Day 31: '14 Budget Zooming11882 on 3/11/2013
 The Senate passed HB 101, redefining "food service establishment" to remove certain activities such as booster club concession stands from it. It goes back to the House for agreement with the Senate changes.  The House spent its day making political points to each other over local legislation.
 
There was a lot of fast action on the '14 budget today.  Subcommittees met this morning to vote their budgets out to the full Committee which voted it out unchanged this afternoon.  It immediately went to the Rules Committee and will be on the House floor tomorrow.  Are they ready to finish this session or what? 
 
Changes to the Budget
The House made many of the same changes to the '14 budget that they did in the supplemental.  Here are a few highlights:
  • Cuts to agricultural education, career/technical education, school nutrition, and RESAs were reduced from the Governor's recommendations. 
  • The House again maintained the sparsity grants as a separate program. 
  • The House eliminated the planning grants for charter schools and funded charter systems as directed by HB 283, which is over in the Senate.  The amount for the supplemental grants to state charters is again not listed separately. 
  • The House increased the amount to implement the changes recommended by the Education Finance Study Commission to funding counselors, nurses, professional development, and holding harmless small systems in transferring the central office operations funding to classroom technology.
  • The forestland protection grants were cut by almost $112,000 "to align the budget with expenditures."  Interesting wording, as it does not say the reduction is to align the budget to actual costs. 
  • There are bonds for a variety of K-12 programs including $25 million for buses, $7 million for technology infrastructure upgrades, $3.6 million for vocational equipment, and the capital outlay categories. 

Except for that eternal $1.1 billion cut to QBE, the education budget looks better than it has in a while.  House Appropriations Chairman Terry England said it's the first time equalization has been fully funded in five or six years.

 
The document tracking the changes to the budget is here and education starts on page 30. 
 
Remember the final GSBA/GSSA Legislative Site Visit tomorrow at 9 AM in 450 CAP!


UPCOMING SCHEDULE
 
Tuesday, March 12th
The House will convene at 1 PM; the Senate at 10 AM
8 AM Senate Education & Youth Academic Support Subcommittee will meet in 310 CLOB to hear the following:
  • HB 115, amending the provisions on local board hearings before the State Board
  • HB 116, relating to donations to the Georgia Foundation for Public Education
  • HB 284, the Return to Play Act
  • HB 350, relating to Early Care and Learning
2 PM or upon adjournment House Education Committee will meet in 506 CLOB to hear SB 115, relating to the performance data for students in residential centers; and SB 212, requiring CPR as part of the health and PE course.
2 PM Senate Education & Youth Committee will meet in 307 CLOB.  Agenda TBA
4 PM Georgia Legislative Black Caucus hearng on school accreditation will be held in 403 CAP