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
Author Budget and Taxes Fact Sheets K-12 Education Library Wesley Tharpe Tax Shift Proposals Would Hurt Georgia Schools November 18, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Wesley Tharpe Plans to drastically cut or abolish state income taxes and replace them with higher sales taxes are gaining traction in Georgia. These tax shift plans threaten to harm Georgia’s schoolchildren and university students because deep income tax cuts would likely lead to new rounds of state budget cuts, on top of those already enacted in […] Read more » State Taxes
Author Blog Claire Suggs K-12 Education New report: “Cutting Class to Make Ends Meet” November 6, 2013 / January 17, 2020 by Claire Suggs | 1 Comment on New report: “Cutting Class to Make Ends Meet” This summer the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute contacted superintendents from all 180 of the state’s school districts to ask about two dozen questions designed to reveal measures they’ve taken in the wake of years of state budget cuts. One hundred forty districts completed the survey. Others were unable to because their central office staff […] Read more »
Author Claire Suggs Featured K-12 Education Library Policy Areas Reports Cutting Class to Make Ends Meet November 6, 2013 / January 17, 2020 by Claire Suggs Georgia’s public schools are at a tipping point. School districts are coping with state funding cuts in recent years by shrinking the school calendar, increasing class sizes and furloughing teachers. A new survey of school districts by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI) finds school systems throughout the state struggling to provide a quality […] Read more » K-12
Author Claire Suggs K-12 Education Library Reports The Schoolhouse Squeeze September 17, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs State Cuts, Plunging Property Values Pinch School Districts Georgia’s school districts are struggling against a relentless financial squeeze. The Georgia Legislature cut billions in state funding for public schools in recent years, while plunging property values drove down the main local source of revenue, the property tax. Meanwhile, the number of low-income students is soaring, […] Read more » K-12
Author Claire Suggs Fact Sheets K-12 Education Library Policy Areas The Schoolhouse Squeeze Report Summary September 17, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs State Cuts, Plunging Property Values Pinch School Districts School districts across Georgia are relentlessly pressed by ongoing cuts in state funding and simultaneous declines in property values. “The Schoolhouse Squeeze,” a new report from the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, takes a fresh look at the convergence of shrinking state financial support and declining local […] Read more » K-12
Author Blog Claire Suggs K-12 Education State Education Strategy Stuck in Restart Mode August 16, 2013 / January 16, 2020 by Claire Suggs Georgia has a maddening habit. State officials support education policies with real potential to improve teaching and help students learn more. Then, time after time, they don’t invest the money needed to implement these policies effectively or within all districts. The most recent example of this is the state’s decision to pull out of the […] Read more » K-12
Author Blog Claire Suggs K-12 Education Mediocre Pre-K Isn’t Good Enough for Georgia’s Kids August 2, 2013 / January 16, 2020 by Claire Suggs August is here and with it, a new school year begins. For four-year-olds starting Pre-K, it’s the beginning of their journey to college and the workforce. But Georgia’s lawmakers are letting them down. They’ve cut funding for Pre-kindergarten by 22 percent since 2009 and diminished the program’s quality. Class size has gone up and resource […] Read more »
Author Budget Primer Claire Suggs Featured K-12 Education Library Policy Areas Reports GBPI 2014 Primer: Education July 9, 2013 / April 14, 2020 by Claire Suggs The $9.7 billion Georgia is investing in education in 2014 accounts for more than half of all state expenses. Still, Georgia’s investment in education is falling, even as its expectations of what they will accomplish are rising. The education section of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute’s Budget Primer explains how the state’s chronic underfunding […] Read more »
Author Blog Claire Suggs K-12 Education Lawmakers are Pricing College Out of Reach June 3, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Claire Suggs | 3 Comments on Lawmakers are Pricing College Out of Reach State and federal lawmakers are changing higher education financial aid programs and that makes it harder for Georgia’s students to earn a college degree. These changes aren’t just hurting students and their families. They’re undermining Georgia’s economy, which is increasingly dependent on having an educated workforce. The Legislature imposed new budget cuts on higher education […] Read more »
