Confidence in local schools is stronger in 2007 than in 2003, but only slightly. 23% believe the schools do an excellent job and an additional 62% rate schools as doing somewhat of a good job. This compares to 20% and 55% in 2003.

Parents of children under age 18 rate schools a little higher still. Among parents, 28% feel schools do an excellent job.

Evaluations of schools are highest among Latinos and low-income adults. Ratings among Latinos are almost twice as high as the county in general, with 42% rating schools excellent compared to 18% of whites and 19% of Black adults responding. 32% of low-income adults give the schools an excellent rating.

School ratings are lowest among Blacks, 14% of whom say the schools do a poor job. Ratings of poor or somewhat poor are also higher among those in the 55 to 64 age bracket and those who have lived in the county more than 20 years. Residents of South Hall are also more negative in their evaluations of schools, with 19% saying schools do a poor or somewhat poor job, compared to 10% of those in Gainesville.

What is your level of agreement with the following statement: Our elected officials are working to make our community a better place?

About one in five Hall adults (21%) strongly agree with this statement. Close to one in five (18%) also disagree with this statement, at least somewhat. Most adults, 61%, say they agree somewhat that Hall’s leaders are doing a good job.

Those in the Black and Latino communities are more likely to express strong agreement with this statement that whites in the county, as the following table shows.

Those in the southern part of the county are less certain about this statement. With only 15% saying they strongly agree with it, compared to 25% among those who live in Gainesville and 21% of those in northern areas of the county.

How confident are you your job is secure, at least for the next year?

This question, asked only of those who are employed, shows worker confidence is higher today than in 2003. The current study shows that 68% are confident about their jobs for at least the next year. In 2003 that number was 60%.

Yet confidence is substantially lower among the marginally employed. Only 31% of those earning less than $25,000 are confident about their jobs. This may include many Latino workers, of whom only 48% are confident about their jobs.

Those with lesser educations are also less confident than those with college degrees (58% compared to 77%).

Newcomers display about the same level of confidence as community veterans. Just over two thirds (68%) of those who have lived in the area less than 5 years feel very confident about their jobs, compared to 67% of those who have been in the county more than two decades.

Do you feel you have opportunities to advance in your job?

Most do—72%--about the same as the 75% who express the same opinion in 2003.

The survey reveals some middle-aged angst. Among those age 55 to 64, 69% feel they do not have opportunities to advance, which is far higher than those in low-paying jobs, where 45% feel they lack opportunities to advance.

Only 29% of those with only high school or less education feel they have no opportunities to advance. Slightly more pessimistic are those who have some college study, but no degree, 34% of whom see no opportunities for advancement.

Conversely, those with college and postgraduate degrees are the most optimistic - 74% of college grads and 80% of those with postgraduate degrees see opportunities in the future.

Are you happy in your job?

As in 2003, 92% of Hall County workers say they are happy in their jobs. Even 93% of the lowest paid say they are happy, the same rate as the highest paid. Those expressing the highest levels of happiness on the job include regular church participants (95%) and those with children at home (96%).

How important are health insurance benefits to your future happiness at work? Would you consider changing jobs for a better health insurance plan?

Most workers, 77%, say health insurance benefits are very important to their happiness at work, but only 33% would change jobs for a better plan. There are exceptions to this overall finding, however.

Latino workers are split on the insurance issue - 50% of them would change jobs for better insurance. Among lower paid workers, those earning under $25,000, 62% would change jobs for better health care, as would 42% of workers with only high school or less education.

Among those working now without health insurance benefits, 72% would change jobs for coverage.

Health insurance is most important to workers age 45 to 64 (87% and 89% said extremely important), but most of them would not switch for a better plan. Yet 40% of those 55 to 64 would change jobs for insurance, which is not a majority, but is a significant percentage compared to other older workers.

Would you say air quality in Hall County is very clean, somewhat clean, somewhat polluted or very polluted?

Evaluations of air quality keep falling from one Healthy Hall survey to the next. In 1998, 38% of respondents said Hall County’s air was very clean. That rating fell to 25% in 2003. In the 2007 study, 20% said air quality was very clean.

In 2003, 54% said air quality was somewhat clean, compared with 60% in 2007. 20% of the study feel Hall’s air is either somewhat or very polluted.

Those living in Gainesville and Black respondents are most likely to feel air is polluted. Those living in North Hall are most likely to say the air is very clean.

Would you say water quality in Hall County is very clean, somewhat clean, somewhat polluted or very polluted?

Water quality ratings are more stable. In 1998 34% of respondents said water quality was very clean. In 2003 27% felt that way. Now in 2007, very clean is cited by 28% of the sample.

Here it is North Hall residents who are more pessimistic. 21% of those in North Hall feel water is either somewhat or very polluted, compared to 15% of those in southern Hall.

Within the past four weeks have you been afraid or nervous about your future? Within the past four weeks have you been so down in the dumps nothing can cheer you up?

While most Hall County adults never feel these emotions, a significant number do.

As might be anticipated, those in the lowest income brackets and those who are in poor health are most likely to feel afraid, nervous and depressed. Less anticipated may be that those without health insurance are three times as likely to feel afraid or nervous about the future.

Here are the results to this question among some key groups.

Those in the 55 to 64 age bracket are also more troubled by these emotions. In this group, 12% say they are afraid or nervous about the future, over twice the rate of those 45 to 54, and eight times the rate of those over age

65. Among this pre-retirement, baby-boomer age group, 8% also say they are so down in the dumps nothing can cheer them most of the time.

How confident are you about the future for you and your family?

About half in the survey (51%) report they are very confident about the future. Another 40% are somewhat confident and 10% are either somewhat unconfident or not confident at all.

Hall’s most confident citizens are better educated, well paid and in good health. In fact, 71% of college graduates and 80% of those earning more than $100,000 are very confident. Contrast this with those who went to high school only and those who make less than $25,000 per year, of whom only 35% and 23% are very confident. 67% of those who say their health is excellent are very confident, while just 34% of those whose health is fair and 23% of those whose health is poor feel this way.

Again, among the least confident groups, are those age 55 to 64. Only 32% of this group says they are very confident about the future. Their views compare to those over 65, 49% of whom are very confident.

White and Black Hall residents look to the future with about equal levels of optimism, but Latinos are less confident. While 56% of whites and 58% of Blacks are very confident, only 31% of Latino adults feel that confident.