It’s not as bad as it was, but it’s not exactly good.
That’s how education officials describe the current state of spending on k-12 public schools in Georgia. Republican policymakers have a different view.
Gov. Nathan Deal’s budget would direct $7.4 billion to k-12 in fiscal year 2014, which starts July 1. That figure is a small uptick from the $7.2 billion schools got the year before, and, if the Legislature follows the governor’s budget, schools would receive more state funding than they’ve received since 2009.
Education officials, however, say even the $7.4 billion won’t be enough to help districts that are still struggling with sluggish property tax revenue and a rising student population.
That means some districts will — again — have to limit staff training and forgo permanent pay raises. Those with less than the standard 180-day instructional calendar aren’t likely to add school days. And some districts will have to contemplate furloughs to make ends meet.
“In a nutshell, I don’t know anyone who thinks next year is going to be better for education funding than this year,” said Herb Garrett, executive director of the Georgia School Superintendents Association.
Districts have not put together their budgets and are waiting to see what the Legislature decides. Legislators are still conducting budget hearings to determine the final level of funding.
Deal’s spokesman, Brian Robinson, said the governor is proud to have included more funding to account for enrollment growth, educator salary increases and to help low-wealth districts.
“As the governor said in the State of the State, we’re trying to fund 21st-century classrooms with a 1980s formula,” Robinson said. “We’ve taken positive steps, but the governor has more he wants to get done.”
Metro area districts are still recovering from several lean years. Linda Schultz, chairwoman of the Fulton County School Board, said property tax revenue to her district is likely to be down by more than $9 million. The district’s budget last year was $811 million, but the loss of property tax revenue has been tough, Schultz said.
“We have not bottomed out,” she said.
Still, “we’re optimistic that we won’t have any furloughs,” Schultz said.
Carol Boyce, chairwoman of the Gwinnett County School Board, which oversees the largest district in the state, said she and her colleagues are just beginning to think about the budget.
“We’re hoping for the best,” she said. “We’re looking to see what the Legislature does.”
Boyce said she’s glad to see the governor has proposed an increase in education spending. “Even if it’s a little bit, that helps,” she said.
Districts receive property tax money and state and federal funding based on the number and types of students they educate. Most state money is distributed to districts based on a complicated formula called the quality basic education program.
The state, however, has not distributed to districts all of the money the formula indicated they were entitled to receive.
“Georgia continues to shortchange its k-12 students,” wrote Claire Suggs, a senior education policy analyst with the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, a fiscally liberal think tank that examines education policies. “While the proposed budget would increase total funding over last year, the extra money primarily covers the added cost of more school children and a salary adjustment for teachers’ training and experience. For districts and schools across the state, there will be little relief from larger class sizes, shorter school calendars and teacher furlough days.”
In addition to limited property tax revenue, rising health care and fuel costs are also squeezing districts.
The funding analysis Suggs put together for GBPI indicated there were some bright spots for education funding, including Deal’s plan to put an extra $27 million toward classroom technology.
Rep. Brooks Coleman, the Duluth Republican who is chairman of the House Education Committee, said the 2014 fiscal year is shaping up as a good one for education.
“Everybody has taken austerity cuts in the last five years,” he said. “This is the best year for education funding in the last four or five years.”
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