AJC: Schools bristle as Perdue holds to austerity cuts
The following are not my words. But this much is. I think it sucks how Gov. Perdue gives teachers an election year token meager raise on one hand and still has a horribly low budget for public schools in Georgia.
AJC: “Schools Bristle as Perdue holds to austerity cuts”
Perdue cuts schools by another $170 million in this year’s budget
(Atlanta) The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s article “Schools bristle as Perdue holds to austerity cuts” reported today that, “Gov. Sonny Perdue is continuing to cut funding to schools, despite highly touted plans for focusing on the classroom in the final year of his first term.” Georgia educators expressed outrage that the Perdue administration is still falling far short of its obligation to provide adequate resources to our schools. This year’s cuts are in addition to previous cuts made during each year of Perdue’s administration. The Perdue cuts to our schools now total over $1.25 billion. [Gutierrez, “Schools bristle as Perdue holds to austerity cuts,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/13/2006]
Gov. Perdue’s budget “includes a $169.7 million ‘temporary reduction’ to the state's basic funding formula for schools, a per-pupil amount that systems use to subsidize such necessities as transportation, staff development and teacher salaries.” [Gutierrez, “Schools bristle as Perdue holds to austerity cuts,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/13/2006]
See below for excerpts from today’s article “Schools bristle as Perdue holds to austerity cuts”:
- "Oh, no! Oh, no! ... Oh God, no!" exclaimed Margaret Coleman, chief financial officer for Atlanta Public Schools. "That's money that's due the local districts, and it's money that we could certainly use."
- While the hit is significantly less than the $332.8 million withheld from systems this year and last year, local school officials were disappointed to learn the formula cuts are continuing when state revenue currently is up 8.2 percent.
- But his staff declined to explain why the cuts are continuing in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
- As a result, fewer crossing guards are patrolling school zones; purchases of textbooks, computers and buses have been delayed; class sizes have grown; and local property taxes for education have climbed.
- But some quickly lost their enthusiasm when they learned he was not fully funding the state formula for education. "They cut us to the bone last year, and this year they're planning to cut some more?" asked Merchuria Chase Williams, president of the 40,000-member Georgia Association of Educators. "We're not happy to hear that."
AJC: “Schools Bristle as Perdue holds to austerity cuts”
Perdue cuts schools by another $170 million in this year’s budget
(Atlanta) The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s article “Schools bristle as Perdue holds to austerity cuts” reported today that, “Gov. Sonny Perdue is continuing to cut funding to schools, despite highly touted plans for focusing on the classroom in the final year of his first term.” Georgia educators expressed outrage that the Perdue administration is still falling far short of its obligation to provide adequate resources to our schools. This year’s cuts are in addition to previous cuts made during each year of Perdue’s administration. The Perdue cuts to our schools now total over $1.25 billion. [Gutierrez, “Schools bristle as Perdue holds to austerity cuts,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/13/2006]
Gov. Perdue’s budget “includes a $169.7 million ‘temporary reduction’ to the state's basic funding formula for schools, a per-pupil amount that systems use to subsidize such necessities as transportation, staff development and teacher salaries.” [Gutierrez, “Schools bristle as Perdue holds to austerity cuts,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/13/2006]
See below for excerpts from today’s article “Schools bristle as Perdue holds to austerity cuts”:
- "Oh, no! Oh, no! ... Oh God, no!" exclaimed Margaret Coleman, chief financial officer for Atlanta Public Schools. "That's money that's due the local districts, and it's money that we could certainly use."
- While the hit is significantly less than the $332.8 million withheld from systems this year and last year, local school officials were disappointed to learn the formula cuts are continuing when state revenue currently is up 8.2 percent.
- But his staff declined to explain why the cuts are continuing in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
- As a result, fewer crossing guards are patrolling school zones; purchases of textbooks, computers and buses have been delayed; class sizes have grown; and local property taxes for education have climbed.
- But some quickly lost their enthusiasm when they learned he was not fully funding the state formula for education. "They cut us to the bone last year, and this year they're planning to cut some more?" asked Merchuria Chase Williams, president of the 40,000-member Georgia Association of Educators. "We're not happy to hear that."
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