Legislation has been introduced in the Georgia House to change the complicated formula that gives a majority of the state's school districts a share of more than $400 million.

The intent of equalization grants is to attempt to eliminate the funding disparity between wealthy and poorer school districts.

House Bill 824, sponsored by Rep. Mike Dudgeon, R-Cumming, would require that, when the grant program is not fully funded, the school districts lowest on the wealth-per-child scale get a larger percentage of the reduced amount than more affluent districts.

The bill mirrors a recent unanimous suggestion of the Education Finance Commission, a group of legislators, educators and businesspeople tasked with looking at all aspects of public school financing. It's likely to be fast-tracked through the legislative process since the legislation could be effective for fiscal 2013, which starts July 1.

About the Author

Keep Reading

State Election Board Vice Chair Janice Johnston speaks during an election board meeting at the Capitol in Atlanta on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (Arvin Temkar / AJC)

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Featured

Students line up after school for school buses at Sequoyah Middle School in Doraville on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. The school’s principal told teachers not to talk to students about ICE, and teachers and activists are pushing back. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com