Latest / The Town Square Podcast / Larry Cox Explains Data Centers, School Funding & the Future of Rockdale County — Episode 96

Transcript

Larry Cox Explains Data Centers, School Funding & the Future of Rockdale County — Episode 96 · The Town Square Podcast

• 0:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: Welcome to the Town Square podcast where local advocates of tickled myself.
• 0:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: Welcome to the Town Square podcast where local advocates for a better community bring their different perspectives into the messy middle to have a conversation where aim is unity, not uniformity, and that's important to us.
• 0:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: We believe unity is important, but we don't want anybody to be the same.
• 0:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: And we got people here today that they ain't the same.
• 0:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: We'll just start with that and we'll get to our guests in just a second.
• 0:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm one of your host, Tray Bailey, and Gabriel Stovall is generally to my left.
• 0:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: This is not Gabriel.
• 0:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: Not him.
• 0:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: This is Dr. Gregory Brown, Principal offord, Mixing Elementary School, Great Friend of Mind.
• 0:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 0:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: And he's here to fill in today, guest host.
• 0:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: Friend of the podcast.
• 0:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: Friend of the day one follower of the podcast, also to be here.
• 0:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: He also to be with my buddy.
• 0:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, man.
• 0:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm having a good time today just happens to be we're talking about public education, which you know a little bit about and I'm in a role that has something to do with that, but we have got, is it appropriate to call you the loud mouth of Rockdale County, is that offensive or is that about it?
• 1:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's it's not a fence of you can calm you can call me whatever you want I I think I'm an advocate for a dog.
• 1:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: No, I would say loud mouth or not But I do make some noise.
• 1:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: I do make some noise.
• 1:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: I do make some noise.
• 1:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: I thought I'm retrobable I do let I do let my voice be hurting my podcast which I have is speak your mind What's which I have no problem doing?
• 1:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: You do not have for I'll go and get it out here a very early in case you turn this thing off if we offend you somewhere It's on YouTube.
• 1:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's at Larry Cox 52.
• 1:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: At Larry Cox 52.
• 1:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's his YouTube channel You can find it on anywhere on the social media's with speaker mind.
• 1:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's live on Sunday evenings and then of course You get to be aiming and you watch the reports.
• 1:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, and he has oh my goodness.
• 1:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: You just did well you do you're on two podcasts actually
• 1:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, we, my friend Alex McDonald and Alex and I did a podcast together for about five years.
• 2:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: Let's show this week in Rockdale.
• 2:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 2:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we did that together and in Alex kept that, that network.
• 2:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we bring it out of retirement.
• 2:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
• 2:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: Every now and then for key topics.
• 2:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's a freaky topic and we will do joint shows together so Alex and I will do joint shows together just when we feel that it's an important enough issue to do a joint show and we did a five week series on data centers.
• 2:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: What data centers?
• 2:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, well, that's why you're here Larry.
• 2:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah We were digging to some of the stuff you guys talked about but I didn't I guess I didn't get the official introduction here on the school board of Rockdale County, right?
• 2:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: I am on the school board at Rugdale County elected, and you guys don't have districts.
• 2:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: Is it all that bad?
• 2:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: No, I haven't elected at large.
• 2:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, there was enough people in Rockdale County said this guy needs to be on the school board.
• 2:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 2:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, you know, Trey, I actually defeated a three-time income, but there you go.
• 2:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: He was tougher change.
• 2:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was tougher change, and I ran in the aggressive campaign.
• 2:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: I ran the whip page.
• 3:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: You, you went and said, we need, we need, we need major change.
• 3:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: And that's, you know, I'm not going to run from it.
• 3:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: I went and then said, if I'm elected, I'm the swing vote that will change the superintendent.
• 3:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: He said that.
• 3:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: and got a lick and and when I was chairman of a certain party in rock don't county.
• 3:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: I had it put I had it put on the ballot.
• 3:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: Do we think the super intended needs fired?
• 3:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, I goodness, I'm going to get trouble for this.
• 3:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, but we don't get it right.
• 3:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: But it's just it's people that know me.
• 3:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, I'm right.
• 3:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, I mean, I don't hide from anything I've done or anything.
• 3:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: I've seen it.
• 3:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 3:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: And and that's one
• 3:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: the things that the folks of Rado County appreciate and like about me.
• 3:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 3:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: That I'm transparent and I'm I'm I'm I'm honest when you speak your mind.
• 3:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, that's why this show is called.
• 3:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, if you're by this show, I mean, never the word by what you think.
• 3:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's it.
• 3:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: They never have to worry about what I can do because it's out there.
• 3:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 3:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, I was actually in preparation for the interview to date have this conversation.
• 4:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: I was actually going back over your campaign website and it's like seven points maybe that you were like running on and I was going, I was literally, you've been to what the year and a half, this year and a half and I was going through the seven points I went.
• 4:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: check check like how much lower you're going to be on the board you don't you already got half of the things done it you said you told people that that if they go and look at my campaign agenda yeah they're going to see that we are actually accomplishing that agenda yeah and on a seven person board right yes very board yeah we got five and that's hard to get consensus
• 4:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: I appreciate that one of the administrators that watches the board meetings.
• 4:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: All right, man, so before we get into the like politics and that centers, which I definitely desperately was talking about, just who outside of all that?
• 4:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: Who are you?
• 4:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like, like, this is primarily been a Newton County show.
• 4:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: Now we're in the Rockdale Decab, Morgan, like we're spreading out, so this will be your introduction.
• 5:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'll tell a lot of people in Newton County, like, so
• 5:06
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• 5:43
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• 5:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's all air at 770-761-9914 or online at allairservices.com.
• 6:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's allairservices.com.
• 6:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: Take your best step towards better air today with our friends at allair.
• 6:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, I run a concrete cutting company.
• 6:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: I've actually been in the concrete cutting and joint ceiling business for 32 years.
• 6:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, okay.
• 6:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: So what we do is we work on a lot of military bases, airports and major highways.
• 6:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: And if you see crews out there tearing a piece of highway out, yeah, most likely us running those big giant souls.
• 6:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, the big giant souls.
• 6:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then actually the
• 6:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
• 6:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: We do that and then we actually see all the joints to keep water from going down in the base.
• 6:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we do that all over the southeast United States.
• 6:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: We work from Virginia to Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia.
• 7:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
• 7:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we have, uh,
• 7:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: crews working in that whole thing and I am the vice president of our highway division and oversee the majority of our traveling crews.
• 7:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: Okay, do you have 50 minutes to have this conversation or are you going to take a deep time phone off?
• 7:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: I turn the phone off.
• 7:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: because there will be phone calls that I'm going to take after this, yes, sure.
• 7:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: And not only that, but I've done something, I did something up till COVID for about 15 years that a lot of people don't know that I did.
• 7:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: I actually did prison ministry for 15 years and did at one point.
• 7:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: during that, which I've got burned out a little bit, me and some of my colleagues did seven services a week for about, was that a four-year stretch we did that many, seven services a week?
• 7:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like one a day, kind of thing, or you do multiple multiples sometimes.
• 7:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so we would we would do up to seven services a week.
• 7:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: Can you mention where you were, were you doing these things?
• 8:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: Stay presence.
• 8:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, wow.
• 8:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, so not we went, not like the guy with a
• 8:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we did that for, like I said, I did that for 15 years.
• 8:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: COVID came on, became a little difficult, you know, they didn't, you know, to get in and stuff.
• 8:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then me and, and then the person that I did this with,
• 8:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: my partner in crime he passed away.
• 8:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, okay.
• 8:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: Not a coven.
• 8:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was something else.
• 8:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then me and another, another person that did it decided we, we were just, you know, it was just time to move a song on to do something else.
• 8:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: And at that time,
• 8:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's very interesting because to do the prison ministry and to see they want you all to have credentials But churches have a hard time a lot of times credentialing folks to do prison ministries So I established my own elc of own ministry and in and I licensed my own pastries That's the prize maybe So this is that's what I did.
• 8:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: I just established my own ministry and like in my license My own practice because it was easy to say that if you see something and he's good Don't you just go away to get it down?
• 9:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah, that's what I hear
• 9:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: a man of action.
• 9:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, so then what got you then into school board work?
• 9:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: Because it's just been a year and a half, like did it just get to a point where you're like we got to we got to act.
• 9:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, you know.
• 9:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: Pray a lot of people aren't darn aware of it.
• 9:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: I ran for the school board back in 2016.
• 9:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't think I do that.
• 9:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: I ran back in 2016.
• 9:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: Nobody can really knew me.
• 9:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: I had focused on work in my prison ministry up to that time period and you know, and I ran and there was a three person race and I came in second.
• 9:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: And
• 9:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: very decent showing for someone who had never, you know, had not run for office in in, you know, in George and Rock, no county before.
• 9:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: And at that point, I just engaged with the community.
• 9:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: Got to, you know, I got, I let people get to know me.
• 9:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: And as I let people get to know me, I knew it was the right time again in 24.
• 10:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: to run for it and especially run for it with the aggressive agenda that I put forward.
• 10:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
• 10:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: I felt that that was the agenda in the type of campaign that needed to happen for people to be able to say, yeah, we need we need these changes and somebody who thinks they can push this agenda.
• 10:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: Wow.
• 10:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, so it felt like a mandate at that point then, right?
• 10:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like once the voter said, okay, yeah, now it is.
• 10:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: It did feel like a mandate.
• 10:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: And
• 10:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I knew that there was actually a minority of the board that existed at that point that wanted to make some of these changes.
• 10:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: Okay.
• 10:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: They just needed that other person to swing the pendulum.
• 10:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: Huh.
• 10:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: And that was you.
• 10:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's me.
• 10:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I still mean I'm still the swing boat.
• 10:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: So it was a fourth or three sometimes.
• 10:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 10:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's it is I mean, but you know, and that's the thing about it right try you know talked about it And I might not be one of the biggest fans of the Georgia school board associate on the planet right And I've never gone along with this you have to go along to get along Gonna look like you're whatever there's nothing nothing wrong with this agreement There's nothing wrong with having a different opinion than a colleague
• 11:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: I do that in my work that I do all the time in the construction industry.
• 11:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: Some of the people that I work the closest with with different contractors, we don't see that out, but I've worked with them for 25 and 30 years, right?
• 11:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 11:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we've developed a trust in the bond.
• 11:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 11:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't have to agree with you to like you or even appreciate your opinions regarding topics.
• 11:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 11:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's all about respect.
• 11:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 11:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I appreciate that.
• 11:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: And certainly from the Town Square podcast perspective, that is what we're about.
• 11:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 11:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: We believe that.
• 11:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: You know, there are polarities in both politics, ideology, religion, and even there's polarities, but most of us live in the messy middle.
• 12:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: And that means we got to have these conversations to figure out, okay, well, what, like humanize the point for me?
• 12:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: You're way over here to explain that to me so that I understand it and understand the humanity in it and likewise.
• 12:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I think then we come to a convergence where
• 12:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: 80% making up a number.
• 12:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: 80% of the things we kind of all agree on to some degree, you know, there's maybe there's 20% on the polls that maybe we can't, we just can't see out of how, but for most, mostly, like things that politicians run on now affordability and
• 12:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: you know everybody wants more to be right education like we all we all want those things to be really good and we can avoid disagreement because disagreement does not mean they were not productive right you know but discourse is important if we're going to get to a a place of agreement a mystery and two how can we how can to walk together unless they agree if they're not agreeing
• 12:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: We got to have a conversation right this conversation and see why we're not going in the same direction And it might be something just about misunderstanding, but that discourse has to happen and we can't run away from those those disagreeable moments and Missed that the that perfect stone of discourse just to have that conversation and let me hear your point I don't know what the heck you're talking about why you think that explain that to me.
• 13:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah
• 13:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let me hear your point.
• 13:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know what that makes sense.
• 13:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, that doesn't happen unless there is some friction.
• 13:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
• 13:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: Friction is not a bad thing.
• 13:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's right.
• 13:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's right.
• 13:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: And, you know, how do you make a pearl and an oyster?
• 13:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: You need an irritant.
• 13:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: You need a little bit of sand, you know.
• 13:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 13:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 13:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: So maybe that's you.
• 13:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: You need an irritant.
• 13:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, you're put away.
• 13:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: You're put away.
• 13:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: You're put away.
• 13:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: You're put away.
• 13:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you.
• 13:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: You're gonna find out if you talk to a lot of my, my, my, my co-board members.
• 13:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 13:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: That I'm not the person they thought that I would be.
• 13:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: Okay, so there's a persona, there's a maybe a with yeah perception that Larry Cox is going to come in here and he's going to be this far right whatever blah blah blah And he's like wait a minute.
• 14:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: He actually has some good point.
• 14:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's a good car.
• 14:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, I didn't and when you act anybody who actually gets to know me, they understand I'm probably a moderate.
• 14:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right, right.
• 14:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: I, you know, I call myself physically responsible not physically conservative.
• 14:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: I call myself fiscally responsible, but I believe in public education, and that's a rarity for individuals who are defined as fiscally responsible, or most of the time I'm not for school choice, you know, I mean it's something I'm not for, because I believe taking money out of public education,
• 14:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: hurts public education.
• 14:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: It does not help public education.
• 14:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 14:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I think especially if people understand the formula that we fund public education, you will see when you take dollars away, it does not help.
• 14:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 14:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's the situation.
• 14:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, it's so funny.
• 14:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: This is all just.
• 14:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: perfect scenario this I was having a conversation this morning with an individual and we are we are great friends to see don't see out on a lot of stuff and she was given me this like you know you say you're a fiscally conservative and you say this but like your job just talking about a board of education your job is to fund the school is to fund the school you need to go up on the middle of the road you need to make sure it has the funds and that's like hang on there's
• 15:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: Of course, I want to find the schools, but the schools operate in the context of the community.
• 15:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: We can't cripple the school system, we can cripple the community in order to spend more money at the schools or ways we can cut back, as there are ways we can find divestments or whatever cuts.
• 15:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: Anyway, it was a good fruitful conversation because I got to hear
• 15:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: Oh no, okay.
• 15:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, you're right.
• 15:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: That is my number one job is to make sure the school number one job is make sure school's funded.
• 15:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, it's interesting about it.
• 15:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: There's a buzzword now that everybody talks about an education and they say we're we're concerned about the whole child.
• 16:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
• 16:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's the whole child.
• 16:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: So what does that definition mean to you?
• 16:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I was asked that not long ago, Larry.
• 16:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: What does it mean for you to represent the whole child?
• 16:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I said, well, unfortunately, I believe a lot of people have the misconception that they're representing the child if they're looking at it from an aspect of 180 school days a year, eight hours a day.
• 16:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's where they're concerned about the funding aspect.
• 16:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: I said, when you worry about it, just or think about it, just in that concept, then you're not concerned about millidrates, you're not concerned about taxes, you're not concerned about can grandma buy her medicine.
• 16:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right.
• 16:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: But if you look at what I refer the whole child approach, we look at the child and their community 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.
• 16:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: When we look at it in that context, that child spans more time outside of the school system yearly than they do in the school system.
• 17:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we can't do things that harm that child in their family when they're not within our boundaries.
• 17:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we have to be very cautious of the taxes we impose on people and what that impact has on their ability to house, feed and close that child when they're not in school.
• 17:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I also think that we have to look at stewardship differently.
• 17:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that we want to be good stewards of what we have.
• 17:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, we're given this, this, I don't call it a part of money because it might be a
• 17:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: But it means I spend with intent and expectation and I monitor the spending to make sure that I'm getting the expected outcome from it.
• 17:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: But it also means that I am possibly saving a offer for a rainy day, because I know that's coming as well.
• 18:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I don't ever year job at all.
• 18:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm at the school site.
• 18:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: I have, you know, 425 kids who I love the death like I ain't wait for them to come back on time, always third.
• 18:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: But I think we really need to start using the right terminology because like you said some people say whole child and we think one thing and some people think another thing we really need to come to a place where we define what that is and what it looks like and be good stewards of what we have so that we're using it in a way and
• 18:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: that we are getting the we're spending money with an expected outcome or monitoring what happens with that money and if we're getting the expected outcome we'll continue but if we're not it's okay to say that didn't work let's pull all this back and find a better way to do with what we have because there is going to be a time we're in a we're in a droughtish time it's dry everywhere we'll be dry all the
• 18:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: But when it's not, we have to make sure that we're doing that right thing.
• 18:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I think stewardship is the word that that brings out to me as a, as a new county resident.
• 19:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: But also as a part of this amazing school system we're in with the best kids in the world.
• 19:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: No, no, no, no, no.
• 19:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I think when you we look at education, a lot of people don't realize how personal heavy education is.
• 19:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, gosh.
• 19:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: So when we're looking at Rottenell County, it's 88% of our budget is personnel.
• 19:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: That means salary and benefits.
• 19:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 19:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: So that means 88% of your total money is going to salary and benefits.
• 19:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Only 12% is going to operations.
• 19:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: So when you look at, when you talk about cuts,
• 19:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: You're hard to cut that 12% operation.
• 19:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's already leaning.
• 19:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: So it's already leaning.
• 19:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: So it's already leaning.
• 19:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: So any cutting that's going to have to happen.
• 19:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: You're going to have to look at what person are there.
• 19:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: Is there fat there?
• 19:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 19:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: And that's what you have to look at.
• 19:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: And that's the hard question.
• 19:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, that's the hard question.
• 19:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: You brought up stewardship and we're on this this topic of money out.
• 19:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: I explain a school budget really any budget But I explain our school budget as a Moral document so M.O.R.A.L.
• 20:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: not a moral document in that on the on the expense side We're determining as a school board.
• 20:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: We're saying this is what we believe in This is how we're gonna spend our funds.
• 20:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: These are things that are most important to us.
• 20:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: That feels moral to me on the revenue side
• 20:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: That comes inside.
• 20:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's more all as well, right?
• 20:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like we have to look at and go how much can Gramm-Moss Myth handle how much can the people on fixed income handle in the property tax part of it and then you know we can go like
• 20:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: player your big proponent going to the gold dome during the session and advocating for public education right like saying hey how can how can you legislatures help fund so that all the burden doesn't fall on our property tax owners or I'm grandma who can't afford that.
• 20:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: So that's you know it's a moral document and
• 20:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I could preach and preach about probably that, but it's both ways.
• 21:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's not just how we spend it, but it's also where the revenue comes from.
• 21:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: We have to do that in a somewhat moral and thoughtful way for the whole community.
• 21:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'll try you and I have both spoken.
• 21:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: We both talked to people under the gold dome.
• 21:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: And a lot of people I've talked to there have they've flatly seen it.
• 21:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: that property taxes is not as sustainable way to continue funding public education.
• 21:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're not certain what we have to do to shift away from that.
• 21:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then that's what it'll be a shift, right?
• 21:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: The money's just going to shift coming from another source.
• 21:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: But they do understand that.
• 21:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: property tax is is not a sustainable long term funding mechanism moving forward and we're going to have to move from that at some point.
• 21:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: So and that's probably going to end up having some growing pains when it occurred.
• 21:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, yeah.
• 21:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 21:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 21:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: There'll be a lot of tension, a lot of angst, a lot of things we have to figure out.
• 22:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: I hope we get good guidance from our legislators on that and not just, hey, we've kept it off now.
• 22:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: You guys figured out.
• 22:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: Not just the mandate.
• 22:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: Here you go now.
• 22:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
• 22:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: Exactly.
• 22:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: And that's what a lot of people, when we talk about, um,
• 22:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: the mandates.
• 22:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, we cut our budget this year from last year.
• 22:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: We were at 231 last year.
• 22:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: This year's budget is $227 million.
• 22:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's $4 million.
• 22:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: But we had mandates just like Newton County deal with healthcare and retirement and other things.
• 22:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: So to get a $4 million reduction, we had to actually cut $10 million with a spending.
• 22:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
• 22:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because what I understand right now.
• 22:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, how can don't you cut 10 million?
• 22:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it's only four because we did.
• 22:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, yes, that because we had increases that came above what's been what had been last year because of mandate.
• 22:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right.
• 22:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we were still able to fold those mandates in.
• 22:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: make cuts and reduce the budget by four million dollars a last year.
• 23:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's good man and I know you've and I don't want to give you all the credit for this and you have a good board.
• 23:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: But I know you've led the charge on that.
• 23:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: You're a financial thinking guy like you talk about that.
• 23:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: I appreciate that.
• 23:15
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, and I've got, we've had great conversations too about like, hey, what are you all doing?
• 23:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I'll tell you something else.
• 23:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: And you know, when I first came on the board, I talked about, I felt that the board was getting involved too late in the budget process.
• 23:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's right.
• 23:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Which we are.
• 23:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: We're, we're not finding out things until March.
• 23:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: And that's too late.
• 23:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 23:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because really decisions are being made and there's really not
• 23:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: the other board, initially they were resistant to that because they were told certain things or let, you know, the theory is, you know, the board doesn't need to be involved to what, well, this year we asked a few questions and we were, and they were actually said, well, if we would have known this earlier, we could have did something different.
• 24:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I think next year and you're going to see the board being involved before that,
• 24:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: end of the year so that we we we know some things more head and especially with the new law that the Georgia past holding you and me and all the other board members more accountable where the only lawmakers in the state of Georgia who can just be fired.
• 24:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: I know.
• 24:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 24:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: We can just, well, you didn't do a good enough job of your fire.
• 24:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, let's head to that.
• 24:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: All right, because that's a new law, right?
• 24:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: It just came into effect.
• 24:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: If we don't do our jobs where we get fired, not just unalected.
• 24:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: We can get fired.
• 24:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 24:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: A second thing that is unique to board school board members is we have to have a certain number of hours of training, continuing education every year.
• 24:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: No other elected official has to do that.
• 24:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, I mean, and we have to sign an ethics agreement.
• 24:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: No other elected official in the state of Georgia has to sign an ethics agreement.
• 24:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're hard on us.
• 24:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's what I'm saying The state's hard on us and for good reason you know probably there's probably been some mismanagement of funds in some other counties and everybody gets
• 25:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: And that doesn't bother me that the straight if you do it right is this is not a big Yeah, that's not bothering me at all right, so I mean You know one of the things you know, try your a Cavalier individual too doing a podcast Being a board man, but because one of the things I was told is well I don't think you can do this anymore right now in my first thing If you've heard this little thing go the first amendment
• 25:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean, we have a discussion about the first amendment.
• 25:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, yeah, you can probably do that podcast, right?
• 25:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, well, I have to clarify usually that like I can't speak on behalf of the board.
• 25:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm not, I'm not the board chair and I'm also, I'm just a single member of the board.
• 25:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: When we act, it's in a meeting, public meeting, and it's a vote.
• 25:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's when we act.
• 25:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: I can't.
• 25:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: I do the same thing.
• 25:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: I do a disclaimer, right?
• 25:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: So whenever I'm going to talk about something specific education wise, I do a disclaimer and say, look, it's just me one specific board member.
• 25:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not speaking on behalf of the district or the board at this time.
• 26:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 26:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is my opinion.
• 26:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Speak your mouth in the individual.
• 26:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, and as a board as an individual, this is my opinion, right?
• 26:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: And as long as you,
• 26:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: do that your clear okay couple of quick hitters here uh... you said the budget went down this year for four million uh... coming out about a half a million dollars in funds balance to balance the budget well that's not bad uh... you are going to have a pretty good healthy ending fun balance then because that's our main concern is trying to we we we wish we will have a fun balance like i said uh... it should be
• 26:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: probably neutral to what it is right now, because we're only going to only get to come out half a million dollars.
• 26:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: We don't think we'll gain any because tax collections are flat, right?
• 26:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: Probably flat for you guys too.
• 26:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
• 26:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's similar across the board.
• 26:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: So with flat tax collections, but we reducing that budget, keeping that, what's coming out of funds balance that minimal amount?
• 27:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: keeps us, uh, it's not, yeah, good spot.
• 27:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's not where we need to be with the funds balance.
• 27:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: We do need to grow it in and, you know, and I've spoke to some folks here in the last few weeks and, you know, couple of, you know, one person said something to me, and I think you guys got enough money.
• 27:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: We just need to see how you're spending it.
• 27:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: And you're like, well, that's what?
• 27:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: We spend that flat, that flat text, that cuts for collections.
• 27:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: Collections collections, yeah, because I know that's something I was thinking to always think about.
• 27:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: When I told them,
• 27:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: The parents understand what I just said, you know, I could use, you know, I can use all the SAT words.
• 27:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, it means this.
• 27:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: It means we collected, I'm just going to give you an example.
• 27:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'll just say we collected 75 million dollars last year, probably only going to collect 75 million dollars again this year.
• 27:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's flat.
• 27:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: It means there was not an increase in property values, or we're not going to increase the milledrate.
• 28:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: to actually bring in addition to what we got.
• 28:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: So it's, it's, it's flat.
• 28:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 28:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we're going to bring in what we brought in last year.
• 28:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: Flat tax collections.
• 28:08
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think in Newton County, like you asked, we were similar.
• 28:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's ours is trending down.
• 28:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: I think our tax digest increased by five, just under 6% 5.67% this year.
• 28:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: So we get, we had a little.
• 28:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'll let a little up it was a material one material no it wasn't enough that it was it was at a point that we you that we felt we had to take the Do what we did with the budget to make sure that we sustained got your healthy funds balance
• 28:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: So you mentioned milled rate.
• 28:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: So that means once the assessments go out, the rate in which people are taxed is then called this, the milled rate and that's where you're then you get your red on the formula.
• 28:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: So what did you guys adjust your milled rate at all or your milled rate is going to stay saying?
• 28:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: Okay.
• 28:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: And y'all, we get and vote it on that yet, right?
• 28:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: No.
• 28:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: Addula.
• 28:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: Okay.
• 28:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: All right.
• 28:54
  [SPEAKER_02]: Nope.
• 28:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we're discussing the same thing that we're going to keep because when we did the budget, we actually did the budget on a projected milled rate at what values are because we work with the tax office just as you guys do.
• 29:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we know we know with that milled rate what that milled rate will collect to fund our budget.
• 29:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: So so all that work was done.
• 29:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: And none of us have a rollback rate.
• 29:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: No, I know.
• 29:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: Not this is given to us.
• 29:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: No, no, no, no, no.
• 29:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: So people've got to understand.
• 29:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: We had to figure this out.
• 29:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 29:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Without having this rollback rate.
• 29:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I think people may end up being upset when they see that because they got to understand we did not have a rollback.
• 29:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is you.
• 29:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 29:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: Nobody had a rollback rate to work with.
• 29:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I think people were upset about what the
• 29:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: what these assessments looked like when they came out.
• 29:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: Again, nothing to do with any of your local government entities.
• 29:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: That was part of 581, which wasn't part of the opt-in or opt-out part.
• 29:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: That was the portion that said, this is what they're going to look like moving forward from now.
• 30:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: Everybody has to do this.
• 30:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, yeah, and next let's let this session.
• 30:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean next January Based on what happened at the dome this year Property assessments are capped at 3% is the max right?
• 30:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, it's not 3% it's it's actually the range of inflation maxing it 3% right.
• 30:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, oh, just the rate of inflation It's it maxes the this year the rate of inflation was 2.71 and that's what it'll be that's what it'll be Let's next year if inflation is 5.2.
• 30:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's 5.2.
• 30:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, okay.
• 30:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's actually
• 30:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: the rate of inflation.
• 30:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: I misunderstood that.
• 30:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: I was thinking it was the cap again, but there is no cap.
• 30:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: There is no cap.
• 30:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: The cap is the rate of inflation.
• 30:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 30:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: What does that mean for?
• 30:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: We're rock the county.
• 30:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: What does that mean for new county?
• 30:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: That means we we're only going to get rotten.
• 30:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: New county is different from us.
• 30:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: We opted in to 581 last year.
• 30:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we're under we only had a 2.7 one increase in home state properties.
• 30:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now commercial
• 31:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: they grew at whatever the rate was that was determined by the assessor's office.
• 31:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: But home-stead properties could only grow at the right of inflation.
• 31:13
  [SPEAKER_02]: And it really was for you.
• 31:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, just so it just intended to help the homeowners.
• 31:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: Mm-hmm.
• 31:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I don't try to do not know what your dad just looks like in Roddook and Newton County versus Roddales for his commercial versus residential, but in Roddale.
• 31:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: We are 68% residential 32% business.
• 31:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: It is a very unhealthy digest.
• 31:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I wouldn't, I would have thought it had more than we such a small county.
• 31:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 31:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I guess when I write about 20, I just see everything commercial.
• 31:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 31:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: But that's just all the interstate.
• 31:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: Everything else is not that.
• 31:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: No, we are 38% residential tax base.
• 31:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 31:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: commercial and is a role in role missed a client and two right I mean romance and well and that's that's part of the problem right with the KBA formula yeah it's based on enrollment and we know we our enrollment numbers were the last four or five years
• 32:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: They were wishful numbers and appreciate how you're saying that.
• 32:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: They were wishful numbers and they didn't want to call you back, you're in some miles out.
• 32:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: They were wishful numbers.
• 32:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
• 32:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: I hear you.
• 32:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: And this year they're accurate numbers and seats, so for this budget cycle, when you have accurate numbers for enrollment, then you actually have an accurate number of what
• 32:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: staff looks like.
• 32:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
• 32:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
• 32:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: So some of the cuts that happen this year happened because of not through.
• 32:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: We didn't no one lost a job.
• 32:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: But people left.
• 32:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: We didn't hire as many people back.
• 32:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was to attrition.
• 32:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 32:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we, we uh, simplified.
• 33:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: We had to meet teachers.
• 33:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right, because the numbers weren't maybe not quite right.
• 33:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because of the wishful, thank you.
• 33:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, and for people listening, the state gives funding to the school systems based on the number of kids in the seats.
• 33:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so if the number is off, then you're not going to hear you're going to get too much money that.
• 33:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: you're going to then invest in teachers or you're going to have not enough money.
• 33:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: So it's a big process to count on.
• 33:24
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, this kid in seats.
• 33:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: Let's talk about this a second.
• 33:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
• 33:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: Let's just go in and talk about the reality of this.
• 33:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
• 33:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Here we go.
• 33:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: So you've got this wishful thinking number and you've got X number students and you turn that in and you're a state.
• 33:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: only gives you $X dollars.
• 33:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: But you got to make the difference up for those salaries.
• 33:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: So you have to increase taxes.
• 33:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: Logo.
• 33:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
• 33:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, when I increase taxes locally, I get hit with a penalty next year with the QBE formula because if our raise local taxes, then they take away money from the QBE.
• 33:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 33:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, so your penalized for raising vengeance is likely, yes, yes, and if your tax that just grows and you mean we don't have any control over that, but it's like just the property values which is what happened recently.
• 34:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: They just skyrocket.
• 34:11
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, now the state goes, well, you got plenty of money in your community.
• 34:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: And we'll just, we'll give you less.
• 34:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: And you're like, but.
• 34:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: That means we've got to tax our people more, like we don't want to do that.
• 34:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: Anyway, it's a messy system, it's not perfect.
• 34:23
  [SPEAKER_02]: We go up there to the dome to try to advocate for a better system and we'll continue to do that.
• 34:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I think you want to request, and you guys sent me what do I think needs to be changed the most about the QB formula?
• 34:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 34:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: That.
• 34:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right.
• 34:36
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yep.
• 34:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: The property tax board.
• 34:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: The property tax board.
• 34:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right.
• 34:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, so, you know, and especially the one of the reasons that in Rockdale, we had to do some increases with deposits of the unfunded mandates.
• 34:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
• 34:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, they hit us with unfunded mandates.
• 34:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: which we had no way of paying them unless we write them, unless they were out and on the board then.
• 34:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: But they had to raise taxes to do it.
• 34:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: Then the next year they got penalized for raising taxes to pay the unfunded mandates that were put on them by the state legislature.
• 35:06
  [SPEAKER_02]: Double whammy.
• 35:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: All right, can we talk about some secrets?
• 35:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: Sure.
• 35:09
  [SPEAKER_02]: You tell me if you can't talk about it, but I know you're looking for a superintendent.
• 35:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: yeah i mean i can i can talk about the process and you know we i don't all talk about the boring stuff but i've got one so so we have a meeting on tomorrow we're gonna have a meeting tomorrow hey did our guy interview we're gonna have a meeting tomorrow and i think internally we'll know okay and then and i think
• 35:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: we're required to give them a little bit of a grace period or somebody know they might not be coming back to work.
• 35:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
• 35:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I would say by next week, yeah, there'll be a press call.
• 35:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: There'll be a release of who Rockdale County is going to be hiring as their superintendent to succeed a surely chancellor as our superintendent.
• 36:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: hate to call it a non-aguse because you're one vote on a board or what are some of the traits you were looking for.
• 36:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's good.
• 36:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's next superintendent.
• 36:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: I was looking for a superintendent that had a proven track record of changing the direction of a school system or district or school.
• 36:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: That was one of the things that I had in and I didn't want to see theory, right?
• 36:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: I wanted to see
• 36:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: and look what happened during my tenure of this job.
• 36:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: That was a non-negotiable for me.
• 36:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: Also, I had several non-negotiables, and it was also fiscal responsibility.
• 36:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: I wanted to hear someone talk about their concept of the budget, their concept of how that works.
• 36:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then I had a third, actually, and this is a controversial one, right?
• 36:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we've had districts facing the enrollment decline
• 37:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: redistricting and solidation, closing and repurposing schools.
• 37:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: That was one of the big questions that I asked.
• 37:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: And how would you handle this if that becomes an issue we have to do in Rock, no counting?
• 37:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: So to me, that was a big answer that I needed to hear how this person would deal with something like that.
• 37:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, I'm hard question.
• 37:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, it's hard.
• 37:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 37:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: Okay.
• 37:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: So you can't tell who it is yet.
• 37:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: Even though this probably airs after you make the announcement.
• 37:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: So maybe I can add it to the website once we find out who it is.
• 37:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: All right, we've talked about several things and with the remaining amount of time, I would love to talk about.
• 37:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: this series you did on data centers because at this point you have got to be the expert on everything data center i mean you've heard from you can tell me who they are but from the profession from the public service commission you've heard people from there you've had
• 38:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: uh... whoever and we've had mechanical engineers to come on to discuss the the cooling and the water okay uh... we actually had an acoustic engineer to come on and talk about the noise noise and we had the chairman uh... jason's shall of the public service commission to come on and talk about electricity because no one from Georgia power had the cahoones to come on and discuss he says allowed
• 38:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: OK, and look for people who want the deep dive, we're not going to give you that.
• 38:29
  [SPEAKER_02]: But for the deep dive, it's this week in Rockdale.
• 38:32
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, you can find it on Larry's web page.
• 38:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, you can go to either this week in Rockdale.
• 38:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: This week in Rockdale will only have the portion of the show that was recorded and recorded with the experts.
• 38:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, gosh.
• 38:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: But if you go to my YouTube page, you will be able to watch the
• 38:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: entirety of the show okay before we went but we did a little bit live then we showed the interview and then we came back after we showed the interview okay so if you want to watch the entire show go to the youtube page if you don't want to watch the entire page show then go to this weekend rock nil page yep and you can just watch the interview with each other okay and i'm encouraging everyone in Newton County and Jasper County those two particular Morgan County to watch this
• 39:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: Watch that series because it's not just about rockdale there talking about how these things affect all of our communities and schools and houses and water and yeah all the stuff Man is so give us the major takeaways from that conversation.
• 39:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: What are the biggies?
• 39:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, this is the thing about it You know, I went into this uncertain doing this series because I had heard
• 39:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: data centers use all of this water and you know and it's going to drain your water, you know, it's going to cause you to have water problems, you know, it's going to cause you to have brownouts and blackouts with electricity, you know, there are the sand that it admits is just so loud and then you've got this sand.
• 39:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: You can't hear that's the vibration and such,
• 40:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I initially had talked to some people and then did some investigating and as I investigated, I found that The internet was probably the worst place to go And and AI Yeah, which most of these data centers service was the worst place to go for this information.
• 40:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, because it pulled up
• 40:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: what the most common search results were, which were results that were most, mostly inaccurate, so I'll give you an example, right?
• 40:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: So like a school,
• 40:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: may use two kilowatts of electricity, right?
• 40:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, lower to your data center is going to use like 50.
• 40:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: Okay, hello.
• 40:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's a lot.
• 40:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, let me lower to you.
• 40:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now they can go up to the hyperscale, which you will use 200.
• 40:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, that's right.
• 41:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: So when we talk about electricity use, first we got to look normal businesses and homes use nothing compared to these data centers.
• 41:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: Okay.
• 41:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's why these data centers look for locations who have these hot, voltage lines that are coming through their area.
• 41:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
• 41:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: And they look for where it's easier to build that infrastructure, the electrical infrastructure.
• 41:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: First thing they look at,
• 41:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: Then we looked at the water, I mean, we've heard all these wars stories about all the water.
• 41:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: We found out it's most of these data centers now use what they refer to as closed looped or no water, cooling systems.
• 41:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: The closed loop system is the easiest way to describe it is your radiator in your car.
• 41:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: Just reusing it.
• 41:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's just recycled, and you may have to charge it once ever five or six years.
• 41:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: For one of the larger data centers, it's about a million and a half gallons.
• 41:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: to charge it.
• 41:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now, what I found out is most of these data centers don't use the water that comes from your reservoir to do it because it's not clean enough.
• 42:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: They actually bring the water in to do the charge and then they'll use water.
• 42:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: Kind of, it's hyper, hyper, very clean water that has like a glyco additive to it.
• 42:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, because they have to add.
• 42:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's a place here.
• 42:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: They have to add that to it.
• 42:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: You like it usable.
• 42:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: Useable.
• 42:28
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 42:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: So, so they do that.
• 42:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we find out, well, now it's not then they're not say, well, let me look at some things that use water and in comparison.
• 42:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we're not going to can't even just be able to build a splash pad.
• 42:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: So I think it's a lot of water.
• 42:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: So this is what we looked at.
• 42:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: So how many gallons is this splash pad going to use?
• 42:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we looked it up and even though it's using a recyclable tank and all this with a vibration and stuff.
• 42:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we figured the data center is going to use most likely,
• 43:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: drinking water, whatever, whatever, right?
• 43:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: 1.3, 1.4 million gallons a year.
• 43:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, yeah, okay.
• 43:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: A year.
• 43:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's, I mean, that's, you know, not a lot of water.
• 43:22
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right, and it's recycling most of it.
• 43:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, that's extra water, right?
• 43:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: They did the refuel.
• 43:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is your toilet.
• 43:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, got you.
• 43:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: You're breaking them out there.
• 43:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: Your bathroom?
• 43:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: OK. And even if they've got to put a little back in the sister, right?
• 43:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: OK.
• 43:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're using about 1.4 million gallons.
• 43:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: All right.
• 43:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: The splash pad is going to use 2.6 million gallons a year.
• 43:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: OK. Operating 90 days a year.
• 43:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: if a splash pad operates 90 days and say those numbers again, I just need to hear them against like a process.
• 43:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: So the data center, data center after it's charged after it's charged with running toilets, sinks, they fall, they get all running, regular running and doing you know, FNA had a little bit from loss of things if they ever payers.
• 44:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, 1.46 million gallons.
• 44:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: 1.4, all right.
• 44:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: 1.4 six, okay.
• 44:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: a splash pad.
• 44:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: We were so splash pad.
• 44:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: We're like at the park.
• 44:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: But Lucas went through and he's got a buck at the drug floor on him and it's water spraying all the places they run around having an amazing time but they're coming back to school August 3rd on time.
• 44:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: That if that, that splash pad operates and they have a 90 days for a year, it's going to use 2.6 million gallons.
• 44:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: That is great.
• 44:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: I was way off.
• 44:38
  [SPEAKER_02]: So is the water usage kind of a myth?
• 44:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: Is that what you're giving them?
• 44:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's a myth.
• 44:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
• 44:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: Water uses is a myth.
• 44:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then you have data centers actually moving to waterless cooling, right?
• 44:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: So you think you would think the technology is moving.
• 44:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: For example, technology is moving fast.
• 44:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right?
• 44:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: So then it became to the electric thing.
• 44:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right?
• 44:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: People with all of our rights are going to increase out the roof.
• 44:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: We're going to have electrical shortages.
• 45:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we're not going to have enough power.
• 45:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: Power is going to go out because they're taking it off.
• 45:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Jason Sioux all said that that no data center is going to come online until the infrastructure is there to support that data center.
• 45:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: He said that they're actually using the data centers to upgrade the Georgia's grid.
• 45:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: He is exactly to us where this is a generational opportunity for Georgia to have someone else upgrade our electrical grid.
• 45:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: And this is coming from the public service commissioner chairman chairman chairman He's overseas the Georgia powers in the or the terms of the rates over there.
• 45:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, they yes and and huh people said well, you know one of the just come and go in here for five years Georgia power is requiring these data centers to sign a 15-year contract are going to pay him whether you're yeah 15-year contract.
• 45:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know that they're in a non-negotiable can't get out of
• 45:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: 15-year contract.
• 46:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: So even if their technology changes, they're committing to 15 years of pay and George Power.
• 46:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
• 46:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: Ha!
• 46:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: And before anything happens, they have to pay up front.
• 46:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: The infrastructure cost.
• 46:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: So DC blocks just, and I don't know, you guys have had a couple of build here and you can find that out.
• 46:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: DC blocks, which came to Rockdale County, had to pay Georgia power $52 million up front for infrastructure upgrades.
• 46:27
  [SPEAKER_02]: Wow.
• 46:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: There is a proposed data center that wants to come to Rockdale County now.
• 46:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: If they're permitted to come, they have to cut Georgia power 102 million dollar check.
• 46:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hmm.
• 46:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: So the, the, the residential and commercial users in Rado County will not pay the infrastructure cost.
• 46:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: Okay.
• 46:47
  [SPEAKER_02]: So that this all brings us to a burning question, right?
• 46:49
  [SPEAKER_02]: Maybe you answered it at the end of the podcast series, then where what is all this negative.
• 46:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: like there's a lot of people upset about this, you know, a lot, there's a lot of misconception out there.
• 47:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: Is that all it is?
• 47:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's in the majority of it is misconcept.
• 47:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now, there are in the early days of data centers.
• 47:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: There were some data centers that were done wrong.
• 47:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: There were some that were built in the wizzy.
• 47:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: There were some that were that that used a lot of water.
• 47:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: There were some that that that that they were not good stewards in the community.
• 47:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: So these data centers
• 47:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: the newer versions of the more updated staff that the the newer ones are not like the ones that were that centers have been around oh yeah I mean for 40 years right we've been using this book in the draft for a minute and we've been yeah GPS and all that sort of originally back in
• 47:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Like 2021 when DC blocks came to Rockdale County, Newton County, and already had Facebook.
• 47:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, new people in Rockdale County, at that time were upset because you got, we guys were right.
• 47:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: And nobody was upset because DC blocks was coming to Rockdale County.
• 47:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: They were upset because of the abatements that they got.
• 47:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: They were not upset because they were coming this this thing about health hazards and water and electricity.
• 48:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is just, this is new.
• 48:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is not something that three years ago or two years ago, that was a thing.
• 48:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is something that is I refer to data centers as the new boogie man.
• 48:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
• 48:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: All right.
• 48:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: So so where do I as John Q.
• 48:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: Public get the good information?
• 48:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, how do I know?
• 48:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: Because I'm just going grab my phone and I'm going to say our dad is in his bed.
• 48:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, I'm not where do I go to get the most accurate information as just the like I said, John Q.
• 48:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: Public was one of them.
• 48:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, unfortunately, you've got to come to shows like your show that just had me, right?
• 48:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: A hell square podcast.
• 48:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: You've got to come to this week in Rockdale.
• 48:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: You've got to come to Speakerm 9 with Larry Cox.
• 48:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then unfortunately, the people with the most accurate data are the data center developers, which people don't want to believe because they think that it's a conspiracy theory.
• 49:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: All right, so can I throw some of the nut here?
• 49:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: See if you've heard this.
• 49:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, I've heard that a lot and this is, look, I am not proclaiming this to be truth.
• 49:07
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm just saying a lot of the negative information might even become in from like China.
• 49:14
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like, and I don't want to stuff like, I'm not saying that.
• 49:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: It sounds, yeah.
• 49:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: kind of like that's a real thing that like these their news articles and things have been planted so there are are the work and so they'll stay in the dark so we say we don't want it so that so the China gets all of the it's almost give you an example of something so when we had the bow lab fire a few years ago in the channel or controversy there was an organization that came in that helped organize rallies and stuff well
• 49:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: They were an organization that actually is funded by the Chinese, right?
• 49:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: The same organization has come in.
• 49:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: There.
• 49:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: No.
• 49:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 49:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: We've enjoyed having this show.
• 49:53
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'm sorry.
• 49:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: And the same organization is an organization that is backing the anti-datacenter protest right now.
• 50:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: And they are funded by the Chinese.
• 50:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is the thing about talk to some people that are in IT and in that technology world.
• 50:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: to who's going to be the next superpower of technology?
• 50:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: Is it going to be China or the United States?
• 50:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right.
• 50:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: China doesn't want United States to have the advantage in AI.
• 50:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you've got the advantage in data centers, you've got the advantage in all these race.
• 50:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: It feels like a learn race.
• 50:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: But it's an AI race, and that is true.
• 50:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: There are outside influences, and that's the thing about it.
• 50:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: Alex is not as kind as I am about cause he calls him unwitting idiots or something And I just say, you know, they're just unwilling accomplices.
• 50:50
  [SPEAKER_02]: Okay.
• 50:51
  [SPEAKER_02]: Right.
• 50:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, we're unknowledgeable accomplices.
• 50:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
• 50:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're accomplices and there've been accomplices, but they're they're not
• 50:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: they don't know there'll be a new job there believing something that looks to be accurate and real and we don't and I'm hearing you say this and I don't even know because I got you know good friends with sustainable newton and they're an environmental organization locally and like they are very opposed to some of this work particularly in certain places you know I don't want to speak on their behalf but you know data centers in the right place might be more palatable than you know some of these
• 51:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: I don't know that rock game.
• 51:26
  [SPEAKER_02]: Some of them seem like they're too close to me.
• 51:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to tell you a little story.
• 51:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't care if they're too close to me.
• 51:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to tell you a little story.
• 51:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't care if they're too close to me.
• 51:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to tell you a little story.
• 51:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't care if they're too close to me.
• 51:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to tell you a little story.
• 51:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't care if they're too close to me.
• 51:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to tell you a little story.
• 51:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't care if they're too close to me.
• 51:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to tell you a little story.
• 51:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't care if they're too close to me.
• 51:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to tell you a little story.
• 51:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't care if they're too close to me.
• 51:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to tell you a little story.
• 51:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't care if they're too close to me.
• 51:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to tell you a little story
• 51:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: and he gets the majority of his money.
• 51:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: One of his big grants comes from a data center in user.
• 51:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: This data center in user now found out this guy is actually given this organization so money, this guy's gonna lose his grant.
• 52:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: God, guy in the middle is going to lose his grant now, because of, yeah, because these guys are not in the hand of speed, yeah, yeah, so that happens, right?
• 52:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 52:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: When I look at this right, I look at this from an economic standpoint when I look at the data centers.
• 52:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mentioned to you earlier that the Rockdale County tax base is 68% residential 32% commercial.
• 52:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: If we would approve the second data center campus along with DC blocks, when both of them are paying full capacity taxes, we flip that 32% to 54%.
• 52:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: So, if the information that you're given is accurate and they're not as bad as people think they are, the upside is your property test is good.
• 52:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's like, go down, like we've seen that a long time.
• 52:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: Clay, I mean, I'm doing what I'm doing.
• 53:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: You can do whatever you want to go.
• 53:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, let me tell you.
• 53:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: One of my campaign problems was, well, I hope that I can eliminate taxes from senior citizens.
• 53:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, this is how you do that.
• 53:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is this is this, this, this would would generate the revenues that you would be able to eliminate property taxes on senior citizens in rocket defense.
• 53:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: But you know, there's a big effort.
• 53:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 53:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's if there's no abatements.
• 53:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, right.
• 53:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's even with abatements running out because abatements for DC block run out.
• 53:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: How, you know, it's a graduated.
• 53:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, okay.
• 53:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: Let me tell you one in your three.
• 53:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: abdc box pay in taxes they become the house tax paying into the in rock cocaine and just the third year and the third year pay in thirty pay in twenty percent if these things aren't destroying the economy and i mean destroying it paying twenty percent because you're one it's zero yep you're two it's ten years three it's
• 53:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: 20 and just at 20% just at 20% they become the highest tax paying entity in rock no county.
• 54:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: The other facility that wants to come here is not asking for abatements.
• 54:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: So at year one, they be the top spot.
• 54:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: They get top spot beyond.
• 54:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 54:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: Whatever.
• 54:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: And then when both of those entities are paying that top dollar,
• 54:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh yeah, we there's a saying in Rockdale County, people always say it Rockdale County sick and smallest land mass county in the state of Georgia, right?
• 54:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: We could also say Rockdale County sick and smallest land mass, but one of the richest per county is that your goal?
• 54:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't think our county commission has like a home taste to do this.
• 54:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think they're actually going to probably deny that second campus is what I think they're going to do.
• 54:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: Because if we're going to tell you something, yeah, true, yeah, it's stuff anybody who watches right in your county politics, yeah, three commissioners, three years ago that approved this administrative courthouse complex that nobody in Rockville County wants.
• 55:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: As of this past election, and none of those three commissioners are commissioners in Rockdale County.
• 55:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, okay.
• 55:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I would say that if this commission fails, the citizens are Rockdale County.
• 55:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: And don't give us tax relief.
• 55:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't think these three will be commissioners in 20.
• 55:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: And when the next roll around, the same people who fought to have these people in and the other people out, they can look at being fought to be put out to.
• 55:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: There's this book I've read.
• 55:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: And you probably heard of it as a 66 smaller books inside of it.
• 55:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, how are you?
• 55:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: You're getting your team.
• 55:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's candy.
• 55:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: And there's a line in this book.
• 55:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: And this is very simply.
• 55:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: that for the lack of knowledge, my people perish.
• 56:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: That is why I asked you about where to get the good information.
• 56:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now, I am not going to say because I'm not, I don't live in Rockdale that, or I don't want to say that you are totally right about every single thing you said.
• 56:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: No.
• 56:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: There's also a little line in there that talks about these people called the barriants.
• 56:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: And these people are in the Bible.
• 56:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: I believe the reason that they're there is because they heard what you said and then they would have studied it for themselves before they accepted it.
• 56:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: I really hope that after listening to this amazing conversation that people take the time to do the real research it takes to get the information and you go to your commission meetings, you go to your school board meetings, you go to where the decision makers are with factual,
• 56:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: so that you can thrive.
• 56:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I believe that for Newton County, I believe that for Rotto County, I believe that for any county in the country, hopefully all over the nation, they get this podcast at some point.
• 57:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: But if we don't get to the point as constituents, where we are finding the right research, the accurate research, taking that and just to get asking the right questions to get clarification and then using that to give to the people who we have voted for,
• 57:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: to get them the information they need in order to make the decisions that benefit the least of us.
• 57:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: Our, like you said, our over 55 population are children, you know, supports for those that don't have that are, are the working poor.
• 57:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: when we get the right information to the right people so they can make the best decision possible everybody wins.
• 57:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: School boards win and poverty communities win are we get more grocery stores, we get more supports and parks and communities, we get supports for students so that we don't for kids so that our juvenile justice system gets smaller but our parks and wrecks get bigger.
• 58:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: Those kind of things happen when we start with that one little line.
• 58:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: for beating ourselves from not having enough knowledge.
• 58:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's why when we decided to do this series, we didn't want people to listen to us.
• 58:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's why we got an expert.
• 58:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's why we got a mechanical engineer, we got a acoustic engineer, and we went and got as far as the elect.
• 58:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, get the person who's going to determine the rates, who's going to actually regulate.
• 58:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: We went to the top, we got the chairman of the Public Service Commission, acoustic engineer and a mechanical engineer to discuss all these concerns and these are individuals who don't work for data centers.
• 58:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: information and material to anybody, right?
• 58:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: So the mechanical engineer, he worked in the air conditioning cooling industry.
• 58:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: So anybody who wants to buy air conditioning and cooling, he's an expert in all cooling systems.
• 59:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: The acoustic engineer, they deal with everybody that wants to, you know, soundproof things for these things.
• 59:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we didn't go to data centers to get the information
• 59:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: We wanted true experts and that's what we do.
• 59:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, well, that's great and I just I mean I can't wait now for the comments of Larry Cox his pockets getting padded by somebody I'm sure that we got accused of who was paying a okay lightning round it in this thing.
• 59:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah favorite podcast you've ever recorded
• 59:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, a favorite podcast.
• 59:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, I'll tell you one of my favorite interviews with Doug Collins.
• 59:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: Doug Collins, but I interviewed Doug Collins a few years ago, and he, I just enjoyed interviewing Doug Collins.
• 59:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was a great interview.
• 59:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, man.
• 59:45
  [SPEAKER_02]: That's good.
• 59:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: All right, most misunderstood issue in local government.
• 59:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: most misunderstood is you in local government you which portion of go uh well let's go to school board yeah uh a lot of people think that the school by our board has the authority to to actually run the school system we don't run the school system yeah so you say that louder for the people about we do we do not run the day-to-day operations if your child got mistreated it's cool that's not that's not school
• 1:00:16
  [SPEAKER_02]: per state law, we're required to do three things, right?
• 1:00:19
  [SPEAKER_02]: Hiring fire superintendent, fiscal responsibility for the, for the school system and policy.
• 1:00:25
  [SPEAKER_02]: Great policy.
• 1:00:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: But what, what, which curriculum and all that falls under policy, yeah.
• 1:00:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
• 1:00:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think we have more power than we exercise, but that's another thing.
• 1:00:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: But we do not run the day-to-day operations of the school system.
• 1:00:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: People think we do see that.
• 1:00:41
  [SPEAKER_02]: Don't call me about Dr. Brown.
• 1:00:42
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I'm not going to be able to answer that question.
• 1:00:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's going to be a good call.
• 1:00:46
  [SPEAKER_02]: Call for your sweet tea.
• 1:00:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's sweet tea.
• 1:00:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: Really?
• 1:00:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't drink either one of those.
• 1:00:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: You from the south?
• 1:00:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: You never found from West Virginia.
• 1:00:55
  [SPEAKER_02]: I remember that.
• 1:00:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: At West Virginia.
• 1:00:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 1:00:57
  [SPEAKER_02]: That explains it.
• 1:00:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: No.
• 1:00:59
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, I think we talked about this.
• 1:01:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: One Georgia law you'd rewrite.
• 1:01:02
  [SPEAKER_02]: Is that the KBE formula?
• 1:01:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: KBE formula.
• 1:01:04
  [SPEAKER_02]: Okay.
• 1:01:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: And then if you could make every citizen understand one thing about school boards, what would it be?
• 1:01:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, you might have just said it.
• 1:01:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: You might have just gave us one thing I would make them understand is it's three things, those three things that were responsible for their and we don't run the day-to-day operation.
• 1:01:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: But we are there to actually support and represent the children and the community.
• 1:01:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: A lot of people, even on school boards, don't think we're there to represent the community.
• 1:01:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's where we are.
• 1:01:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: All right, man, well, look, I appreciate you being here.
• 1:01:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: This was the fastest hour in, like, it's been an hour, it's been an hour.
• 1:01:44
  [SPEAKER_02]: And like, the most information I've heard, just like that quickly about data centers.
• 1:01:48
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm telling you guys, go, if you want to deep dive, go watch all four of them right all of five episodes in that series, and really hear from the experts.
• 1:01:58
  [SPEAKER_02]: And I might ask you this, would you consider coming back on?
• 1:02:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: And maybe, like, if we had an environmentalist on, would you just share information and let's have a chance?
• 1:02:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: All right.
• 1:02:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: I'll see you.
• 1:02:10
  [SPEAKER_02]: I can work that out.
• 1:02:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's a good one.
• 1:02:12
  [SPEAKER_02]: I would love to hear both perspectives at the same time, and it's figure out, where's the data coming from?
• 1:02:18
  [SPEAKER_02]: How are we getting the conclusions we're getting?
• 1:02:20
  [SPEAKER_02]: Because, like you said, how do we, we've got to, we've got to be not asked.
• 1:02:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: I asked a doctor the other day, would you please show me the death certificate and all
• 1:02:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: Okay, so that makes sense.
• 1:02:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: They can have one.
• 1:02:37
  [SPEAKER_02]: They didn't have one.
• 1:02:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 1:02:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: But I mean, unfortunately, during the whole COVID thing, we are whole country got awakened to know, you can get misinformation online, provided by
• 1:02:52
  [SPEAKER_02]: It's supposed to be reliable source.
• 1:02:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: Exactly.
• 1:02:56
  [SPEAKER_02]: And so now I think this whole data center thing is a situation.
• 1:03:00
  [SPEAKER_02]: What's right?
• 1:03:01
  [SPEAKER_02]: Like we're getting all this mixed information.
• 1:03:03
  [SPEAKER_02]: And the money sounds really good to the community.
• 1:03:05
  [SPEAKER_02]: So that feels real good.
• 1:03:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: But is that been, you know, Are we giving up something so?
• 1:03:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Or is it old?
• 1:03:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's the information old.
• 1:03:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: We're talking about the first data center that ever was opened.
• 1:03:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
• 1:03:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: One of the one that is built yesterday.
• 1:03:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: Two totally different.
• 1:03:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, this is information.
• 1:03:17
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, the first steel plant was probably really gross.
• 1:03:21
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I think it's a combination.
• 1:03:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think you're right.
• 1:03:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's a combination of at one time.
• 1:03:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: This was probably accurate information, but not in the longer.
• 1:03:30
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, right.
• 1:03:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 1:03:31
  [SPEAKER_02]: Well, man, thank you again for being here.
• 1:03:33
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, thank you very much.
• 1:03:34
  [SPEAKER_02]: People to watch your show.
• 1:03:35
  [SPEAKER_02]: And you're going to hear all kind of stuff on his show that you would never even hear on our, we think we're the messy metal.
• 1:03:39
  [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
• 1:03:40
  [SPEAKER_02]: He's got, he can he can find a way to make a mess about something.
• 1:03:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: Good.
• 1:03:43
  [SPEAKER_02]: What do you call it?
• 1:03:44
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