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

Not because of the $550 million Powerball jackpot, the looming fiscal cliff or the test of a new type of nuclear engine with big promise.

This weekend, the Georgia Bulldogs take on the 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 graduation rate for Georgia's high school seniors recently revealed by the new Cohort calculation method.

Georgia's graduation rate of 67 percent puts us behind all of our neighbors, 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 to 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 funding of the HOPE Scholarship and Pre-K classes and finding some other way to fund the added projects that drained the scholarship.