Readers write
School districts gain wealth from data centers
A story from The 74 and published by the AJC (“Georgia’s building boom for data centers comes with a cost for schools,” Oct. 15) on data centers and education leans on a Good Jobs First estimate that Georgia schools could “potentially” forgo $300 million. Good Jobs First is a partisan group that has spent years campaigning against business incentives. An estimate of potential revenue is not a documented cut to classrooms.
PwC found data centers paid $2.1 billion in Georgia state and local taxes in 2024, with $925 million going to local governments. A data center agreement in Effingham County sends $3.5 million to schools with projections reaching $39 million by 2032.
In Fayette County, the school district’s chief financial officer told the board to expect $100 million in data center revenue by 2032. Board members are already debating how to spend it. That is a school board planning how to use additional resources thanks to data centers; the exact opposite of what your story suggests.
Local leaders negotiate these deals for their communities and Georgia has fully funded the Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula for seven straight years, meaning classrooms aren’t left holding the bag.
Georgia should not let fear of theoretical lost revenue outweigh the real investments that state and local leaders have secured for their communities.
CHRISTY TARALLO, ACWORTH
DIRECTOR, STATE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS FOR SOUTHEAST
DATA CENTER COALITION
Glad to have sports bar dedicated to women’s sports
I enjoyed AJC columnist Ken Sugiura’s article on Jolene Jolene (“At Jolene Jolene, Dream fans celebrate their team and something larger,” Oct. 30 — nice to have a sports bar dedicated to women’s sports. Another place that “accommodates” women’s sports is Benchwarmers on Clairmont Road. This comes from someone who has hunted for a place to watch women’s sports!
MARY KAY KREISLE, ATLANTA
El Niño could create extreme weather next year
A Super El Niño occurs when sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific rise more than 2 degrees Celsius above average. The 2026-2027 event developed after weakened trade winds allowed warm water to spread eastward across the Pacific Ocean, triggering major shifts in global weather patterns. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other forecasters consider it one of the strongest El Niño events on record.
According to NOAA and the Climate Prediction Center, El Niño has continued to strengthen, increasing the potential for extreme heat, flooding, drought and other weather disruptions. NOAA forecasts indicate extreme weather is likely to persist in early 2027.
El Niño is a natural climate cycle, but climate change is warming the oceans and atmosphere, which can intensify its effects. Although climate change does not cause El Niño, it can contribute to higher global temperatures, heavier rainfall, and more extreme heat events.
ERICA BIBBEY, MARIETTA