Troubled by Cobb County schools’ financial woes, a group of parents is calling for increased funding from state lawmakers to deal with the nearly $80 million budget shortfall facing Georgia’s second-largest school system.
Known as FACE It Cobb, which stands for Funding Awareness Campaign for Education, the group has gained attention in recent weeks for highlighting the school system’s money problems amid the Braves’ plans to develop a new multimillion-dollar stadium in Cobb at taxpayer expense.
Parents argue education quality in Cobb has suffered due to funding cuts in recent years: Classroom sizes have increased and teaching positions cut back, with students getting fewer days at school. Besides Cobb, other metro area school systems have struggled during the recession, with state cuts and declining property tax revenue in many areas.
“There are a lot of people who don’t understand what the cuts in education have really done to the classroom and how it’s impacting students,” said Connie Jackson, a member of FACE It Cobb’s steering committee, who has two children attending Cobb schools.
“Really it’s a state issue … because funding everywhere is being cut,” she said. “Eventually we have to decide are we going to invest in our children or continue the downslope we’re on.”
Group members are participating in a Cobb PTA meeting Jan. 9 at Walton High School, with Superintendent Michael Hinojosa expected to address budget concerns. The group also plans to rally at the state Capitol on Jan. 27 as part of its recently launched campaign, “Stop Putting Our Schools on Shoestring Budgets!”
Formed nearly a year ago by some 20 parents concerned about the system’s financial straits, FACE It Cobb has grown in membership, with hundreds attending recent group meetings amid the Braves’ announcement. Some members have taken advantage of the stadium development to contrast the deficit schools face.
School districts across Georgia are facing state funding cuts between 12 and 16 percent in the current school year, according to state Department of Education officials.
For fiscal year 2014-15, Cobb County school officials are projecting revenue of close to $818.6 million, with expenses of nearly $897.7 million, leaving a $79 million deficit.
Close to half the Cobb school district’s funds come from local property taxes with most of the remaining half coming from state coffers — though the percentage allocated by the state has decreased in recent years amid the recession.
Many school districts across the state have cut the school calendar to below 180 days to deal with the decrease. Cobb County students are in school 175 days this year.
Ninety-five percent of districts, including Cobb, have increased class size since 2009, according to left-leaning think tank Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. This is tied to the loss of close to 1,380 teaching positions in Cobb since 2009.
To address budget concerns, FACE It Cobb members say lawmakers should look at possibly raising taxes, among other measures, to fund education.
Kristy Flowers, a FACE It Cobb member, who has two children who attend Cobb schools, said the group is trying to encourage other school districts to form similar groups to push for more funding this legislative session.
“It’s not about cutting things anymore,” Flowers said. “You’ve got to put more funding in there. … The quality of our schools will affect our property values.”
J.D. Van Brink, chairman of the Georgia Tea Party, said raising taxes is not necessarily the answer to funding education.
“I don’t think there’s much appetite at the state level to increase taxes right now,” Van Brink said. “I think we’re going to see major cuts in spending in education. Unfortunately in the short run, I think that’s about the only option we have.”
State Sen. Lindsey Tippins, a Republican representing northwest Cobb, who also serves as chairman of the Senate Education and Youth Committee, said he supports FACE It Cobb’s efforts and is “cautiously optimistic” Gov. Nathan Deal is “going to do all he can to increase funding to education.”
“I applaud the principle of trying to raise more funding for education,” he said. “But it’s not as easy to do as it is to talk about it because there’s always political implications. Anytime you raise taxes, you’ve got to make a case to the taxpayers.
“I have tried … to advocate for more funding in education, but I’m also a realist and realize every agency in the state’s crying for more money because they’ve all had cutbacks throughout the recession,” he added.
Jackson and other FACE It Cobb members know they face an uphill battle, and point out they’re not pushing specific fixes. And members are not against the Braves moving to Cobb — as long as education funding is not negatively affected. The Cobb school board had no control over the county’s Board of Commissioners voting to approve the Braves deal.
The team announced in November it will move to a new stadium in Cobb, near I-75 and I-285, for the 2017 season. The county will carry just under half of the debt for the $672 million stadium, along with about $1.2 million a year in maintenance costs.
“We’re trying very hard as a group to not get slowed down with issues like the Braves,” Jackson said. “Our core message is restore funding to public education, to give our children what they deserve.”
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