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Wednesday, January 16, 2008
The Education Budget: Show Me The Money!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gov. Sonny Perdue gave his annual State of the State address today, where he outlined his legislative and budget priorities for the new year.
Perhaps not surprisingly, education was low on the list. Taxes, economic development, transportation, water and health care all took precedence in the governor’s remarks.
When Perdue did get around to education near the end of his speech, he maintained that this is his administration’s highest priority.
“Above all these issues … is our basic duty to our children,” he said. “Education is the best investment we can make in our future.”
So, in addition to the $14.3 million Perdue has set aside for the parent involvement program announced Tuesday, he promised to increase funding for Pre-K by $6.4 million and inject $65 million into public school systems for buses and classroom technology.
Although the governor called Georgia’s teachers the “best in the world” and mentioned they were the “highest paid in the Southeast,” he avoided talk of a teacher pay raise. He did, however, note that teachers will get another $100 gift card for classroom supplies.
UPDATE: In case you hadn’t noticed, the governor has decided to keep the annual “austerity cuts” in the state education budget next school year — although, interestingly, he doesn’t expect Georgia to be hit hard by a recession.
