Education study committee sends Georgia governor recommendations

By Nancy Badertscher

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The state’s school nurse program could receive a big infusion of cash under a recommendation slated to go to the desk of the governor Friday.

A committee, made up largely of legislators and educators, has until March 2013 to size up public school funding in Georgia and suggest improvements, many of which are likely to require sign-off by the governor and Legislature.

But with the governor about to start work on his 2013 budget and the legislative session just months away, the committee set Friday as the deadline to get at least a handful of recommendations to Gov. Nathan Deal. Among them is a proposal for the state to assume a bigger share of the costs of the school nurse program and to increase dramatically the ratio of nurses to students in the face of concerns about the rise in childhood obesity, asthma and other serious health problems.

Major issues -- such as funding for technology, charter schools and poor vs. affluent districts -- are still on the table. In some cases, state law needs updating. For example, the current school funding formula includes an allotment for school systems to buy textbooks, which some districts are abandoning for digital learning.

"There aren't any earth-shattering [recommendations] at this point," said state Sen. Fran Millar, R-Dunwoody.

But even a few recommendations should boost confidence that this committee, unlike several previous ones, is “actually going to do something substantial," Millar said.

After two full committee meetings and 12 subcommittee meetings that started this summer, the committee is giving Deal recommendations to:

• Make the state a 50-50 partner in the $56 million a year in costs of the school nurse program, the majority of which are now covered by local school districts.

• Establish by 2015 a nurse-to-student ratio of 1-to-750 in the elementary schools and 1-to-1,500 in the middle and high schools, costing the state about $10 million extra a year. The current ratio is 1 nurse to 2,300 students, one of the lowest in the country.

• Repeal a 2006 law that required local school systems to spend 65 percent of their revenues on classroom instruction. The law narrowly defined what constituted a classroom and excluded costs, such as teacher training, maintenance and media specialists. State School Superintendent John Barge said there was no evidence the rule helped improve student achievement.

• Take the burden off local school systems to keep track of reports required of parents who home school their children, shifting that duty to the state Department of Education.

• Increase potential state dollars for school construction by $100 million a year, but eliminate a special pot of money set aside to provide extra help for fast-growing school districts.

• Expand professional development, or training, to include principals, not just teachers.

Deal spokeswoman Stephanie Mayfield said the governor will review the committee recommendations as he prepares his budget proposal and "evaluates agency needs and prioritizes spending."

The committee’s support for school nurses reflects a dramatic turnaround from just two years ago, when Gov. Sonny Perdue suggested eliminating the program, a move lawmakers rejected after a public outcry. This year, state funds for the program were cut by $1.1 million.

Cobb County schools spokesman Doug Goodwin said the district’s school nurse program costs about $3.9 million, of which 38 percent, or about $1.5 million, comes from the state.

Days can be hectic for Cobb County’s 124 school nurses, dealing with what ails some of the county’s 107,000 students. A nurse will see 20 to 70 students a day and do a lot more than treat scraped knees or upset stomachs. With a growing number of chronic illnesses to manage, such as asthma, diabetes and food allergies, their work is much more complex.

“A lot of times, students are waiting on them when they come in in the morning,” consulting nurse Melanie Bales said. “They get off the bus. They’ve been sick overnight, and their parents have told them: ‘When you get to school, go see the nurse.' ”