In the race for governor, incumbent Republican Gov. Nathan Deal and Democratic challenger state Sen. Jason Carter, D-Atlanta, have staked education as a battleground, both declaring schools a top priority.
Education tends to get dragged onto the stage in gubernatorial contests, but there’s more reason for the high profile this election. The sitting state school superintendent John Barge sacrificed likely re-election to take on Deal in the GOP primary, a quixotic crusade to his supporters and a quizzical folly to Republican voters, 72 percent of whom backed the governor.
Barge’s campaign — borne of his frustration with continued erosion of education spending — underscored the dramatic drop in funding for schools at the same time more is being asking of them.
Both Deal and Carter vow more money for schools in the future. But finances aren’t the only looming trouble spot. Georgia’s commitment to the Common Core State Standards is under attack. While a public outcry beat back an effort this year to withdraw from the standards, the issue continues to smolder and will likely spark in the next legislative session.
Because of the significance of this election, we asked Carter and Deal to outline their education plans and platforms. We asked the same of the four runoff candidates for state school superintendent and will publish those next Sunday.
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