To no one's surprise, the second day of the 2009 session of the Georgia General Assembly was a short one.  Both the House and the Senate were in and out of session in less than an hour as "start up" activities dominate the early days of the session.

The real interest on this day, though, was not at the Capitol, but at the Georgia World Congress Center.  It was at this venue that the Georgia Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual "Eggs and Issues" breakfast and at which the speakers were Governor Perdue, Lieutenant Governor Cagle, and House Speaker Glenn Richardson.  The first hints at education legislation favored by these leaders were dropped during their remarks.

It was interesting to learn of Governor Perdue's 2009 education priorities, for most of the pre-session publicity surrounding his agenda had understandably focused on the budget difficulties that lie ahead.  Other than the budget and transportation issues, little had been written or said about just what the state's chief executive considered "top priority" in the coming session.  His education agenda is no longer a secret, though, as the Governor announced his support for the following:

• Legislation creating a new "incentive pay program" for high school principals, said program to consist of a $10,000 bonus for those high school principals whose schools meet specified achievement goals.  [Editor's note:  Media outlets have reported this as a potential incentive program for all principals, but Governor Perdue clearly referenced only "high school principals" in his remarks.]
• Legislation creating a merit pay program for teachers.  No details were provided by the Governor on this, but this proposal is consistent with one of several recommendations made by the joint House-Senate Study Committee on Teacher Certification and Training that just completed its work in late December.
• A change in the teacher pay scale to compensate math and science teachers at a higher level.  This is also a position favored by the aforementioned study committee, one which recommends that beginning math and science teachers, along with any who are at a pay step lower than the fifth-year step on the pay schedule, be moved immediately to step five and advance from there.
• Legislation dealing with school boards.  The Governor alluded to "school board qualifications" in his remarks, and he specifically stated that he wanted legislation creating the ability of the state to "step in when the adults in a community put their interests ahead of the best interests of the students."

Lieutenant Governor Cagle limited most of his remarks to budget and transportation issues, and Speaker Richardson made it clear that his ideas about transportation funding differed somewhat from those of the Lieutenant Governor.  The Speaker did indicate his support for a 2009 version of the BRIDGE bill, an education bill that failed at the finish line in 2008 and which focuses on career and technical education.  It is not believed that the initial 2009 version of the BRIDGE bill will be the same as the one that finished the 2008 session, and education-watchers are anxious to get their hands on the new version so as to judge its merits.

Bills are beginning to drop, and long-time readers of this site will know that education bills will be introduced in big numbers in the coming days.  As the bills are introduced and read for the first time in each chamber, GSSA will continue to summarize the content of them and post those summaries on this site.  Day 3 of the 2009 session comes on Wednesday, January 14.