Other members of the committee are Senators Chuck Payne, R-Dalton; Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta; Blake Tillery, R- Vidalia; Lindsey Tippins, R-Marietta; and Billy Hickman, R-Statesboro.
The committee grew out of a senate resolution passed in this year’s legislative session. It will prepare recommendations for the General Assembly to consider during the 2023 session.
The committee will likely focus on the Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula. That formula allocates school funding based on the number of students in a district and other factors.
“Education has changed, and what we need for our students has changed, but we’re still operating off of an antiquated formula,” said Lisa Morgan, president of the Georgia Association of Educators. “The resources should be available so we are providing a well-rounded education for every child.”
She pointed out that teachers and schools are now asked to do much more than they were in the past.
“The formula does not provide for enough counselors, social workers, nurses, and that is something we know is necessary,” Morgan said.
Some key school employees – like cafeteria workers and bus drivers – are not listed in the state salary schedule, meaning it’s up to school districts to set their salaries, Morgan said.
“We have shortages … in those support positions and part of the reason is because there is no pay scale for those positions to guarantee at least a minimum livable salary,” said Morgan.
Some advocates are calling for the committee to look at revamping the formula to ensure districts get enough resources to help educate children living in poverty.
Georgia is one of six states that lack an “opportunity weight,” which would provide extra funds for school districts to educate low-income students.
“Easily the biggest blind spot our education funding system has is for those students living in poverty,” said Stephen Owens, a senior policy analyst at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, a progressive thinktank in Atlanta.
“The state recognizes the unique needs of students with disabilities, those learning English, kids in Career, Technical, Agricultural Education (CTAE),” Owens said.
“It’s time to support the largest challenge we have in schools: the connection between opportunity and parental income.”
“It simply costs more money to educate a student living in poverty…to get the same academic outcomes,” explained Dana Rickman, president of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, an independent nonprofit focused on improving education in the state.
“It’s doesn’t have anything to do with their intellect or potential — it’s just they have more challenges and so you have to account for that,” Rickman said.
Rickman said she hoped the committee would consider conducting a cost study to better understand Georgia’s education costs.
“We have all these discussions with teachers and administrators, that we are expecting these sorts of results from our students. But we don’t know how much it would really cost to actually get the results,” Rickman said.
“It would help guide our decisions if we understood the cost structure behind what we’re spending our money on,” Rickman said.
Some advocates are likely to push to widen Georgia’s voucher and school-choice programs.
“School choice for every family must become a reality for Georgia,” said Cole Muzio of Frontline Policy Council, a conservative organization. “Dollars should follow the child — allowing each individual child to reach their goals, empowering parents, and elevating education across Georgia.” Others – such as Terrence Wilson – disagree.
“The funds dedicated to vouchers should be reinvested into public schools that can meet the needs of all students, particularly those with disabilities,” said Wilson, regional policy director for the Intercultural Development Research Association, a nonprofit devoted to educational equity.
One model for the committee comes from Georgia’s neighbor to the north, Tennessee. That state revamped its education funding system earlier this year.
The Tennessee reform effort was successful because it moved forward quickly and collected detailed feedback from stakeholders across the state, Christian Barnard wrote in a piece published Friday by the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, a conservative thinktank.
“If Georgia legislators want a K-12 finance reform strategy to stick this time around, they need to focus on setting a clear vision, establishing a transparent public engagement process, and following an efficient timeline,” Barnard said.
The study committee will meet next Friday, August 19 at 1 PM at the state Capitol. The committee also has set up a website where Georgians can livestream the meeting, sign up to testify via Zoom, and submit written testimony.
The committee will also meet in Savannah on September 16th and Columbus on October 21.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp announced Friday he is investing $240 million in federal COVID relief funds in expanding Georgia’s high-speed internet infrastructure.
“Whether you own a small business in rural Georgia, run a farm that utilizes precision agriculture technology, or have children that need to do their homework, the expansion of high-speed internet impacts all Georgians,” Kemp said.
“Regardless of location, access to broadband service is essential for all communities in the Peach State to thrives. I remain committed to helping improve the lives of our citizens by closing the digital divide in our state.”
Many areas of the state still lack broadband access, according to a map published by the state government.
The Kemp administration will have invested over $1 billion in expanding broadband access by the end of the year, the governor’s statement said.
The funds will be administered through a competitive grant program. Further details about applying for the new grants will be released next week.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Gov. Brian Kemp announced tax rebate proposals on Thursday in Atlanta. (photo credit: Rebecca Grapevine)
ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp announced Thursday he plans to issue around $2 billion in income and property tax rebates to Georgians next year – if he wins re-election in November.
Record economic growth in Georgia has given the state a budget surplus and some of that money should be returned to people’s pockets, Kemp said.
Kemp’s proposed $1 billion tax rebate would provide $250 income tax rebates to single filers, $375 rebates to single filers who are heads of household and $500 rebates to married couples filing jointly next year, Kemp said.
The income tax rebate would be similar to the extra income tax rebates most Georgia taxpayers received this summer, Kemp noted.
Kemp proposed an additional $1 billion in property tax rebates. This would mean Georgia homeowners would get an estimated $500 rebate to offset higher property tax bills.
“This Georgia Homeowner Rebate will save an average homeowner between 15 and 25% on their local property tax bill next year,” Kemp said.
“For young Georgians just getting settled into their first home or parents sending their kids off to college, unforeseen jumps in property values and local tax bills only add to the uncertain times we are in,” Kemp said. “This will put real money back in the pockets of hardworking Georgians.”
Kemp took credit for Georgia’s budget surplus, pointing to his administration’s economic development successes, especially in rural parts of the state.
His administration has brought in a total of $21.2 billion in investments to the Peach State over the last year, Kemp said earlier this week.
A spokesperson for Democrat Stacey Abrams – who is running against Kemp for the governorship – criticized Kemp’s proposals.
“Stacey Abrams has proposed giving tax relief to middle-class families and working Georgians,” said Alex Floyd on behalf of the Abrams campaign.
“Kemp’s plan would give tax handouts to millionaires while he still refuses to expand Medicaid and lower healthcare costs for Georgians,” Floyd said. “Georgians need relief today.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – A new report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families has found that about 20% of Georgia women of childbearing age are uninsured.
The rate of uninsured women between 18 and 44 years old is one of the highest in the country, putting Georgia in 46th place on a national ranking, the report said.
Almost half of women of childbearing age who identify as Latina are uninsured, the report found. That’s nearly double the national average.
The report comes as Georgia policy makers work to improve maternal and infant health.
In 2020, there were 24.5 maternal deaths in Georgia per 100,000 live births, slightly above the national rate. Maternal mortality rates are particularly high among Black women, who face a rate of 41 deaths per 100,000 live births, the report said.
Some women and infants can get insurance through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), so the report also looked at how well those programs provide infant and maternal care.
The information reflects the latest federal data, which is from 2019, before the pandemic.
Just above three-quarters of women on Medicaid or CHIP are receiving timely prenatal care, putting Georgia in 30th place. About two-thirds of new mothers are getting adequate postpartum care.
About 12.1% of new births covered by the programs are low birthweight (under 2,500 grams), putting Georgia 48th in the state rankings.
And just over two-thirds of Georgia children on Medicaid and CHIP are getting all of their recommended check-ups during the first 15 months of life, the report said, putting Georgia in 21st place.
“This report not only paints a bleak picture of existing health coverage gaps for all women of reproductive age in Georgia, but also shows how the state’s poor performance on maternal and infant health issues could lead to widening disparities in health,” said Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.
“The state’s decision not to expand Medicaid continues to put the health of its mothers at risk and undermines the opportunity for Georgia’s children to get a healthy start in life.”
Gov. Brian Kemp and other Georgia Republican leaders have remained staunchly opposed to Medicaid expansion in the state, citing its costs. Georgia is now one of 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid.
“Traditional Medicaid expansion would cause approximately 200,000 people to lose the ability to purchase health insurance for free,” Kemp spokeswoman Katie Byrd said.
The federal government this week denied Kemp’s plan to set up a private health insurance marketplace in Georgia. The governor’s plan would have allowed 50,000 uninsured Georgians to purchase private insurance, Byrd said.
Kemp has taken other steps to improve women’s health in the state, Byrd said.
The governor supported bills to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage from six months to one year following birth and create supportive housing for pregnant women and new mothers. He also added funding to the state’s budget to support mothers with cardiovascular conditions, Byrd said.
The state Medicaid agency recently announced it will provide additional funding to safety-net hospitals Grady Memorial and Augusta University Medical Center to improve health outcomes, Byrd said.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – A nonprofit group dedicated to clean air for children encouraged Georgia school districts Tuesday to apply for federal funds to purchase electric school buses.
A new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program aims at providing school buses an alternative to gasoline or diesel fuel by funding electric buses. Currently, most buses in Georgia run on diesel.
The agency will award around $1 billion annually for the next five years to school districts that want to purchase electric, propane, or CNG (compressed natural gas) vehicles.
The funding comes from the infrastructure spending bill Congress passed last year. Some of the funding can also be used for setting up electric-vehicle charging infrastructure.
Increasing the number of electric buses on the road will improve Georgia children’s respiratory health, Stephanie Blank, co-founder of Mothers and Others for Clean Air, said during a news conference.
Asthma is the top reason children are absent from school, Blank said.
Electrification of buses can also help with racial inequities, said Laura Turner Seydel, the group’s other co-founder.
Children from communities of color are more likely to ride buses to school and, therefore, more likely to be exposed to air pollution from buses, she said.
“No child should be made sick or die from dirty air,” she said.
At least 50 school districts in Georgia are submitting applications to the EPA, said R. Sam Ham, the director of alternative power for Yancey Bus Sales & Services. The Austell-based company is helping districts apply for the program.
School districts can use the funding to purchase propane and CNG-fueled buses along with electric buses.
The first set of EPA awards will be announced in October.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
