On the county government side, Burrell Ellis and company are looking for an extra $20 million to cut from DeKalb County’s budget after someone uncovered an un-calculated 6.7% decline in property values.

On the schools side of the equation, things have gotten even uglier.  From the AJC…

Next week, school officials will identify the four elementary schools that will close at the end of the school year in May. They plan to close another eight to 10 schools in May 2011.

The schools will be selected out of the 29 schools with enrollments of less than 300 students. District officials are eyeing schools in south DeKalb now that Dunwoody has become the fastest-growing area of the county, Lewis said.

I understand and respect the arguments of those that want as little to do with county government as possible, but man, sometimes I just feel really bad for South DeKalb.

Emory announced today that California Governor and Kindergarten Cop, Arnold Schwarzenegger, will speak at this year’s commencement address on May 10th.

Bragging rights to whomever can come up with the funniest thing that Schwarzenegger SHOULD say to Emory’s starry-eyed graduating class!

(To the right, Arnold on the set of the 1983 political action thriller, “Teddy Roosevelt: Unleashed”.)

Looks like much of the city’s who’s who were on hand for Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle’s visit this morning!

DHS teacher Chris Billingsley reports…

Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle toured the new fine arts and gym facility at DHS today. He later met with students from the vocational program. Lieutentant Governor spoke to Decatur officials, board members, CSD administrators, students and teachers about Georgia’s charter school movement and improving vocational education. Mr. Cagle reviewed the plans for the renovation of the vocational building (designed by DHS students from Mr. Jim “Big Jim” Streeter’s drafting class) and ate a delicious meal prepared by Ms. Dana Kinney’s culinary arts students. Congratulations to Mr. Duane Spurell, Ms. Kinney, Mr. Streeter, and all others that helped make this renovation possible.

While there has been heated debate in the past year over the legality of Georgia’s new charter school law, which gives a state board authority to create charter schools around the state, there’s little debate about the popularity of its latest iteration in Avondale Estates: The Museum School.

According to a press release sent out by the school and pasted on the AJC’s Get Schooled blog, a lottery will be held tomorrow at Avondale Estates City Hall to determine which students currently living in DeKalb’s Avondale and Midway Woods attendance zones will make up the first classes of kindergarten to third-graders.  After this initial year, the school will add a grade a year up to eighth grade.

With such intense demand, what’s the controversy?  Well, like with anything involving a child’s education, it’s exceedingly complicated.

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I’m not sure whether the “temporary” part of the sign below is true or not, but the reopen track record of businesses that put up this vague sort of sign is pretty low.

Thanks to Billy for the report and the pic!