FEATURED STORY
Hausmann reflects on political career ► STARTS ON PAGE 10
J a n u a r y 2 6 , 2 0 2 3 | A p p e n M e d i a . c o m | A n A p p e n M e d i a G r o u p P u b l i c a t i o n | 5 0 ¢ | Vo l u m e 1 8 , N o . 4
Kemp maintains focus on education in his second term By CANDY WAYLOCK candy@appenmedia.com
More park space
AMBER PERRY/APPEN MEDIA
Milton Parks and Recreation Director Tom McKlveen presents a $1.4 million contract for new park space at the Jan. 18 Milton City Council meeting. The council unanimously approved the agreement, handing over 4.86 acres of land to the city for recreational programming. Read story, Page 6.
Dunwoody Police reports obscure arrest locations ► PAGE 8
Candle shop owner stresses healthy scents ► PAGE 14
Herald welcomes new columnist ► PAGE 23
ATLANTA —In a spirited inaugural address Jan. 12, Gov. Brian Kemp took media and pundits to task and renewed his commitment to make education a priority in his second term. “We listened to the people of our state…not the cocktail circuit [or] the so-called experts,” Kemp said before the crowd gathered at Georgia State University’s Convocation Center. “We gave Georgians the opportunity to go back to work, get their kids back in the classroom… and protect freedom to live their lives without fear of more government lockdowns, mandates and overreach.” Kemp followed up on his commitment to education the next day by sending his amended FY 2023 budget to the Georgia Legislature which includes a $2,000 raise for teachers, pre-K teachers and certified kindergarten through 12th grade personnel. If approved by the Legislature, the starting salary for first-year teachers will rise this year to $40,500 and average more than $62,000 for the state’s 115,000 public school teachers. The increase could place Georgia among the top 20 states for teacher pay, which was a goal Kemp set in his
See EDUCATION, Page 4