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.

Follow Ty Tagami on facebookFollow Ty Tagami on twitter
More Stories

Keep Reading

Students at Carver Early College School of Technology attend the school’s art class on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. Atlanta Public Schools plans to convert the campus to a school of the arts that will serve grades 6-12. The plan depends on voters extending a one-cent sales tax for education. (Natrice Miller/AJC)

Credit: Natrice Miller

School closures loom as metro Atlanta grapples with enrollment decline

Demographic changes and the rise of school choice are driving a public school enrollment decline in metro Atlanta.

DeKalb students raise fears about ICE raids; teachers told not to talk about it

The Sequoyah Middle School community asked DeKalb school officials to better support students who fear ICE.

OPINION

AI is essential to helping our teachers plan for success

For educators, the question is no longer whether AI will influence schools, but how we leverage it to strengthen teaching, learning, leading and operations.

The Latest

Students at Carver Early College School of Technology attend the school’s art class on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. Atlanta Public Schools plans to convert the campus to a school of the arts that will serve grades 6-12. The plan depends on voters extending a one-cent sales tax for education. (Natrice Miller/AJC)

Credit: Natrice Miller

School closures loom as metro Atlanta grapples with enrollment decline

DeKalb students raise fears about ICE raids; teachers told not to talk about it

OPINION

AI is essential to helping our teachers plan for success

Featured

A migrant farmworker harvests Vidalia onions at a farm in Collins, in 2011. A coalition of farmworkers, including one based in Georgia, filed suit last month in federal court arguing that cuts to H-2A wages will trigger a cut in the pay and standard of living of U.S. agricultural workers. (Bita Honarvar/AJC)

Credit: Bita Honarvar

Trump administration slashes Georgia migrant farmworker H-2A wages

The state’s agriculture industry relies on the H-2A farmworker visa program. A federal lawsuit is challenging the change.

Brian Kemp’s lame-duck dilemma: Swing big or play it safe?

The two-term Georgia governor enters his last legislative session next month.

Fate of Confederate souvenir store in limbo amid legal battle over estate

The future of Wildman’s Civil War Surplus Store has long been a topic of debate in Kennesaw, especially since proprietor Dent Myers’ death nearly four years ago.