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Equality, Rights & Justice Issues

How long do you want to live? How long will you live?

There’s a 25 year life expectancy difference across neighborhoods in Georgia. In Georgia, the neighborhood with the shortest life expectancy is just five miles south of Macon, Ga. With a poverty rate over fifty percent, the life expectancy is just over 63 years. However, Vinings, a suburb northwest of Atlanta, has a poverty rate under 5 percent, and a life expectancy of over 87 years. Where you live impacts the quality of education your children

Education

More schools refuse school takeover

A little over a year since Deal’s school takeover bill went into effect, more schools are pushing back against being labeled for takeover. The so-called, state-mandated school “turnaround” program was pushed through the Georgia General Assembly by Gov. Deal after teachers, parents and voters in general overwhelmingly voted against it in November 2016. Deal refused to accept Georgia’s answer and created the First Priority Act which created the position of the “Chief Turnaround Officer” or

Women

The resistance is alive and well in Macon

In the doorway of the church, the line to get in kept slowing down as friends greeted each other with hugs and laughter, chatting and catching up. There was no rushing these greetings; folks, after all, had come to Macon’s historic First Baptist Church of Christ early on a Saturday morning, many still working on their first cup of coffee, and they had a long morning ahead. The day started off cool, a southern spring

Education

Opposition to Deal’s school takeover plan grows in Macon

Gov. Nathan Deal’s Opportunity School District plan (a.k.a. school takeover) is about to get some new opposition: the Board of Education of Bibb County, home to Macon, Ga. During last week’s BOE meeting, several members spoke against the measure, which would give a state-appointed leader control over schools that have received failing grades three years in a row based on Georgia’s College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRI) scores. Here’s Daryl Morton, the Bibb County

Equality, Rights & Justice Issues

Macon band director fired for same sex marriage

In Macon, popular band director Flint Dollar has been fired for marrying someone he loves. According to news reports, the Mount de Sales Academy band director says he was fired because he plans to marry his male partner of six years. The most outrageous part of this story is that the school’s employment policy includes protections for sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. But Flint Dollar was fired despite that policy. WMAZ13: Macon band

Is there hope for Georgia’s education system?

Perhaps the most important issue facing Georgia lawmakers today is how to improve Georgia’s failing public education system. With 95 percent of the state’s children enrolled in public schools, the answer has a deep and lasting impact on Georgia’s future. Is there hope for Georgia’s education system? Kenny B., with Macon’s Fox 24 Live at Five, addresses that question with Executive Director Bryan Long. A partial transcript can be found below the video clip. Transcript: