In a recent report by the Chamber of Commerce to a group of business people, Hunter Hall, president of the local chamber, said that a well-trained workforce is needed to attract top-flight businesses to Newton County. We couldn’t agree more.

The old model for attracting industry was to get the industry to move into a community, and then let it train its own workforce. But these days, the competition for new industries is so intense that many businesses will not even consider a community unless it already has a trained workforce waiting in the wings.

That’s why the development of the Newton College and Career Academy needs to continue posthaste. It should be of the same caliber as the career academy in nearby Rockdale County.

Both county and city governments should have as their primary goal to foster continued improvement of education in Newton County.