We know this is one of the most important weeks of the year for many you.

Not because of a $500 million Powerball jackpot, the looming fiscal cliff nor the test of a new type of nuclear engine with big promise.

This weekend the Georgia Bulldogs take on the hated Alabama Crimson Tide with the winner earning a spot in the national championship. The game has stirred pride in the heart of many in the Peach State, and we have little doubt that everywhere you go Saturday you'll see that bright Georgia red.

We're proud of our state college's football players and coaches, who have their school on the verge of history.

At the same time, we are disappointed and quite frankly disgusted at recently released graduation rate for Georgia's high school seniors.

Georgia's graduation rate of 67 percent puts us behind all of our neighbors, putting a damper on our education system, even while our athletics excel.

How can our leaders allow so many of our children to fall through the cracks? The results are simply unacceptable.

Georgia has been fortunate in the past few years to attract some major industries to the state because of our bountiful land and resources, favorable tax structure and business climate and, we like to think, our southern hospitality.

However, if we don't move quickly to improve our education system, all of the reasons above won't amount too much if the state can't provide quality workers.

We have a myriad of educational issues, but may we suggest that one way we can start making an improvement is by fully restoring the Hope Scholarship and finding some other way to fund the added projects that drained the scholarship's value in the eyes of our high school students.