Georgia's budget season has officially concluded with Governor Brian Kemp releasing his final Governor's Budget Report.
The sprawling 420-page document details a $36 billion budget that would fund more than 40 state agencies, six judicial branches and four legislative branches for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
With more than 2 million school-age residents in the state and the vast number of citizens required to work in the industry, funding for the Georgia Department of Education comes at a critical juncture.
In Atlanta, state funding plays a key role in shaping the educational experience for more than 50,000 students. The predominantly black school district has more than 50 Title I schools (institutions that receive supplemental financial aid to serve children from low-income families) and serves more than 70 percent of its students who are economically disadvantaged.
Currently, the state plans to spend more than $2 billion on education funding by the end of next year, more than $600 million in 2024 and $1.7 billion in 2025. That's down from the previous two years, when the state spent more than $3 billion.
Capital B Atlanta took a closer look at the Governor's revised budget report for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 for the Department of Education, the University System of Georgia and the Georgia Technical System, highlighting adjustments to classroom resources and teacher salaries, expansion of early childhood programs, and other items. Here are some key takeaways:
2024 Early Childhood Education, K-12 Education Budget Highlights
Certified K-12 teachers, preschool teachers and teacher assistants received one-time salary subsidies of $1,000 from $315 million the state allocated as a way to retain educators and boost recruitment into the industry, according to the documents.
In a letter included in his budget proposal, Governor Kemp said that by increasing teacher pay, the state's goal is to reinvest in the workforce to improve education outcomes.
“Retaining talented employees reduces knowledge loss, improves service delivery, reduces the costs of recruiting and training new staff, and minimizes 'downtime' due to vacancies and overtime costs,” he wrote.
The state also will spend $6 million to expand summer transition programs offered by the Department of Early Childhood Education, $102 million for a midterm adjustment to the state's funding formula and $28.5 million in a grant to the Georgia Charter System Commission after enrollment at state-run charter schools increased by 5.24 percent.
Another $12.3 million in state funds will be used to provide additional funding to high school students participating in dual enrollment programs, which allow them to take college-level courses (and earn undergraduate credit) while earning their high school diploma.
Highlights of the 2024 Higher Education Budget
The state of Georgia currently funds two systems of higher education for residents who want to pursue an educational path beyond K-12: the University System of Georgia (USG) and the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG).
The University System of Georgia includes public, four-year colleges and universities that primarily offer undergraduate and graduate degrees, while the Georgia Technical College System includes institutions including state universities and technical colleges that focus on vocational and technical education.
Both agencies are funded primarily by taxpayer money in the form of state appropriations or state and federal grants, with countervailing funds such as student contributions from tuition fees, private donations and partnerships helping to sustain the more than 100 institutions managed by both agencies.
In this budget, the state plans to spend $66 million to restore funding for academic instruction at USG institutions and $80 million to address backlogged maintenance and renovation work at public universities.
In addition to closing the funding gap, the budget also proposes spending $19.5 million to establish three new workforce accelerator programs for TCSG students looking to enter the electric vehicle industry, and another $15 million to support QuickStart, a state-run incubator program for growing companies.
2025 Early Childhood Education, K-12 Education Budget Highlights
To continue supporting the funding increase coming in 2024, $244 million has been allocated to cover increased employer costs for certified educators participating in State Health Benefit Plans (SHBPs), and $382 million has been set aside to provide a $2,500 salary increase for certified staff.
Another $249 million would go toward enrollment growth and training to serve about 1.74 million students and more than 138,000 teachers and administrators, plus $49 million in charter school subsidies, $204 million for student transportation and $236 million for construction and renovation of local schools.
$11 million will go toward literacy efforts, including community literacy coaches and screeners for K-3 students, and $20 million will help replace 227 outdated school buses. Additionally, $15 million from the state will go toward continued support for high school students enrolled in dual enrollment programs.
In early childhood education, $23.5 million would increase salaries for certified teachers and teacher assistants by $2,500, and another $10.9 million would begin a four-year plan to reduce class sizes for preschoolers from 22 to 20 students.
Additionally, $6.1 million has been allocated to continue the Summer Transition Program to continue support into 2024, as well as $4.6 million to increase Child Care and Parent Services (CAPS) reimbursement rates.
Highlights of the 2025 Higher Education Budget
In 2025, the USG will have a major allocation of $66 million designated to restore funding to education programs at USG institutions, ensuring continued support for educational quality, including an additional $2.9 million to address adjustments due to a slight decrease in credit loads and increased costs for high-demand programs such as cybersecurity, film production, and information technology.
TCSG will spend $9.4 million to enhance technical education, reflecting a 3% increase in enrollment credits, and another $643,706 will go toward recruiting efforts to support Georgia's emerging electric vehicle industry.
To increase campus security, $1.9 million will go toward the hiring of 22 new campus police officers. Finally, $71.8 million will go toward capital projects at TCSG institutions to support necessary upgrades and expansions to meet growing student needs and improve facilities. To support infrastructure improvements, $102.8 million will be allocated to capital projects at various USG institutions, with $71.8 million allocated to TCSG institutions.
Kemp's budget veto
Despite the large amount of funding going into education in Georgia, not all of the state legislators' proposals made it to Governor Kemp's desk in this budget.
According to documents, Governor Kemp rejected two proposals that would have provided more state funding directly to the state Department of Education to increase spending on school safety and literacy.
Initially, the state proposed diverting $6 million from the state's general fund to support and develop a special projects program called Regional Educational Service Agencies.
$4 million would support local literacy coaches, $1 million would support grants to 950 school literacy leaders, and $1 million would go toward training local coaches and teachers, to ensure alignment with the recommendations of the Georgia Literacy Council.
An additional $1 million in state general fund funds would have been dedicated to the Department of Education's School Safety Grant Program, which was meant to give local education agencies flexibility to use funds for a variety of school safety needs, including training, equipment and planning, but Governor Kemp vetoed the recommendation.