Easy-to-Read Reports

Easy-to-Read Reports Detail the Stark Impact of Cuts on Districts

State budget reductions continue to local school funding. Meanwhile, the numdrive painful cuts at the local school district level. Because Georgia’s public education system is funded by a comber of low-income students has soared, putting additional demands on schools. In its “Cutting Class to Make Ends Meet” Length of School Calendar Number of Districts FY 2009 Number of Districts FY 2013 bination of state, local and federal money, report, GPBI surveyed Georgia school disit can be hard to understand the education tricts for specifics on cuts necessitated by 180+ days 123 40 budget and the impact of state cuts. Two state funding reductions. Respondents com- 175-179 days 13 72 recent reports by the Georgia Budget and prised 140 school districts representing 92.8 170-174 days 4 14 Policy Institute, which is available at www. gbpi.org, paint a clear picture. They are percent of Georgia’s public school students. The findings show schools at a tipping 160-169 days 0 9 essential reading in preparing for the 2014 point. <160 days 0 5 Legislative Session and beyond. • 71 percent of districts have cut the GBPI’s “Schoolhouse Squeeze” details how Georgia’s school districts are struggling against a relentless financial squeeze. State policymakers have cut billions in funding academic year • 95 percent of districts have increased class size since 2009 • 80 percent of districts will furlough Number of Furlough Days Number of Districts for public schools in recent years: Per-pupil teachers during this school year 30 1 state funding has dropped an average of 15.3 • 42 percent of districts have cut or elimi- 10 16 percent over the past 12 years in inflation- nated art and music programs 9 2 adjusted dollars. During that same time, plunging property values have driven down • • 62 percent have eliminated electives and 38 percent have cut programs aimed at 8 8 property tax revenue, the main source of assisting low-performing students. n 7 6

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District Name

Greene County Quitman County Dublin City Baker County Towns County Rabun County Fannin County Putnam County Glynn County Randolph County Baldwin County Vidalia County Talbot County Stewart County Hancock County Miller County McIntosh County Meriwether County Warren County Bulloch County

% Change State Revenue per FTE 2002-2014

-65.5% -38.6% -38.2% -38.1% -36.4% -35.4% -34.7% -34.5% -34.1% -33.9% -33.7% -32.5% -32.4% -32.0% -33.2% -31.9% -31.7% -31.7% -31.5% -31.4%

% Free and Reduced Lunch

72.0% 100.0% 77.2% 100.0% 57.3% 68.6% 63.8% 80.3% 62.9% 90.3% 80.2% 65.7% 89.7% 93.6% 68.7% 73.0% 80.5% 80.8% 100.0% 62.4% 5 4 3 2 21 21 14 7

Furlough days, increased local taxes, dangerously low fund balance, frozen salaries for everyone except state salary professionals, deferred maintenance, aging bus fleet, larger class sizes, longer school day, understaffed school administration, staff development at low ebb, outsourced custodial staff — the list goes on! Pike County

Facts + Stories = A Strong Case

The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute reports feature easy-

n Fact Sheet

to-understand appendixes that allow you to see state funding reductions, dropping property values and school cuts at your local level. Educators, parents and local business leaders can use the GBPI data and personal stories to powerfully communicate with each other, with state policymakers and with candidates seeking elected offices.

Douglas County Schools Superintendent Dr. Gordon Pritz, for example, gleaned local data from the GBPI reports to make a strong case about school funding cuts to the local media. The Douglas County Sentinel, in turn, published a Nov. 19, 2013, front-page article titled “School system could face $13.8M shortfall next year.” Drawing from the reports, the article stated, “the Legislature has underfunded schools every year since 2003. Douglas County Schools have been shorted $113.6 million over that 10-year stretch.” According to Pritz, the GBPI reports hit the nail on the head when it comes to demonstrating the impact of funding cuts.

When Georgia House and Senate Education committee members held legislative listening sessions across the state in fall 2013, PAGE shared the GBPI data with legislators. Moreover, local educators and school board members combined regionspecific GBPI data with stories about the impact of cuts on their schools. Educators painted a picture of school communities rising to serve the needs of students in the face of budget challenges. It is our hope that these stories will compel legislators to rethink maintaining state budget reductions. Public The GBPI education advocates must reports hit the continue to share such stories with state policymakers and nail on the head encourage reversal of harmwhen it comes to ful funding reductions. PAGE encourages all of demonstrating you to discuss the 2014 agenthe impact of da and share your school and district’s personal stories with funding cuts. legislators at PAGE Day on — Douglas County Schools Superintendent Dr. Gordon Pritz Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Feb. 18. The event kicks off with breakfast at the state capitol, followed by meetings with key legislators. Later in the day, you will meet with your district’s House and Senate members and have lunch with them at the “Top of the Slop” in the Sloppy Floyd building, across the street from the capitol.

Some may stand to gain by painting a picture of Georgia’s public school system as a failing endeavor. These grim portraits are a disservice to educators and the students they serve. Instead of allowing others to do it for them, supporters of public education must tell our own stories. These stories are those of school success and student progress in the face of increasing challenges. As the 2014 legislative session progresses and the upcoming election season nears, sharing these stories is more important than ever.

100 Edgewood Avenue, Suite 950, Atlanta, GA 30303 | Ph: 404.420.1324 | Fax: 404.420.1329 | www.gbpi.org ThouGhTFul ANAlySiS, rESPoNSiblE Policy Tax Shift Proposals Would Hurt Georgia Schools by Wesley Tharpe, Policy Analyst Plans to drastically cut or abolish state income taxes and replace them with higher sales taxes are gaining traction in Georgia. These tax shift plans threaten to harm Georgia’s schoolchildren and university students because deep income tax cuts would likely lead to new rounds of state budget cuts, on top of those already enacted in recent years. income tax cuts could lead to education funding cuts. Georgia state lawmakers approved $7.4 billion for local school districts, $1.9 billion for universities and $306 million for technical colleges in the 2014 budget year. Personal and corporate income taxes account for more than half of Georgia’s total tax revenue. Supporters of tax shift legislation say higher sales taxes could replace the revenue lost from deep income tax cuts, but evidence from other states says otherwise. A tax shift plan recently passed in North carolina will cost more than $700 million per year once fully implemented. lawmakers there are slashing funding for textbooks, teachers in the lower grades and support for the state’s universities as a result. Public school children are already squeezed by deep cuts. Georgia state lawmakers are currently underfunding K-12 education by $1 billion per year. State lawmakers are supposed to fund K-12 schools through the Quality basic Education (QbE) formula, which weights factors such as district-level student enrollment and local property tax revenue. Georgia has underfunded this education formula since 2002 by a total of $7.6 billion, resulting in larger class sizes, teacher furloughs and shortened school calendars. State support for Georgia’s pre-K program has fallen 22 percent since 2009. About 8,000 Georgia families are on a waiting list for the pre-K program. Declining state support putting college education out of reach. Georgia’s per student funding for higher education fell to $4,777 in 2013 from $11,278 in 2001, adjusted for inflation. Colleges responded to the cuts by eliminating courses, increasing class sizes and raising tuition to ever-higher levels. The average tuition at Georgia four-year universities soared 63 percent from 2008 to 2013. Drastic income tax cuts would worsen these trends by further eroding Georgia’s ability to raise revenue needed to support higher education. Endangering education would weaken Georgia’s economy. States with a stronger commitment to funding public education are better able to attract high-wage employers, which give well-educated workers the chance to earn a better income and enjoy a higher quality of life. More than half of economic development professionals say improving public education should be Georgia’s No. 1 priority in order to strengthen the state’s economy for the long-term, according to a recent survey. reckless income tax cuts would inflict even more damage to Georgia schools already squeezed by years of underfunding. The result will be a state with diminished ability to add good jobs, attract new businesses and provide graduates with the opportunities they need in today’s knowledge-based economy. For more information download GbPi’s full report, “Tax Shift Plans Threaten Georgia’s Future.” higher poverty rates in Georgia’s rural counties mean rural communities will be disproportionately left out of new Georgia Public Schools Decimated by State Cuts Share of surveyed districts with select characteristics Source: “cutting class to Make Ends Meet,” Georgia budget & Policy 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Increasing Class Size Since 2009 Furloughing Teachers This YearCutting School Calendar to Below 180 DaysReducing or Eliminating Art or Music 42% 71% 80% 95% GEORGIA BUDGET PRIMER 2014 Education in Georgia: Growing Expectations, Shrinking State Investment The $9.7 billion Georgia is investing in education in 2014 accounts for more than half of all state expenses. Elementary and secondary education make up $7.4 billion of Georgia’s education funding. Georgia’s investment in its students is falling even as its expectations of what they will accomplish are rising. For years the Legislature has cut funding for PreKindergarten and elementary and secondary schools as well as for technical colleges and universities. At the same time, state leaders—recognizing the essential role of education in developing a workforce that will foster a strong Georgia economy—have laid out ambitious goals for students at all levels. Those goals will be harder to meet without additional investments in Pre-K, schools and colleges. In K-12, student achievement goals rise each year under the state’s accountability system. In addition, Georgia is ramping up its expectations of student performance in math and English under the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards. In higher education, the state wants to significantly increase the number of students who earn a diploma, a certificate or a degree as outlined in the Complete College Georgia initiative. It is also shifting to a system that funds colleges and universities based on the number of students who finish their programs of study. This new approach ends the link between enrollment and funding. Beginning in 2015, institutions will receive additional funding when they meet graduation goals, not when enrollment increases. Helping students learn more and complete their studies at all levels is essential. Sixty percent of all jobs in the state will require postsecondary study by 2020 and Georgia is a long way from offering a workforce that can meet this demand. That requires adequate funding, something few educators have today after years of budget cuts. OverviewGeorgia’s public schools are at a tipping point. School districts are coping with state funding cuts in recent years by shrinking the school calendar, increasing class sizes and furloughing teachers. A new survey of school districts by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI) finds school systems throughout the state struggling to provide a quality education to the state’s children, having exhausted nearly all ways to compensate for billions of dollars of lost state financial support. Among the survey’s key findings: • Seventy-one percent of districts responding to the survey have cut the school calendar to fewer than the standard 180 days. More than 95 percent of districts have increased class size since 2009. • Eighty percent of districts will furlough teachers this year. The majority are slashing funding for professional development. • About 42 percent of districts are reducing or eliminating art or music programs and 62 percent are eliminating elective courses. More than 38 percent are cutting back on programs that help low-performing students. • Thirty-five districts are spending 40 percent or more on transportation now than in 2009. Thirty-eight districts raised local tax rates in the past year to offset the combined financial pressure of increased expenses and deep state budget cuts. These changes will likely result in less time for teachers to give individual attention to students. The lost opportunity to develop through academic and extracurricular activities will likely hurt chances for students to succeed in higher education and in the workforce. For Georgia, the consequence may be a workforce that does not attract high-growth, high-wage industries and is left with diminished ability to grow them from within. Cutting expenses to compensate for dwindling state funding is shaping districts’ decisions and is a distraction from a focus on meeting the ambitious postsecondary graduation goals state leaders have set. This report traces the consequences of the cuts in state funding. It is a companion piece to “The Schoolhouse Squeeze,” a September 2013 GBPI report that assesses the combined strain of recent cuts in state funding with the lessened ability of local districts to compensate for the loss. Policy Report Cutting Class to Make Ends Meet By Claire Suggs, Senior Education Policy Analyst