School Funding Measures Pass

By Walter C. Jones
Morris News Service
The Augusta Chronicle
February 2, 2010

ATLANTA --- Six bills passed easily Tuesday that are designed to provide flexibility to local school districts struggling with skimpy state appropriations and tight budgets.

The Senate passed a measure to allow districts to use textbook funds to purchase less-expensive digital alternatives, from electronic books to compact discs that can be read on computers.

The House passed five bills to relax some funding laws, such as a provision that had denied special middle-school funds to small districts that couldn't afford to move their classes from existing buildings so that sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders were all housed in the same building.

House Bill 906 drew the most objections, mostly from supporters of teachers who argued that it would help administrators at the expense of educators. The bill, which passed 136-33, moves the deadline for issuing annual employment contracts to teachers from April 15 to May 15 during each of the next three years.

Last year, the Legislature moved the deadline to May just for 2009 because cash-strapped school boards had no idea how much money they would have available until the General Assembly passed a budget and the governor signed it.

But Rep. Mark Hatfield, R-Waycross, said it's not fair to teachers who must look for another job if they don't learn until May that they are being laid off.

What is needed is a tax increase, said Rep. David Lucas, D-Macon, so that teachers could be secure in their jobs.

"We need revenue," he said.

A revenue bill along the lines many school board members have requested was introduced Tuesday by Rep. Mark Butler, R-Carrollton.

House Bill 1051 would allow school boards to institute a sales tax with the proceeds used to roll back education property taxes. While the bill as introduced would not create new revenue, it would provide some relief to property owners and reduce some political pressure.

Butler said he is considering changing it so that school systems would be able to keep 10 percent of the sales tax as additional revenue, with the balance going to roll back property taxes.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/education/2010-02-02/school-funding-measures-pass?v=1265155413

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