Education cuts deepen in Georgia, with a little less here and a little less there

By Kristina Torres

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It says much that in a time of dire finances and furloughs, Georgia teachers would applaud a $7.2-million cut to the state's school testing program. Not that they want to see the program weakened, but cuts like it may save others.

"If any cuts could be made, those are the areas they could be made in," Jeff Hubbard, president of Georgia Association of Educators, said about a $17.9-billion budget agreement. Reached last week but yet to be signed by Gov. Sonny Perdue, the agreement eliminates mandated state tests in the first and second grades, as well as writing tests for third- and fifth-graders.

There are much deeper cuts to schools worrying educators, but what happened to the testing program demonstrates the additional nips and tucks being taken with an eye toward next school year.

The move also shifts the costs of some voluntary tests back onto families. The state now will pay for the PSAT and Advanced Placement exams only for low-income students. It has drawn attention, not in the least because of the topic: high-stakes testing.

Then again, in a year otherwise dominated by budget issues, lawmakers moved fewer education bills this session because there was no money to fund new initiatives.

According to the 2010 legislative summary of the state's largest teachers' group, the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, the state's Quality Basic Education formula "is currently underfunded by approximately $3.5 billion despite an infusion of federal stimulus funds." The formula is the method Georgia uses to finance education.

As local school systems make their own cuts to jobs and programs to deal with the shortfall, the new budget shows the state has turned not only to the tests for savings but to other areas, too.

As the summary notes, the state's annual "tax free" sales holiday for back-to-school shoppers has been eliminated, as has funding for gift cards to help teachers buy classroom supplies. Stipends for teachers with National Board Certification have disappeared, a bone of contention headed for the courts after PAGE sued the state last fall for slashing those supplements.

The popular Governor’s Honors Program for students over the summer has been cut from six to four weeks. Funding for programs such as the Spelling Bee, Academic Decathlon and Science Olympiad is gone.

"It almost seems like last year we made cuts that were felt most by teachers and local systems," said Tim Callahan, PAGE's spokesman. "This year, the cuts include not only teachers and local systems but will be felt more acutely by students and parents. The pain is deepening and widening."

Georgia had been paying for all 10th-graders to take the PSAT and for students to take two AP exams, but now will pay those costs only for students eligible for free and reduced-price lunches. The PSAT costs $13; each AP exam is $86.

Matt Cardoza, spokesman for the state education department, said Friday that state officials have delayed sending notices to local systems about the PSAT and AP exams while they sort out the funding picture. State schools Superintendent Kathy Cox is an especially vocal proponent of the PSAT program, which she has said helps increase the scores of students on the SAT, a major college entrance exam.

However, Cardoza said he did not want to give any false hope.

"We're processing the full budget to see what money is available for all programs," he said.