Education
Education

Georgia Education Reform Commission signs off on school overhaul

By Ty Tagami
Nov 19, 2015

Gov. Nathan Deal's Education Reform Commission has signed off on a broad overhaul of schooling in Georgia, including the way billions of state dollars are distributed to local districts.

The group is recommending the most comprehensive overhaul of education in recent memory, covering everything from teacher pay to tax-supported private school scholarships and how the state divvies up more than $8 billion to 180 school districts.

Perhaps the most far-reaching, funding, would add a quarter billion dollars to the education budget, while cutting the strings that dictate how schools spend the money. The commission also wrote proposals for early childhood learning, school flexibility, teacher pay and parental choice. Most will be subject to debate by state leaders.

“This will go to the governor and then it will go to the General Assembly, and there will be, I’m sure, robust discussions at both levels,” commission chair Charles Knapp said of the funding proposal.

Read all about it at myAJC.com.

About the Author

Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.

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