Hope you and your family had a blessed Thanksgiving Holiday. Nothing compares to spending time with family.

from Representative Valencia Stovall  

got MARTA, Now What?
The voters of Clayton County spoke loud and clear about their desires for MARTA during the general election on November 4, 2014 to provide transit services with 73.74% vote in favor. There were a total of 63,135 votes cast for transit. On January 1, 2015 the first sales tax of 8% will be collected and the buses are scheduled to start March 2015.

An area with transportation is an economic driver. It allows easier access for employees to travel back and forth to work or options for leisure shopping. It also decreases the number of cars and emission on the roads.Clayton State University along with the other institutes of higher learning will hopefully witness an increased enrollment. Prior to the vote on November 4th, Clayton was the largest metro county without mass transit. This historical vote could possibly be a strong argument to the state legislators when considering regional transportation to include MARTA in future budgets.

Now that transportation is checked off the list for Clayton, we must continue our focus on Workforce Training for all the residents. The amount of new companies choosing to relocate to Clayton County will be ongoing. Skilled workforces have a domino effect in rebuilding communities. They can demand higher than minimum wage employment, purchase homes, patronize local businesses, pay taxes, and take pride in their neighborhoods.  My office has been tasked with establishing a Workforce Development Taskforce which will focus on collaborating with existing entities to address the needs of the residents for employment and the businesses for trained employees. Look for more information soon. To stay up to date, follow me @ValenciaStovall on twitter, facebook, linkedin, instagram.
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R.Thompson-Ga PTO, Rep. Stovall, C.Dolphus-Retired educator, R.Muth-ARC

EDUCATORS ADVISORY COUNCIL Meeting hosted by Rep. Stovall was held on November 10th at Clayton State University East Campus. It was open to all educators or anyone interested in educational policies from early learning to college level. One of the focus areas for Rep. Stovall is education and it was important for the educators to have a platform. This advisory committee will report directly to her office. She is optimistic that the lines of communication can be expanded that will lead to more effective changes in policies locally, statewide and federally. Those attendees heard first hand about the hot topics on education in the US. Areas discussed included but were not limited to A-F grading schools, performance evaluation, required selection for flexibility options for Georgia schools, digital learning, teacher licensure, education savings account, education funding, career-technical education, mandatory kindergarten, and change of age for starting kdg. To stay up to date, follow me @ValenciaStovall on twitter, facebook, linkedin, instagram.

Rep. Stovall conducted a piloted Leadership Training session on Nov. 25th at Forest Park Library for those interested in taking on a leadership role in the community. She stressed the importance of the 4 KNOWS....Know the Rules, Know Your Neighborhood, Know the Issues, Know Your Capabilities. At the end of the event, she received huge requests to do an entire training series. Look for upcoming dates.  

"Great people make a community Great"

Contact my office by email contact@gostovall.com or 678-632-2825 or 404-656-0314, if you have questions.  
Atlanta Regional Commission Annual Breakfast         

 
New Discovery Ctr for middle school students at GWCC

*Utopian Academy For The Arts Charter School has slots open for 6th & 7th grade students who live in Clayton County. More information www.utopianacademy.com 
*Congrats to the newest Commission Charter School: DuBois Integrity Academy will be located in Riverdale for elementary students to open August 2015.

www.Stovall74.com