Opportunity is knocking and Georgia must answer

Editor’s note: It’s been 40 years since the Georgia Legislature has updated its funding formula for education, known as the Quality Basic Education Act. Over the years, state lawmakers have made several efforts to modernize the formula but have been unsuccessful. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently asked several education experts their thoughts about what, if any, changes they would make to the formula. This is the fourth and final guest essay.

Georgia lawmakers took an important step by including $15 million to pilot an “opportunity weight” in the fiscal year 2026 budget, which provides targeted funding meant to better support students living in poverty. After decades of acknowledging that a range of additional costs are associated with educating students with greater needs at home, the state is finally testing what it looks like to invest accordingly.

The early lesson is clear: The need is real, the impact is meaningful, and the pilot is only the beginning.

Staci Fox. Courtesy photo.

Georgia’s Quality Basic Education formula has failed to fully account for the realities facing economically disadvantaged students — especially as recession-era spending cuts were made to reduce funding for student transportation, employee health coverage and equalization between high and low wealth districts. While inflation has risen and student needs have grown more complex, Georgia remains one of the few states without a permanent, formula-based poverty weight. Instead, districts have been forced to rely on a patchwork of grants, federal funds and local dollars to fill gaps the state has long left unaddressed.

The districts receiving opportunity weight funds this year expressed deep gratitude but also uncertainty. Many received funds midyear, leaving them asking reasonable questions: How flexible is this funding? Can it be redirected if urgent needs arise? What happens when the money runs out?

These questions are not signs of misuse or hesitation; they are signals of responsible leadership in districts already stretched thin.

In Bibb County, where 97.9% of students are economically disadvantaged, leaders immediately identified food insecurity as an urgent priority, especially amid a federal government shutdown that cut off Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits for families. They also flagged chronic absenteeism and low literacy rates as persistent challenges deeply tied to whether students can get to school safely and consistently and arrive ready to learn. Something as simple as expanding transportation options for students living in walk zones could make the difference between a child showing up and falling behind.

But district leaders were also clear-eyed about the risks of one-time funding. When districts are already supplementing state funding with local dollars just to create a baseline of equity, temporary investments, no matter how welcome, require careful planning. Once funds are depleted, districts are left scrambling to avoid diverting resources from other essential services.

That is why predictability matters.

Richmond County Public Schools offers a compelling example of how opportunity-weighted funding can work when paired with clear goals. Unable to afford summer school for elementary and middle school students, the district used the funding to expand summer programming, covering registration fees, instructional materials, transportation and teacher costs. These are not luxuries. Summer learning loss disproportionately affects students from low-income families, and early intervention is one of the most effective ways to improve long-term outcomes.

The district leaders we spoke with were grateful but also candid. Grants make long-term planning difficult. A permanent opportunity weight embedded in QBE would allow districts to plan sustainably, expand wraparound services, address chronic absenteeism and suspensions, and invest in the staffing, training and competitive salaries needed to retain educators.

The message from districts to lawmakers was simple: “Keep it coming.”

But “keeping it coming” cannot mean relying on small pilots or short-term fixes. A $15 million investment is a start, but it is not enough. A full opportunity weight would require multiplying the scale of this investment by at least five, providing an additional 25% in state funding for each student living under the poverty line to ensure that our education formula truly reflects the level of need across Georgia’s classrooms.

Students who qualify for SNAP, TANF or free and reduced-price meals face barriers that do not disappear at the schoolhouse door. When districts lack reliable data or when eligibility reporting varies, those students risk being undercounted and underfunded. A robust, formula-based opportunity weight applied to every classroom in Georgia would reduce these inconsistencies and ensure resources follow students who need them most.

Georgia has an unprecedented opportunity. With strong revenues and a proven test case of what works, lawmakers can move beyond pilots and toward permanence. It’s time to modernize QBE to reflect the needs of today’s students, not those of decades past.

Opportunity is knocking. The question now is whether Georgia will open the door wide enough for every student to walk through.