operation, annual traffic delays in Atlanta, already second to Los Angeles, would increase by 1.25 million hours, would cost an additional $245 million in gas consumption, late deliveries and loss of employee productivity. Harry Lombardo, the Transport Workers Union of America executive vice president, said metro residents should be scared of increased pollution. “If you lose buses and trains, that means more traffic, more pollution, more congestion and more kids getting asthma.” he said. “Let MARTA decide how to spend transit money. We’re asking Congress to take the strings off our money.”
School taxes won’t go up this year, but parents, students and teachers will be feeling the pinch because of a $104.4 million package of cuts approved by the DeKalb School Board on May 10. Board members opted to use the scalpel rather than increase the school tax by a half mill or 1 mill to raise $9 million or $18 million to help balance its 2011 budget. District 9 board member Jay Cunningham said he didn’t care which one members supported as long as the parents and students get some help to keep the magnet transportation. But the nine-member board voted 5-4 to slash half of the magnet transportation stops; to ax 150 central positions for administrators, secretaries and police officers; and to lay off 100 paraprofessionals, 30 media clerks and nine certified technology specialists. With the budget reductions, class size increases; teachers get seven furlough days, a 3.9 percent pay cut; and administrators gets 10 furlough days,a 6.25 percent pay cut. Parents with children in magnet Eugene Walker schools gets to drive longer distances to nine satellite stops instead of the current 18. “I don’t support this,” she said. Assistant Superintendent Robert Moseley said after the meeting that he will begin examining the satellite locations to determine which nine will remain. “We will look at where the magnet students live and where the elementary schools they attend are to determine where the stops will remain,” he said. This is the second cut in a year for magnet transportation. Last year, the district stopped picking up children in their neighborhoods. Board members also voted to cut $26 million in contributions to the employees retirement plan. The general fund budget of $746.6 million was approved without a single vote from the four south DeKalb representatives. The oher no votes came from Sarah Copelin-Wood, Zepora Roberts and Dr. Eugene Walker. Dr. Pamela Speaks from Stone Mountain was the lone AfricanAmerican board member voting for the budget. Walker said a widespread “anti-millage increase sentiment” on the board was the issue – not race. “I think it has more to do with Republicans and Democrats,” he said. “I want you Please see BUDGET, page 5