BREAKING: GA governor closes all schools to save fuel

[tgnyc]

next Monday & Tuesday, per CNN.

[OhioChick]

1. You're quick

You beat me to it.

[KyndCulture]

2. WTF is with Sonny...

why is it that GA always goes off the deep end...

I dunno maybe it's a good idea but are they closing everybody's work too? seems like a pain in the ass thing that won't matter much.

[Iris]

35. You're right about the deep end. Now what are we going to do in January

when we get 25 snowflakes and have to shut down the whole city in addition to the schools? The kids will already have used their snow days for gas days!

[proud2BlibKansan]

40. Don't they just make them up at the end of the year?

That's what we do here. In some districts, they take days off spring break.

[LeftCoast]

3. Hmm...I wonder what their fuel / savings calculation is?

Doesn't seem like this would really save significant amount of fuel...

[electron_blue]

32. Just shifts the cost, anyway

think of all the parents who will have to take a "sick" day to stay home with their kids.

No, wait, I fergot- in Georgia all the moms are 'at-home' (or so I bet the Governor thinks)

[ohio_liberal]

36. 250,000 gallons of gas saved

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=65466

[hiley]

4. makes you wonder what does the

Governor know that we don't?
By chance a Republican?

edit to say yes,
Republican

[Ilsa]

5. "Hey Gov, maybe if the troops came home, we would have enough

fuel and money to educate our kids, not just the Iraqis."

[brystheguy]

6. Isn't a bus full of people fuel-efficiency in action? n/t

[BOSSHOG]

7. While I admire the initiative I have to ask

Save fuel for what? Hopefully this will coincide with a review of bus routes. On the other hand: lets have all schools close down Monday and Tuesday coast to coast to lighten the load on refineries.

[MGKrebs]

8. Alas, the very future scientist who would have perfected

safe and practically free fission fuel (or something) will now instead be at home for a couple of days with mom and dad at work, and get caught trying to figure out the inner workings of a vending machine at the local mall, and crack his head open after tripping and falling while running from the security guard, and never attend school again.

[President Jesus]

9. close schools but encourage Hummer sales with tax breaks

Good Lord...we're doomed.

[jackster]

24. GOOD ONE!

and I'm STILL seeing those damn things on the road!

[Joebert]

39. The people who buy them

do not feel the pain.

If they can get the vehicle for free for use in a business, they can write off the gas as well.

You just don't have a good enough accountant.

:-)

[MGKrebs]

10. Actually, they might have to do this.

They're really not saving fuel so much as saving money. Since they cut the tax on gasoline for a month, that's going to put a bit of a crimp in the budget I would guess.

I wonder what Mom and Dad think, though.

[DBoon]

14. given a choice between cheap gas and their children's education

American parent choose cheap gas.

Because republicans expect someone else to sacrifice for them.

[bleedingheart]

11. Showing once again how Republicans are Dumbing Down America

this is about the stupidest thing I have ever heard of to save money...

[ProdigalJunkMail]

12. someone finally tries to do something to conserve some fuel

and you bash? it may be not the best idea in the world but it will keep thousands of school buses off the road and force many parents to stay home that day. This WILL save some fuel...

subjectProdigal

[DBoon]

15. How about requiring car pools?

no, that would be communism -forcing people to share is bad in America

[ProdigalJunkMail]

17. forcing is not sharing...

but that is not the point...the governor is trying to control something he CAN control...and getting bashed...lovely...

subjectProdigal

[bleedingheart]

26. How about asking the Parents to Car Pool....or use mass transit

instead of keeping their kids out of school.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

37. the only mass transit in MOST of GA is in ATL and it sucks

trust me, I have tried it. And carpooling is already going on in the crowds I run with...so, the gov' tries to come up with SOMETHING and he gets slammed...lovely.

subjectProdigal

[Divernan]

13. Test balloon? Other GOP governors watch for reaction.

It's multi-tasking for them: saving money AND speeding up the dumbing down of the general public.
Would like more details on this story. I mean, these schools are on an annual, not weekly or monthly budget. So he's saying they are short on operating funds within one month of school's opening? They'd be better off adding a couple of days to Christmas or Thanksgiving holidays.

[Bouncy Ball]

16. And parents who work full-time during the day are

supposed to take off work to stay home with their kids and lose that pay?

Or just leave the kids home alone?

Not everyone can find a babysitter on a dime like that. Or afford one.

Sheesh. The more affluent parents will be able to get a sitter.

They would also be more likely to be able to take off work.

The less well off will not be able to afford a sitter or take off work.

[hiley]

18. something is going on here

:argh:

[dogindia]

19. how about savings by not letting people drive around so much and

carepooling. Mandatory care pooling. Everybody on their fancy bikes who could do so.

How about not letting folks driving on Sunday.

The whole problem of energy conservation just needs to be addressed bigtime.

How about closing public offices or asking everyone to do local community sevice on Monday and Tuesday.

Replanting forests and cleaning out invasive species in the local parks. Replanting wetlands.

Taking the day off for everybody on Monday and Tuesday.

Save oil all day holiday.

[CatWoman]

20. from 11 Alive -- this is voluntary

Governor Closing Schools Monday & Tuesday

Web Editor: Michael King
Last Modified: 9/23/2005 3:56:17 PM

Governor Sonny Perdue has announced that he is closing all the state schools on Monday and Tuesday of next week in a fuel saving measure as a result of Hurricane Rita.

This is a voluntary request on the governor's part.

Schools in Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties have confirmed that they will be following the request of the Governor's Office.

Sources at the Georgia Department of Education have confirmed the governor's announcement.

A formal news conference is due at 4 p.m. 11Alive and 11Alive.com will be carrying the news conference live.

http://11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=69646

[jpak]

21. Yup - Keep them chil'en outta the school house

but keep them Monster-Dually-V8-Pickups and Lincoln Navigators on the road...

Way to go Sonny

:puke:

[Solly Mack]

22. Unreal

fucking unreal

but give us more "no tax" days back to school shopping

[Shadder]

23. Stupid time to announce this

This should have been done around noon to give the schools time to at least send some kind of information with the kids. I found out about here, after both my kids arrived home.

[GreenPartyVoter]

28. What are people who work gonna do with their kids? Leave them

home alone?

This has to be very inconvenient to families.

[RebelOne]

25. So far, only two counties have said they are closing.

But it makes it great for me. Cobb County is one of them that is closing. I work in Cobb, so traffic should be great on those two days.

[Francine Frensky]

27. What's the other county?? And what do you think the working moms

will have to say about this??

Not that I work, but I would think on such short notice this would be incredibly inconvenient.

[RebelOne]

30. Gwinnett County, I think, is the other one.

Yes, this will be a hardship on working moms with young children. I think I will be seeing some kids at the office Mon. and Tues.

[mitchum]

31. Athens Clarke County is another one...I found out that I have a 4 day...

weekend just 3 minutes before leaving this afternoon.
While I do appreciate the chance for sloth, I do think this is overreaction

[Ksec]

29. The country under rethug rule ..did you expect this?

I did. Weve closed up a dozen chools in this area with repugs in control of everything.

[Mojambo]

33. I gotta say, this is a disturbing development

Leave it to the deep south. Education has never been particularly high on their priority list.

I bet you the Hooters are remaining open.

[DemocracyInaction]

34. How come the little darlings can't walk??

Seriously, there were no such things as school buses in my time except for kids brought in from the farms. And I used to be a teacher............it's idiotic to see kids a handful of blocks from school being picked up and bused. We always had a good half hour walk to school. And when it came time for high school which was way across town and way up in the "hill" district, we rode the public transit buses. Maybe we wouldn't have to worry about fat, couch potato kids if we loaded them up with 10 lbs. of books in their backpack and showed them the sidewalk!!!

[in_cog_ni_to]

38. Our school district is spread out for RURAL miles. It would take HOURS,

literally, for some kids to walk to school. They would have to start walking to school while it's still dark outside. PLUS, TIMES HAVE CHANGED. I wouldn't want MY son, MY LITTLE DARLING, walking alone on some deserted country road to get to school. NOT gonna happen. Not in this day and age. It's too dangerous. I walked to school too, but things are so different now, compared to when I was a kid. I use to play outside after dark when I was a kid. I would NEVER let my son play outside after dark now. It's a different world than what I grew up in.

[Quixote1818]

41. I hope they did their homework because that seems futile to me

Most people have to travel to work anyway so dropping off their kids is probably just a small diversion plus many kids walk or ride the bus. Fifty kids on a bus is very good way to conserve fuel. Perhaps he should have shut down certain city and local government jobs for a week?

[in_cog_ni_to]

42. Yet, the idiot-in-chief is wasting a TON of fuel flying all over the

states for photo ops!:grr: He needs to park the damn jet and conserve fuel. Sacrifice. That should be HIS 'faith-based initiative'. I think G-d would prefer the children get an education than the asshole get his photo ops.