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
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 $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
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
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
I traveled to communities around Georgia the past few months to share findings from our recent reports on education funding, The Schoolhouse Squeeze 2014 and Cutting Class to Make Ends Meet 2014. My part is easy. I explain the numbers:
The responses we got from our annual survey of Georgia educators this summer are troubling, the stress often pouring off the pages. Here is an example from Coffee County Schools: “[The greatest impact of the QBE austerity cuts have been]
Here is a status report on the state of education in Georgia, from someone who knows: “Delayed instructional initiatives, depleted reserves, increased class sizes, frozen wages, deferred maintenance and negligible bus replacement. It doesn’t take great imagination to envision what
Schools across Georgia continue to scramble to meet students’ needs as they cope with years of deep cuts in state funding. A new Georgia Budget and Policy Institute survey of school systems finds districts raised class sizes and cut instructional
The Schoolhouse Squeeze 2014 compiles the latest numbers to show how cuts at the state level and lost local property values combine to create financial stress for school districts. This year’s update to the original 2013 report features a searchable
The budget primer outlines the state budget for the year, recognizes substantial changes from the preceding year and provides a clear-eyed view on what lawmakers have prioritized for our state. This year, there will also be a focus on budget trends over the full eight years of Gov. Kemp’s tenure as we prepare for Georgia’s next leaders to take office.
Our budget primer is slated to be published the first day of the fiscal year, July 1. Join us for our virtual town hall to discuss our data, or request a physical copy of the primer to be sent to your address.
Submit public comment on Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage program extension by February 20th – just complete this easily fillable form:
