Charlie Harper: More school money needed
Two weeks ago this column outlined the various steps to reforming Georgia's education system that have occurred over the past decade. This includes the adoption of a tougher K-12 curriculum and statewide performance standards for students. We have expanded school choice via local charter schools, state charter schools, and limited vouchers from of Student Scholarship Organizations. Unprecedented flexibility has also been given to boards of education to maximize local control.
Along the way, virtually all money from the state's tax coffers not used to cover population growth and inflation in existing programs has been allocated to K-12 education to replace the cuts made during the recent economic collapse. With the Governor's appointed Education Reform Commission finishing its work and making recommendations, the state is preparing to add additional money into the public school system.
The recommendations on funding will replace the state's "Quality Basic Education" formula with a system that is based on student needs, not on programs offered by each local system. QBE was implemented in 1986 but was never fully funded. It certainly doesn't take into account changes in Georgia's population nor technology that has changed over the last three decades. An update is overdue.
The Commission's recommendations will re-slice the education funding pie while adding another roughly $260 million to K-12 spending. The new plan, however, will offer districts a lot more autonomy on how that money is spent.
While all current teachers can remain on their current pay scales, districts will be able to craft their own pay schedules going forward. Rather than paying teachers based on their educational attainment and years of service, districts can set up new scales based on teacher merit and based on staffing needs.
Districts under this system can pay more to teachers taking on tougher assignments. The current system does not distinguish an educator teaching a child living in a wealthy suburb from one teaching a child living in poverty. The new formula will allow, if not outright encourage, districts to compensate teachers who accept the most challenging assignments accordingly.
Furthermore, QBE didn't allocate money based on poverty. The recommendations contain a new component to address this, as poverty has long been known to be one of the biggest indicators that a student may be challenged more than his or her peers. Currently Georgia is in a small handful of states that do not recognize poverty in school funding.
In addition to the number of students that are economically disadvantaged, additional weights in the districts' funding formula will be given for special education, gifted, English as a second language, and Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE). Overall, the formula seeks to do what most other reforms in Georgia have also attempted. That is, the goal was to put students' needs at the center of the changes, and place the wants and desires of the existing bureaucracy second.
Politically, the changes should likely find acceptance from members of the legislature. All of the state's 180 school districts will receive more money under this formula than they received this year under QBE. This should eliminate the politics of legislators with schools losing money under the new formula driving the cost of reform up further to make their schools whole.
The $260 million increase is also doable under the year-over-year revenue growth that the state has experienced the past few years, provided that Georgia's economy continues to grow and does not enter into another recession. Resistance may come from those who believe that education never receives "enough," as well as some within the GOP who see K-12 education as already receiving more than its fair share of taxpayer dollars when other items such as transportation and Medicaid have large demonstrable needs as well.
Those critics will likely not be enough to derail what is one of Governor Deal's major initiatives. Restoring funds to Georgia's education system has been a clear priority based on each of his proposed budgets since the bottom of the great recession. It's just a new wrinkle that the additional money will be allocated based on the needs of Georgia's students in the 21st century.
Charlie Harper, author and editor of the Peach Pundit blog, writes on Georgia politics and government; www.peachpundit.com.
This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Charlie Harper: More school money needed ."