Claire Suggs K-12 Education Reports Education Savings Accounts Carry Huge Price Tag February 21, 2017 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs | 1 Comment on Education Savings Accounts Carry Huge Price Tag Fact Sheet: Senate Bill 68 (LC 33 6784) Georgia lawmakers are considering a bill to allow parents to take state money to pay for private educational services. Senate Bill 68 proposes an Individual Education Savings Account, or ESA, program. These savings accounts allow parents to redirect public money to pay for private school tuition and […] Read more » Education Savings Account K-12
Budget and Taxes Claire Suggs Higher Education Reports Overview: 2018 Fiscal Year Budget for Higher Education February 13, 2017 / January 16, 2020 by Claire Suggs Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed budget of nearly $2.3 billion for the university system and approximately $360 million for technical colleges includes money to increase salaries, which should help both systems attract and retain faculty. Still, state spending per student in the university system remains well below earlier levels so financial pressures that led to tuition […] Read more » Budget Overview FY2018 Higher Education
Budget and Taxes Claire Suggs K-12 Education Reports Overview: 2018 Fiscal Year Budget for Lottery-Funded Programs February 10, 2017 / January 16, 2020 by Claire Suggs Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed 2018 budget includes $57.4 million in additional lottery funds, bringing the combined total for Georgia’s lottery funded Pre-Kindergarten and HOPE financial aid programs to $1.13 billion. About $757 million of that total is allocated to the HOPE program, and the remaining $364 million is directed to Pre-K. The most significant funding […] Read more » Budget Overview HOPE Pre-K
Blog Claire Suggs K-12 Education Filling the Gaping Hole in Public School Budgets February 7, 2017 / March 15, 2021 by Claire Suggs State funding for Georgia’s public schools went up $1.5 billion from fiscal year 2014 to 2017 and is set to go up $515 million if the General Assembly approves Gov. Nathan Deal’s 2018 budget. These are big numbers. Still, many school districts continue to feel the strain of financial pressures. The reason schools struggle financially […] Read more » K-12
Budget and Taxes Claire Suggs K-12 Education Reports Overview: 2018 Fiscal Year Budget for K-12 Education February 2, 2017 / January 16, 2020 by Claire Suggs Gov. Nathan Deal’s budget proposal for the 2018 fiscal year boosts funding for Georgia’s 1.7 million public school students by $515 million over the current budget for a total of $9.4 billion. The proposal includes a 2 percent salary increase for authorized teachers. At the same time, districts face growing financial pressures. The budget calls […] Read more » Education FY2018 K-12
Claire Suggs Fact Sheets K-12 Education School Districts Stuck with Higher Busing Costs in Proposed Formula January 13, 2017 / October 28, 2020 by Claire Suggs Rural school districts and others with high student transportation costs stand to lose financially under the funding formula proposed by Gov. Nathan Deal’s Education Reform Commission. The commission’s recommendations call for eliminating the current grant program that sends transportation dollars to districts and instead shifting the grant money to the general per-student amount allotted to […] Read more » education-reform-commission K-12 Transportation
Claire Suggs Fact Sheets K-12 Education Proposed K-12 Funding Formula Pulls Rug Out from Low-Income Students December 20, 2016 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs More funding directed to economically-disadvantaged students helps them do better in school and in life. Gov. Nathan Deal’s Education Reform Commission recognized this and directed extra funds to school districts for these students in its proposed revision to Georgia’s funding formula for K-12 schools. This recognition is a step forward but it falls far short […] Read more » education-reform-commission K-12
Claire Suggs Fact Sheets K-12 Education Fact Sheet: Proposed School Funding Formula Will Fall Behind Costs December 15, 2016 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs State spending on Georgia’s public school students will fall behind rising costs if the General Assembly approves the funding formula proposed by Gov. Nathan Deal’s Education Reform Commission. The planned formula lacks an adjustment for inflation. It also eliminates the annual adjustment for teachers’ salaries in the current formula. The value of state spending on […] Read more » education-reform-commission K-12
Claire Suggs K-12 Education Reports Student Success in the Balance: Update for 2017 October 19, 2016 / October 28, 2020 by Claire Suggs | 1 Comment on Student Success in the Balance: Update for 2017 Updated Oct. 27, 2016 Schools Likely Worse Off With New Funding Formula Strong public schools are essential in preparing young students for postsecondary study and life. They also prepare students for the demands of a competitive job market and to be active in the civic life of their communities. A central component of strong schools […] Read more » Education education-reform-commission K-12
Claire Suggs Higher Education Reports Troubling Gaps in HOPE Point to Need-based Aid Solutions September 8, 2016 / March 15, 2021 by Claire Suggs | 3 Comments on Troubling Gaps in HOPE Point to Need-based Aid Solutions Completing a postsecondary program is more important than ever for a student’s future well-being and the state’s economic growth. But rising costs are combining with shrinking access to Georgia’s financial aid programs to push higher education out of reach for too many students, especially those from low-income families. Tuition skyrocketed in recent years, driven in […] Read more » Higher Education Need-based Financial Aid
