ATLANTA – Some legislative Republicans are joining Democrats in seeking to send additional state funding to schools with students in poverty.
Supporters of House Bill 245 argue that Georgia is one of six states that has not adjusted educational funding to account for poverty and that it’s time to change that. They say students across Georgia can benefit from more counselors, tutors and subsidized meals.
“I think most Republicans understand the role that poverty plays in impairing a young person’s ability to learn, particularly some of my more rural colleagues who live in parts of the state where that school is just everything,” said Rep. Phil Olaleye, D-Atlanta.
Two of Olaleye’s GOP colleagues in the state House of Representatives joined him and three other Democrats in signing House Bill 245 when it was introduced last week.
Olaleye said it would give schools an additional $2,000 per student in poverty via the state’s Quality Basic Education formula. He estimated that about 500,000 students would qualify, bringing the tab to about $1 billion a year.
Georgia’s fiscal 2025 budget allocates $13.2 billion in state funding for public schools. With federal and other funding, schools are getting $15.5 billion to educate more than 1.7 million students. About two-thirds qualify for federally subsidized school meals, according to the Georgia Department of Education.
Schools with students in that category would qualify for extra funding under Senate Bill 128, introduced on Monday. Only Democrats signed on to that measure, which was described as a companion bill to HB 245.
Sen. Jason Esteves, D-Atlanta, is the chief co-sponsor of SB 128. He estimated the legislation, if it were to become law, would send an additional $2 billion a year in state funding to schools.
Sen. Nikki Merritt, D-Grayson, chair of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, said the state should use some of its $16 billon budget surplus to help schools with students living in poverty. But Senate Republican leaders said last week that returning surplus dollars to taxpayers is among their priorities.