The long-awaited overhaul of Georgia’s decades-old school funding formula will have to wait a while longer.
Pressured by lawmakers, Gov. Nathan Deal is putting the brakes on his plans to amend the Quality Basic Education Act (QBE), which, since 1985, has dictated how billions in state revenue are divided among Georgia’s 180 school districts.
Deal wanted recommendations by August, so he could work them into the budget for the fiscal year that starts in July 2016. But four key General Assembly members sent a letter asking for more time. They wanted another year because of the depth of discussion that still needs to occur and because of the effect on local budgets, explained Rep. Terry England, R-Auburn, one of the four.
“Let’s put the clutch in and let it coast a little bit,” said England, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee through which the state budget must pass. “The last thing we want to do is hurt a teacher, or a student or a parent,” he said.
The four lawmakers serve on a committee empanelled by Deal earlier this year. It has spent months studying alternatives to the Rube Goldberg-like system that spits out a dollar amount for each district based on the characteristics of the enrolled population. Younger kids count for more. So do those with disabilities. The list expands to 18 categories, and has prompted complaints because of its complexity and the strings that come attached. In exchange for the money, districts must abide by caps on class sizes while paying teachers based on scales with bigger salaries for advanced degrees and years of experience.
Deal wants a streamlined method that leaves it up to local districts to decide how to spend their money and pay their teachers.
The governor responded in a letter Wednesday: "While I am disappointed that you believe more time is needed, it is important that you feel the committee has sufficient time to make the best recommendations possible," he wrote, extending the deadline for recommendations to Dec. 18.
A spokesman said Deal wants to get legislation passed next year that could affect the budget that starts in July 2017, a year later than previously planned. The current QBE budget is about $8 billion, a substantial portion of the state budget.
“It’s complex and it takes time for everyone to be heard, but the governor is committed to getting this done in his second term, and he’s willing to give it the time it takes to get it right and build consensus,” the spokesman, Brian Robinson, said by email.
Charles Knapp, the former University of Georgia president whom Deal picked to lead his Education Reform Commission, said he was disappointed by the new deadline because of the delay it will create in changing the state education budget. He said the election year timing of proposed changes next year had come up in discussions but said there’s no good time politically for such sweeping budget changes.
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