Earlier this week, Gov. Nathan Deal signed legislation intended to implement a so-called Opportunity School District statewide. If voters approve a constitutional amendment in November 2016, the bill would give the governor’s office the power to overrule local school boards and seize operation of as many as 100 public schools that it deems to be failing.
That’s a lot of power to be placed in the hands of one person, but defenders of the controversial program claim it is justified by the crisis in education. But as we debate that assertion over the next 18 months, let’s keep three important points in mind:
1.) Adjusted for inflation, Georgia spends 12 percent less per pupil today than it did in 2002, according to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. In 2002, we ranked 26th in per pupil funding, spending $300 less than the national average. Today, we rank 35th in funding per student, almost $1,400 less than the national average.
In short, our leaders may talk a good game about the importance of an educated workforce that can compete globally for 21st century jobs, but when it comes time to put money behind that commitment, they have placed a higher priority on maintaining the nation’s lowest per capita tax burden. If a budget is a statement of values and priorities, those have been our values and priorities.
2.) While funding fell, more and more Georgia students were being raised in poverty, with all of the educational challenges and complications that poverty entails. In 2002, 45.1 percent of Georgia students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. That number has jumped to 62.4 percent, and the increase was particularly dramatic in suburban counties. In Cobb County, the percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches has doubled from 22 percent in 2002 to 44.8 percent. It doubled in Gwinnett County as well, from 21 percent to 43 percent.
In addition, the number of Hispanic students — many of whom come from homes in which English is not the primary language — has tripled since 2002, creating another set of educational challenges.
3.) In short, since 2002 our educational system has had to deal with fewer financial resources while attempting to educate a student body that is increasingly poor and multicultural. Yet according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the educational performance of Georgia students has increased significantly in that time frame. The gap between students in Georgia and the rest of the nation still exists, but it is closing.
So while we don’t have data to prove it definitively, the numbers suggest that Georgia students are getting a better education today than at any point in the state’s history. That doesn’t mean our schools are as strong as they could be or should be, but they are doing better than ever.
Now, you could argue based on that data that more money isn’t necessary to improve education. However, you could also argue that the teachers and administrators who are so often cast as the villains in this debate have in fact been doing more with less, and under increasingly difficult circumstances. That’s a part of the story too often overlooked.
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