ATLANTA – The Georgia House of Representatives today passed House Bill 192 by a vote of 160 to 3, showing broad bipartisan support for the measure.  Introduced by State Representative Brooks Coleman (R-Duluth), this legislation begins the process of modernizing Georgia’s K-12 education funding formula by establishing the State Education Finance Study Commission.

“This bill is critical for the future of Georgia education,” said Rep. Coleman.  “A thorough review and update of QBE is long overdue.  Our schools shouldn’t have to operate under an outdated funding formula.”

Under HB 192, the State Education Finance Study Commission will be charged with studying and evaluating the costs and resources needed to educate a child.  The Commission will use those findings to develop a comprehensive K-12 educational finance reform that allows the state to meet the needs of its elementary, middle, and high schools.  The Commission will then submit its final reform recommendation to the General Assembly by December 31, 2012.

“GAE is supportive of HB 192.  As the needs of our state expand, our ability to properly fund education and address policy practice must grow with the demands,” said Calvine Rollins, President of the Georgia Association of Educators (GAE). “We feel that with the challenges Georgia will face, HB 192 is long overdue.  We fully support this effort.”

The Commission will be comprised of 27 members, one of which will be the State School Superintendant.  The governor will appoint twelve members, including: a local school superintendent; teacher, principal or other administrator; school finance officer; local board of education member; State Board of Education member; representative from the Professional Standards Commission; representative from the System Office of the University System of Georgia; representative from career, technical and agriculture education; and two parents.  Additionally, the governor, Speaker of the House, and Lieutenant Governor will each appoint one member from the business community.  Finally, the Speaker of the House will appoint six state representatives and the Lieutenant Governor will appoint six state senators.  In their appointments, the Speaker and Lt. Governor must include the chairs of the House and Senate education committees, who will co-chair the Commission.

“We applaud this unified effort by the political leaders of our state to take an open, honest, and thorough look at how our public schools are funded and to commit to the plan that is developed,” said Herbert Garret of the Georgia School Superintendent Association. “We offer our full and complete support.”

Currently, the Quality Basic Education Formula (QBE) dictates K-12 education funding in Georgia.  Passed in 1985 after two years of work by the Education Review Commission, the QBE formula has served as the primary method for calculating the funding needs of Georgia school systems for more than 25 year.  In that time, the formula has seen only one adjustment, passed in FY 1999 to direct funding for media centers but leaving all other areas of QBE untouched.  This leaves essential education components such as textbooks, materials, and maintenance and operation costs considerably underfunded.  Though well designed for its time, the QBE formula lacks in accounting for inflation, technology enhancements, and other modern education needs.

“We are delighted to see our state leaders come together to take a comprehensive look at the funding system and commit to follow through on the results,” said Angela Palm of the Georgia School Boards Association. “Providing a 21st century education to our students requires a 21st century plan.  We look forward to being a part of this process.”

The State Education Finance Study Commission will examine and evaluate a number of core issues specifically outlined in HB 192.  Under the legislation, the Commission would be required to examine current state and local funding partnerships, equalization grant program, student transportation, specialty schools for the blind and deaf, capitol outlay programs, teacher pay, non-QBE grants, charter schools, unfunded education mandates, and nontraditional programs like dual enrollment, virtual schools, and Career, Technology, and Agriculture Education.  The Commission would also be able to study issues not specifically mentioned in HB 192.  The results form this work will allow the commission to determine whether the state should simply update the current QBE formula or replace it with a new funding system.

After completing a comprehensive examination and evaluation of Georgia’s core education issues, the Commission will create a formal report that prioritizes each of their recommendations.  The report will include projected timelines for implementation, estimated cost analyses, and target dates for inclusion in the state budget.  This will enable to General Assembly to gradually implement the Commission’s recommendations as allowable by future budget conditions.

For more information on HB 192, please click here.

ATLANTA—State Representative Alisha Morgan (D-Austell) today announced the introduction of House Bill 257, legislation aimed at keeping effective teachers in Georgia classrooms by changing the way local systems approach educator layoffs.  HB 257 would require districts to use performance as the primary criteria when considering a reduction in force rather than the “last in, first out” system.

“In these difficult financial times, we don’t want to see any district forced to lay off teachers,” said Rep. Morgan.  “However, if a district does decide to make layoffs, those decisions should be based on what is best for our kids, and that means keeping our most effective teachers in the classroom.  To do this, our local education systems need flexibility to make employment decisions based primarily on whether a teacher is effectively educating our children.”

Several school districts in Georgia currently make layoffs based on a teacher’s number of years of service, a practice known as “last in, first out” (LIFO) or “last hired, first fired.”  LIFO prioritizes veteran teachers over their newer colleagues without regard to performance.

Under HB 257, districts would create reduction in force policies that prioritize teacher performance as the most important factor in deciding layoffs.  This change would allow the number of years of service and other factors deemed significant by the local board to serve as secondary criteria when making personnel decisions.  Numerous school districts in Georgia have already implemented similar policies, including Cobb County.

Georgia is not the only state contemplating such reforms. Lawmakers in Washington, Colorado and Arizona have abolished their LIFO policies in recent years.  Each state cited cuts to education funding as the driving force behind the decision to change the way their school districts implement workforce reductions.

“The quality-blind system currently used by many Georgia school districts when deciding to let teachers go is simply unacceptable.  HB 257 treats teachers like the professionals they are by protecting the most effective teachers from being arbitrarily laid off because of an arcane policy,” says Rep. Morgan.  “This bill helps children in our state by keeping our most effective educators teaching in their classrooms, regardless of their number of years of service.”

A subcommittee of the House Committee on Education will hold a hearing on HB 257 on Wednesday, February 23, 2011, at 2:30 PM in Room 506 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building.

For more information on HB 257, please click here.

I post this only because I think it would be a much cleaner race if King Roy the Rat didn’t run for Georgia Governor.

Press Release from David Poythress:
Last July, I called for former Governor Barnes to rethink his decision to run for Governor. In a Friday radio interview on WGAU (1380AM) in Athens, Democratic Party of Georgia chairwoman Jane Kidd agreed when she said “…for the good of the Party, let’s keep the competition down to as few candidates as possible.”

What’s become clear over the last nine months is that more and more Democrats realize that we need to nominate a candidate who can win in November. Roy Barnes may be the frontrunner, but he cannot beat the Republican nominee.

The points I mentioned last summer hold true today. The state’s teachers haven’t forgiven or forgotten how he insulted them, and they stand ready to enthusiastically vote against him again. The Georgia GOP is so excited about their nominee facing Roy that they have already launched an anti-Barnes website reviving the “King Roy the Rat” image. And, although he claims to be “listening,” Barnes still doesn’t realize that Georgians aren’t buying his reinvention tour.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that he proved he could have a $20 million fundraising lead and all the advantages of being an incumbent and LOSE when he handed the GOP their first keys to the Governor’s office in over 150 years.

The recent polling results show him trailing or even with nearly every Republican candidate, dropping down to the mid-thirties – a far cry from the overwhelming lead in the polls he used to enjoy!

I hope Kidd can convince Barnes to not destroy the Party for the second time in less than a decade. With so many critical issues facing the state and reapportionment looming, the stakes are too high for the Party to take a chance on him again. And he’s brought no new energy or ideas to the campaign so far.

In short, we need a candidate with proven leadership and commonsense solutions to our state’s critical problems. I believe I am the only Democratic candidate with a strong record that can withstand the fierce competition of the General Election.

So let me repeat my sentiment from last summer:

“For the good of the Party, I hope that Roy Barnes realizes that there’s still time for him to change his mind so we can avoid a divisive primary. Ironically, the only sure-fire way to prove that he has changed is for Roy to put Georgia’s needs before his own ambition and stay out of the race for Governor.”

If you can’t find this on Youtube, search for the movie subject line. Mike the Mime will be back!

It’s somewhat refreshing to read that the AJC will no longer endorse candidates but its also disingenuous, since we could always predict which candidates or should I say “party” they would endorse anyway.

After listening carefully to readers and thinking deeply about the modern role of a newspaper in elections, the AJC Editorial Board is taking a new approach to election coverage, beginning with this November’s elections.
Going forward, our board will use its unique position to work for readers in pursuing with candidates the issues that are critical to the future of our community. The board will provide readers with clear, concise information about candidates’ positions and records. The AJC will no longer endorse political candidates….
We have heard from readers — and we agree — that you don’t need us to tell you how to vote.

Read the rest of the story at the AJC.

January 31, 1997

Under the Dome Column, Marietta Daily Journal

Rep. Roy Barnes, D-Mableton, said Thursday he regrets walking into a room full of reporters at the State Capitol on Tuesday and making a disparaging comment about Cobb Commission Chairman Bill Byrne’s family.

The comment came after Byrne sent a letter to Rep. Barnes chastising the lawmaker for introducing a resolution that demands House Speaker Newt Gingrich pay back the Kennesaw State University Foundation for legal expenses. In Byrne’s letter, he noted that he intends to run for governor in 1998 and is a potential opponent of Barnes, who has already announced his candidacy.

Barnes sent a letter to Byrne on Wednesday in which he apologized for the off-the -cuff remark he made after receiving Byrne’s letter. Referring to Byrne’s political hopes,  

Barnes said,  “I don’t know who is going to run his campaign – his lesbian daughter or his stripper daughter.”

“The letter said that I made a comment about your family and the comment was inappropriate, and I , and I apologize to you and your family,” Rep. Barnes said Thursday. “I also said we have our political differences from time to time but the comment was inappropriate.”

Byrne reportedly refused to acknowledge the apology from Barnes.

Fast Forward to today, June 3, 2009: The only reason Barnes sent the apology letter to Byrne was because he got caught being himself and a reporter (ME) decided to call him out for it. Barnes stopped me in the hallways of the Capitol that week and scolded me for what I printed. I told him it was stupid of him to say what he did in front of a bunch of reporters. During his tenure as Governor, Barnes proved himself inept as a leader. Let’s hope the state of Georgia remembers this well and keeps him from leaving next year’s primary as the Democratic nominee for Georgia Governor. 

For a PDF copy of the Marietta Daily Journal clip from January 31, 1997, click here.