Expos Aim To Spur Georgia Business, Housing Industries

Navigating a tough economy in the world of small business and the housing industry is the focus of a series of expos running through Saturday.

The events are designed as a type of one-stop shopping for entrepreneurs, realtors and bankers, among others. Organized by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, the aim is to connect those groups with the latest information and tools from the local, state, and federal levels.

Yancey Gulley is with Athens Technical College, one of several schools hosting the expos:

"There will be booths from small business, government to government assistance, and housing assistance. And then throughout the day, we’ll have workshops going on as well."

Athens Tech, along with tech schools in Atlanta and Calhoun are staging expos Saturday from 9-to-5. Events are wrapping-up today in Warner Robins, Hinesville, and Albany.

Plan Could Merge Two-Year Colleges with Tech Schools

A plan that would merge the state’s two-year colleges with the Technical College System of Georgia is in front of the Governor. Sonny Perdue could consider it as part of his budget proposal to lawmakers next week.

The proposal is part of a report just-released late last month by a Perdue-appointed panel aimed at Georgia's educational future. The report concludes by spinning-off the two-year schools from Board of Regents oversight, the University System could focus squarely on four-year and research institutions, and graduate degree programs.

Mike Light with the Technical College System says if the plan got the Legislative go-ahead, a lot of issues would have to be worked out:

"It’s everything from the fact that the technical college system is currently on a quarter system vs. a semester system. We’d have to look at teacher and instructor pay...tenure...things like that."

There are eight two-year colleges in the state, with several others offering both two and four-year degree programs.

The system of 33 technical schools is currently preparing for an internal merger down to 27 schools by July 1st of this year.