Blog Claire Suggs Time Runs Short to Boost Transparency, Parental Roles in Statewide School Plan March 25, 2015 / January 17, 2020 by Claire Suggs | 1 Comment on Time Runs Short to Boost Transparency, Parental Roles in Statewide School Plan Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposal to create a statewide Opportunity School District (OSD) to take over persistently low-performing schools could pass out of the Georgia house and sent for the governor’s signature as soon as this week. This train needs to slow down to give lawmakers time to add better provisions for transparency, accountability and parental […] Read more » Education K-12
Claire Suggs K-12 Education Reports Opportunity School District Needs Transparency, Community Role March 13, 2015 / January 17, 2020 by Claire Suggs | 1 Comment on Opportunity School District Needs Transparency, Community Role A new legislative proposal to create a statewide “Opportunity School District” aims to boost student achievement at Georgia’s most challenged schools. Close scrutiny of the measure is warranted before its proposed drastic and permanent remedies are passed into law. Georgia Senate Bill 133 sets out the parameters of Gov. Nathan Deal’s plan to allow the […] Read more » Education K-12
Blog Claire Suggs Key Questions for House Members about Opportunity School District Plan March 13, 2015 / January 17, 2020 by Claire Suggs | 2 Comments on Key Questions for House Members about Opportunity School District Plan This week members of Georgia’s House are set to debate the merits of Gov. Nathan Deal’s plan to create a statewide “Opportunity School District” that aims to boost student achievement at persistently low-performing schools. Let’s hope the debate delivers answers to questions that still linger after state senators approved Senate Bill 133 last week 38-17. […] Read more » Education K-12
Blog Claire Suggs Private School Subsidy Bill Promises Sticker Shock February 19, 2015 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs | 8 Comments on Private School Subsidy Bill Promises Sticker Shock Georgia lawmakers are sounding out a kinproposal to create Education Savings Accounts to allow parents of private and home school children to pay expenses with state money. A new Georgia Budget and Policy Institute analysis shows using state money to subsidize education outside Georgia’s public schools will drain nearly $18 million from the state budget […] Read more » Education K-12 State Budget
Author Claire Suggs K-12 Education Library Reports Education Savings Accounts Carry Big Sticker Shock February 19, 2015 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs Georgia lawmakers are considering legislation to allow parents to take state dollars for private educational use. House Bill 243 proposes to create Education Savings Accounts (ESA) to set public money aside for educational services, including private school tuition, textbooks and curriculum materials, private tutoring and contributions to a college savings plan. Kindergarten and first grade […] Read more » K-12
Author Blog Claire Suggs K-12 Education Higher Class Sizes, Enrollment Drops Still a Drag on Lottery-funded Pre-K, HOPE Programs February 11, 2015 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs The governor’s proposed $978 million budget for Georgia’s lottery funded programs in the 2016 fiscal year falls short of meeting the needs of the state’s youngest students and some of its oldest. High class sizes and low teacher salaries threaten the quality of Pre-Kindergarten. Fewer students are getting the HOPE Scholarship and the HOPE Grant, […] Read more » K-12
Author Blog Claire Suggs K-12 Education Recession-Era Cuts Remain for Georgia Schools, Despite Gains January 28, 2015 / January 16, 2020 by Claire Suggs The $8.49 billion for public schools in Governor Deal’s budget proposal shrinks some of the austerity cut in state K-12 funding. That’s the good news. But our overview of the proposed budget shows school districts will receive between $450 and $500 million less than called for in the state’s funding formula for public schools. Class […] Read more » K-12
Author Budget and Taxes Claire Suggs K-12 Education Library Policy Areas Reports Overview: 2016 Fiscal Year Budget for K-12 Education January 28, 2015 / January 16, 2020 by Claire Suggs Still About $470 Million Short of Funding Formula The $8.49 billion for public schools in Governor Deal’s budget proposal shrinks some of the austerity cut in state K-12 funding. Districts that still furlough teachers and cut instructional days should get enough money to address both. However school districts will receive between $450 and $500 million […] Read more » K-12 State Budget
Blog Claire Suggs Georgia Needs More than Just Roads to Prosperity December 19, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs I commute from Athens to Atlanta for work. It is not a pleasant drive, as anyone else who sits in traffic on I-85 or Ga. 316 can tell you. So I am happy legislators are talking about Georgia’s increasingly urgent transportation needs and exploring options to cover the cost of meeting them. A better transportation […] Read more » K-12
Author Claire Suggs K-12 Education Library Policy Areas Reports Money Matters: Increased Education Investment Linked to Higher Achievement December 16, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs Money invested in student learning matters. This is the conclusion most researchers reach after examining the relationship between funding and student achievement. It means Georgia is headed in the wrong direction as ongoing austerity cuts slashed $8.3 billion from state public school funding since 2003. Students across the state suffer the effects of these cuts, […] Read more » K-12
