Author Claire Suggs Fact Sheets Featured K-12 Education Library Policy Areas HOPE Scholars Pick Up Increasing Share of College Costs May 1, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs Students from low- or moderate-income families must clear ever-higher financial hurdles to complete a postsecondary program in Georgia. The HOPE Scholarship will cover 59 percent of tuition and mandatory fees at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the next school year and 62 percent at the University of Georgia. This is well below what it […] Read more »
Author Blog Claire Suggs K-12 Education Georgia’s Disinvestment in Higher Education is at Expense of State’s Economic Future April 17, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs | 1 Comment on Georgia’s Disinvestment in Higher Education is at Expense of State’s Economic Future The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia raised next year’s tuition at Georgia Tech 9 percent on Tuesday, the same day that Home Depot’s director of talent acquisition told members of the governor’s High Demand Career Initiative the company cannot find enough software developers here. So Home Depot opened new technology centers […] Read more »
Author Blog Claire Suggs K-12 Education Legislature’s Education Spending Plan Better, but Still Earns a “Needs Improvement” April 3, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs | 2 Comments on Legislature’s Education Spending Plan Better, but Still Earns a “Needs Improvement” The governor and state legislators made education funding a major talking point during the 2014 legislative session. Lawmakers made a less severe cut to public school funding than in recent years. The recurring $1 billion annual shortfall Georgia’s public schools suffered through since the recession is trimmed to about $750 million next year. Still, districts […] Read more » K-12
Author Claire Suggs Fact Sheets K-12 Education Library Policy Areas Sales Tax Flexibility Not Enough to Solve Georgia’s School Funding Crisis February 19, 2014 / January 16, 2020 by Claire Suggs Bill Analysis: House Resolution 1109 and House Bill 802 The General Assembly is considering putting a constitutional amendment to a statewide vote to give school districts greater flexibility to spend sales tax money. Districts continue to struggle financially due to ongoing cuts in state funding, including an austerity cut of about $750 million planned for […] Read more »
Author Budget and Taxes Claire Suggs K-12 Education Library Policy Areas Reports Overview: 2015 Fiscal Year Budget for Higher Education January 29, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs Funding Inches Up, Gaps Persist Georgia’s proposed $1.94 billion budget for higher education in the 2015 fiscal year adds some much needed money for several key initiatives compared to the prior year. However most of the increase just keeps pace with growth and rising health care and retirement costs. This means funding for Georgia’s university […] Read more » State Budget
Author Budget and Taxes Claire Suggs Featured K-12 Education Policy Areas Overview: 2015 Fiscal Year Budget for K-12 Education January 23, 2014 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs Budget Cuts for K-12 Shrink, but Still Loom Large The $7.95 billion budget proposal for public education in the state’s 2015 fiscal year makes a down payment to eliminate the austerity cut in state funding for schools. Most districts should be able to restore the school calendar to the 180-day standard next year. However, most […] Read more » K-12 State Budget
Author Budget and Taxes Claire Suggs K-12 Education Library Policy Areas Reports Overview: 2015 Fiscal Year Budget for Lottery-Funded Programs January 22, 2014 / January 16, 2020 by Claire Suggs Funding for Pre-Kindergarten and HOPE Falls Short of Students’ Needs The governor’s proposed $948 million budget for the state’s lottery-funded programs in the 2015 fiscal year falls short of what is needed to provide Georgians broad access to pre-kindergarten and higher education programs. Georgia’s 20-year-old system that uses lottery proceeds to make education more affordable […] Read more » State Budget
Author Blog Claire Suggs K-12 Education Higher Ed Funding, Completion Rates Focus of GBPI Policy Conference Panels December 20, 2013 / January 16, 2020 by Claire Suggs Performance funding for higher education is coming to Georgia. Beginning fall 2015, state funding for the university system and the technical college system will be based on the numbers of students who stay on track and complete their programs. This is a shift from the current practice that funds schools based on how many students […] Read more »
Author Blog Claire Suggs K-12 Education Teacher Prep, Charter Schools Focus of GBPI 2014 Policy Conference December 20, 2013 / January 16, 2020 by Claire Suggs In the midst of fierce debates about ways to improve public education, there is consensus on one issue: Teachers who are caring and competent are an essential element of students’ academic success. Teachers change children’s lives, help them to thrive in school and succeed in the world beyond it. Becoming a teacher who can rise […] Read more »
Author Blog Claire Suggs K-12 Education Yes, Georgia’s Schools Really are Underfunded December 6, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs | 2 Comments on Yes, Georgia’s Schools Really are Underfunded Georgia’s public schools are not fully funded. The General Assembly provided $1 billion less to school districts than the state’s own K-12 funding formula calculated they need to educate their students this year. A glance at the state’s budget for the funding formula, also known as the Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula, makes that clear. […] Read more » K-12
