Georgia legislators in 2015 will again clash over the state’s Common Core standards, along with other contentious education issues.
The metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce’s legislative agenda reaffirms its support for the national standards that have guided the state’s education policy for several years. The Chamber also calls for increased emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math courses in K-12 and post secondary education that prepare “students to become innovators and problem-solvers.” Katie Kirkpatrick, the chamber’s senior vice president for policy, innovation andentrepreneurship, said she expects Gov. Nathan Deal to make education reform the centerpiece of his second term, similar to his focus on criminal justice reform in his first four years.
Kirkpatrick said a productive work force “is heavily tied to education. We’ve got to be able to educate young people to enter that work force.”
The Chamber is awaiting the report of a House committee set up last year to study the federal role in Georgia’s education, the outcome of an unsuccessful 2014 legislative effort to remove the state from Common Core. The committee will release its findings before the year ends.
Originally set up by the nation’s governors, including Republicans such as former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, Common Core has increasingly drawn the ire of GOP officials who see the program as an intrusion of the federal government in local schools. Although it is not a federal program, the Obama administration links funding to its goals.
The committee is co-chaired by Education Committee Chairman Rep. Brooks Coleman (R-Duluth), who supportsCommon Core and gained re-election without a runoff. However, new state School Superintendent Richard Woods strongly opposed Common Core in his campaign, soundly defeating the supportive Democrat Valerie Wilson.
Another key education issue will be the Quality Basic Education funding formula, which another committee is studying. Coleman last year introduced legislation to change the formula, approved by the Legislature in 1985 and underfunded since 2003.
The state has cut education by $8.3 billion since then, according to a recent report by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, which is calling for the Legislature to restore the funding.
After cuts of $1 billion under QBE levels each year from 2010-2014, the reduction was held to $746 million for this year. That emerged as a key issue in the Georgia’s governor’s race, with Deal highlighting the funding increase and Democrat Jason Carter drawing attention to his voting against the state budget as a state senator because of the funds cut he considered as still too severe.
The Chamber will also closely watch whether Deal proposes a statewide education recovery school district such as was set up in Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina. Deal in an appearance with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal during the governor’s campaign said he would look at such a plan, in which the state takes over failing local schools.
Kirkpatrick said that while the chamber applauds Deal for considering educational innovations, it wants to see how a recovery district would affect local schools before taking a position.
The Chamber will also advocate for early childhood development and learning efforts “with special emphasis on initiatives that ensure students are reading on grade level by third grade,” its legislative agenda states.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed at a recent Washington forum also promised to make early childhood education a priority next year.
The GBPI study, authored by senior policy analyst Claire Suggs, found that “the combined state and local funding losses leave Georgia trailing most states in public school investment.”
Local school districts haven’t been able to make up for the state funds cuts because they largely depend on property taxes, which declined during the recession, the study said.
Georgia spent $9,247 per student in the 2012 fiscal year, the most recent year for which federal data are available, the report said. That was $1,361 less than the national average, placing Georgia 35th in spending per student.
An earlier GBPI report, cited in the recent study, found that Georgia students are in school for less than the standard 180 days in 49 districts because of the budget cuts. The earlier study said that 62 percent of the districts reduced elective courses since 2009, 46 percent slashed art and music programs, and 36 percent cut efforts for low-performing students. Also, 87 percent reduced spending on professional development for teachers.
The chamber in its legislative agenda said it will advocate for legislation and policies to improve teacher training.
