Alan Essig Author Budget and Taxes Featured Library Reports Overview of Georgia’s 2015 Fiscal Year Budget January 21, 2014 / January 16, 2020 by Alan Essig The $20.8 billion budget proposed for Georgia’s 2015 fiscal year projects general fund revenue growth of 4.3 percent, or $807 million more than the recently revised 2014 revenue estimate. State revenues are back to pre-recession levels, but the proposed budget still incorporates in its base several billion dollars in program cuts made during the past […] Read more » State Budget
Alan Essig Author Blog Budget and Taxes New State Budget Plan Takes Small Steps to Repair Damage from Years of Cuts January 17, 2014 / January 16, 2020 by Alan Essig | 3 Comments on New State Budget Plan Takes Small Steps to Repair Damage from Years of Cuts Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal Wednesday unveiled a state budget for the 2015 fiscal year that includes $807 million in new revenues. That money will be allocated for: Allocation Amount Partial Restoration of K-12 Education Formula Austerity Cut $314 million Medicaid and PeachCare Growth $170 million K-12 and Higher Education Formula Growth $151 million State Employees/Teachers […] Read more » State Budget
Alan Essig Author Blog K-12 Education K-12 education funding a top priority January 13, 2014 / January 16, 2020 by Alan Essig | 1 Comment on K-12 education funding a top priority As published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on January 12, 2014. Georgia’s leaders are talking about increasing spending on public schools for the first time since the Great Recession forced drastic state budget cuts. Those cuts continue to prompt local districts to furlough teachers, increase class sizes and shorten school calendars. Some news reports in advance […] Read more »
Author Blog John McCosh Policy Conference Sets High Bar for GBPI’s 10th Anniversary Year January 10, 2014 / January 16, 2020 by John McCosh (View the presentation slides included in the breakout workshops) About 200 people gathered Wednesday for our 2014 Policy Conference to join a daylong conversation about solutions that move Georgia Forward. Crowded breakout panel discussions in the morning led into Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s forward-looking keynote speech, which won the applause and laughter of a packed […] Read more »
Alan Essig Author Blog General Assembly Set to Race Through Budget Hearings January 9, 2014 / January 16, 2020 by Alan Essig By all accounts we can look forward to a historically fast Georgia legislative session this year. The governor’s 2014 State of the State address is scheduled for Jan.15 at 11 a.m. He will propose midpoint changes to the state budget passed last spring, as well as a new budget for next year. The joint legislative […] Read more »
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 Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Solutions to Reduce Hunger and Poverty Showcased at GBPI’s Jan. 8 Policy Conference December 20, 2013 / January 16, 2020 by Melissa Johnson About one in five Georgians lives in poverty, making Georgia the sixth poorest state in the nation. More than one in four Georgia children doesn’t get enough food to eat. Our state’s economy and our ability to compete globally could greatly improve if Georgia could reduce the extent of these problems. The good news is […] Read more »
Author Cash and Safety Net Library Melissa Johnson Policy Areas Reports Recovery or Bust: Georgia’s Poor Left Behind December 17, 2013 / January 16, 2020 by Melissa Johnson More Georgians are living on the desperate side of the federal poverty line than at any time in the state’s recent history. At the same time, pathways to exit poverty are increasingly blocked as the state failed to make strategic investments when needed. America’s Great Recession – the country’s deepest economic downturn since the Great […] Read more »
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson New Report: Recovery or Bust, Georgia’s Poor Left Behind December 16, 2013 / January 17, 2020 by Melissa Johnson | 1 Comment on New Report: Recovery or Bust, Georgia’s Poor Left Behind Georgia’s economy has slowly inched toward recovery since the state’s unemployment rate peaked in February 2010. More than three years since the official end of the economic crisis, Georgia has recovered just two-thirds of the jobs lost during the downturn. Meanwhile, poverty in Georgia is worse since the beginning of the recovery. More than 19 […] Read more »
