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AJC.com > Legislature > Blog > Archives > 2006 > February > 23 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USLegislature approves “65 percent” education funding bill
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Governor Sonny Perdue’s proposal to direct 65 cents of every education dollar to the classroom gained final legislative approval Thursday.
The Georgia Senate voted 33-19 in favor of the latest version of the bill. Perdue and the Legislature’s Republican leadership have argued that the measure will help boost classroom achievement in the state.
“Consistently, in those school systems that spend more than 65 percent in the classroom, those test scores go up,� said Sen. Ronnie Chance (R-Tyrone), the bill’s sponsor. “That’s what this bill is about.�
However, a report released Wednesday from the education division of the credit-rating and financial services company Standard & Poor’s found that in 25 states, including Georgia, there was “no significant correlation” between the percentage of money spent on instruction and performance on standardized tests.
Sen. Michael Meyer Von Bremen (D-Albany) questioned the data the Governor’s office relied on in formulating the 65 percent proposal in light of the Standard and Poor’s study. Other Democrats also expressed concern about whether the 65 percent rule would infringe on the power of local school districts to make their own decisions about spending, and whether the bill would amount to an unfunded mandate.
But Republicans quickly dismissed those concerns and criticism of the Standard and Poor’s study. Sen. Bill Stephens (R-Canton) argued that the state used more comprehensive data than the Standard and Poor’s study. And he questioned the wisdom of relying too much on the company in making decisions.
“Is it not true that Standard and Poor’s once had very good things to say about buying Enron stock?� Stephens said during the debate.
The short debate on Senate Bill 390 – which was not listed on the Senate’s official debate calendar for Thursday – also provoked a sharp comment from Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, who is running for governor this year.
As the Senate prepared to take up a measure on the state’s Civil War Commission after the vote on the 65 percent education bill, Taylor said: “Isn’t it ironic that we’re going to talk about the Civil War after we’ve been ambushed this morning?�
SB 390 now heads to Gov. Perdue to be signed into law.
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