This Week In Rockdale

20/11/2025

Well, isn't this some garbage. $150 "hangtag" required to use the Recycling Center. (Yes, the same center we already fund with our taxes)...

For context, $150 is the cost of 6 month trash pickup, but in this instance they don't pick up!. You have to haul garbage to them.

Then there are the hours of operation which aren't exactly convenient, and let's not forget they'll close for extra days if a Holiday happens to fall on their "day off", Because why not!, They're only paid by the tax payer already...

This is not a Value, this is a rip-off and anyone that would normally go there after a holiday or spring clean, or just every now and then to drop off boxes, simply won't bother anymore.

Well done Commissioners, y'all are on a roll.

19/11/2025

PROPOSED ROCKDALE DATA CENTER!!!

A data center will drive up your energy and water rates, while they get preferred rates at your expense. Not to mention the extensive environmental damage, and the impact on your tax rates necessary to subsidize whatever abatements they receive. And conveniently, they won’t disclose how many jobs it will create. That’s because most of them will be remote and go to people outside of Rockdale anyway. Any commissioner that approved/approves this should be replaced at the next election. 

https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/epd-launches-comment-period-proposed-rockdale-data-campuE

The project would permanently impact wetlands, ponds and more than 1,200 feet of streams on the 52.84-acre site.

07/11/2025

I’ve been asked a number of times why I was on the fence about posting my video. It’s because of what I said in the video, I don’t have all of the details. I don’t know what the other two options are and therefore I don’t know what I’m arguing against. I don’t like posting with half the information. I highlighted that because it obviously would have been better for the community to have known what options were on the table. But that’s why I was hesitant and I hope that explains my position. 

06/11/2025

Buc-ee’s knocked on Rockdale‘s door. Will we answer it? 

06/11/2025

Buc-ee's came knocking on Rockdale's door. Will we answer it?

31/08/2025

Administrative Complex, August 31st 2025.

04/08/2025

So the federal government withheld $200,000,000 from Georgia for public schools, and you would think the world had ended.

So here’s the rest of the story. Georgia has 2300 public schools, that equates to roughly $87,000 per school, or less than the cost of a single administrator.

Don’t let these people gaslight you.

This is effectively the cost of one employee, imagine how they will react when the taxpayers realize that AI can replace half of them!

03/08/2025

Here we go again. A 2.3% proposed School Tax Increase. These rates are getting out of hand. Hearings have been scheduled.

01/08/2025

I just got an update from the county on the Iris drive fire. Here's what we know so far. The radio call came in at 17:14. The fire department arrived at 17:20, a very fast response time.

At this time, the cause of the fire is unknown. They do know that the fire started on the right side of the building by the Bay areas. The shop was open and employees were working, but there are no reported injuries and no employees had to be transported. Stormwater and EPD are on site checking runoff from both the fire hoses and of course the rain. I don't know if the rain helped or hindered the fire department, our communications director is checking on that for me.

There is no shelter in place, there are no chemicals involved in this incident whatsoever so residents do not need to be concerned in the least about that.

As of now, 20:40, the fire is out. There is a wrecker on scene that is removing trucks from the building for transport. Those trucks are being inspected as they are removed just to make sure there's no potential reignition possibility.

The trucks are being removed because of potential structural damage to the building.

Thank you Dir. Diez for keeing us informed.

Edit, I incorrectly listed the current time as 18:40, it should have read 20:40. I apologize for the error.

31/07/2025

July 31, 6:00 pm Avoid area! Rockdale Fire crews on scene at an auto body shop at 1636 Iris Drive, MCH Kenworth, responding to a fire. RCSO has blocked off portion directly in front of 1636 Iris Drive. More info will be provided as it becomes available. First responders were on site within minutes and are working hard to put this out.

Edit. Because of some vague posts that I’ve seen circulating, I want to make it clear that this IS NOT Biolab and that there is no reason currently for residents to be concerned.

30/07/2025

“PROUD”….

“Proud” that Rockdale has been designated a “high poverty area”.

Not the kind of messaging I would expect from a system that has been front and center in the race to the bottom!

I would have thought we’d hear “we’ll do better”, but No.

08/07/2025

RCPS Reading and Math, the downward trend

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Math Performance (Grades 3-8, 2019-2024):
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Average math scores in RCPS have shown a significant decline relative to the 2019 National Average.
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From 2019 to 2022, there was a -0.82 grade level change.
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From 2022 to 2024, there was a further -0.24 grade level change.
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The overall change since 2019 is -1.06 grade level equivalents.
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RCPS's decline (-1.06) is greater than Georgia's average (-0.49) and the average among similar districts in Georgia (-0.77) for the 2019-2024 period. All major subgroups within RCPS (White, Black, Hispanic, Poor, Non-Poor, Female, Male) also show declines in math performance from 2019 to 2024.
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Reading Performance (Grades 3-8, 2019-2024):
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Average reading scores in RCPS have also declined relative to the 2019 National Average.
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From 2019 to 2022, there was a -0.64 grade level change.
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From 2022 to 2024, there was a further -0.10 grade level change.
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The overall change since 2019 is -0.74 grade level equivalents.
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Similar to math, RCPS's reading decline (-0.74) is greater than Georgia's average (-0.29) and the average among similar districts (-0.48) for 2019-2024. All major subgroups within RCPS also experienced declines in reading performance from 2019 to 2024.