State of the State: Georgia teacher pay raises, education reform delayed a year

ATLANTA — In his annual State of the State address to Georgia lawmakers on Wednesday, Gov. Nathan Deal said teachers will be seeing pay increases, but that reforms recommended by a committee he appointed to create a blueprint for Georgia public education will not be implemented until the 2017 session of the General Assembly.

“Because of the magnitude of the recommendations contained in the report, some statutory changes will be necessary to implement them fully,” Deal told state legislators. “Other recommendations can be achieved through the budgetary process. As an example, my proposed budget provides funds to implement a new compensation model for our Pre-K programs in order to retain lead teachers, increase assistant teacher salaries and maintain classroom quality. The Pre-K budget recommendation is in excess of $358 million, which includes $26.2 million for salary increases and an additional $7.9 million for a 3 percent merit pay increase.”

Deal said last summer a committee was given an extension from the August reporting date until Dec. 18, less than the year extension requested by legislators on the education funding subcommittee, because he wanted members of the General Assembly this session to be able to conduct a “full review” of the recommendations.

“My budget next year will include funding to implement my recommendations and those of the Education Reform Commission,” the governor said. “This will provide ample time to vet the full report. It is important that we get this right. It is also important that, in the meantime, the debate be conducted in good faith and that your recommendations be based on facts and not rhetoric.”

Deal said that he and his wife have visited a number of Georgia public schools and have been impressed by the students and the dedication of school teachers and officials.

“As we continue to discuss the recommendations of the Education Reform Commission, it is important for teachers and administrators to know that just because we are examining ways to more appropriately allocate taxpayer dollars and put in place different models to achieve better education results, it does not mean that you are not appreciated,” he said. “Just as a sailor should not be insulted when someone repairs a leak in his boat and replaces his oars with a motor, neither should our teachers take offense when we try to do the metaphorical equivalent for them.”

Deal said he understands that factors outside teachers’ control impact test scores and graduation rates.

“Over the past five years, members of this General Assembly and I have shown our appreciation for our teachers by making public education a priority, and we will do so again this year by appropriating an additional $300 million for k-12 education, which is more than is required to give teachers a 3 percent pay raise,” he said, adding the money would be distributed under the current QBE formula and that it was the state’s intention for local boards to use the money for teacher pay.

Noting that last year the state jettisoned the graduation exam, Deal said he wants the state Department of Education and local school systems to take another look at their testing.

“If a test is not necessary to advance and tailor instruction, it should be eliminated,” Deal said. “I do not suggest that tests should be abolished simply because the results might be embarrassing. In fact, it is those tests that pinpoint areas in need of remediation. But tests that are duplicative and do not enhance educational achievement should be abolished.”

Noting that 74,000 Georgia pupils are forced to attend “chronically failing” schools, Deal expressed confidence that voters this year will approve the Opportunity School District Constitutional Amendment, and “help us trim our sails in order to overcome this vicious wind of chronic failure.”

On other topics in his state budget proposal, Deal noted:

— Entitlement spending is increasing, leaving the discretionary portion of the state budget at about 17 percent;

— Rising health care costs “continue to be a major factor.” In the State Health Benefit Plan, Georgia currently contributes $842 million for health care coverage for state employees and is paying more than $1 billion for the employer share of health insurance for teachers in FY 2015;

— The cost of the state’s Medicaid program and its growing rolls has grown from $2.6 billion in FY 2013 to $3.1 billion in FY 2017, an increase of 15.7 percent;

— Paperwork in FY 2017 required by the Affordable Care Act will cost the state $2.1 million, with the total reaching $4.4 million when the cost of federal dollars is added. “I can assure you that those funds could have been put to better use than on bureaucratic paperwork,” Deal said.;

— Over the next 18 months, about 60 percent of the user fees from House Bill 170 passed last year will be used to repair and maintain existing infrastructure, with the remaining 40 percent to be used for new infrastructure investment;

— State employees are being budgeted for a 3 percent pay raise, in part to help drop the high turnover rate many state agencies are experiencing.

Deal said he was optimistic that things were headed in the right direction.

“Although the vicious winds of the Great Recession have battered our Ship of State over the past five years, those winds have almost subsided and are now blowing in the right direction,” he said.