On this twenty-seventh day of the 2009 session of the Georgia General Assembly, key action was taken by the Senate as they gave their approval to the Senate version of the FY2009 Amended Budget. As is usually the case, the Senate version differed in some respects from the House version, and a conference committee of senators and representatives will meet to hammer out the differences before this budget gains final General Assembly approval. One thing on which they agree (and for which the K-12 education community should be thankful) is that approximately $145 million of the federal stimulus money should be included to lessen the negative impact of what would otherwise be $374 million in austerity cuts during the current fiscal year. Unfortunately, the battle over these funds is not over, as Superintendent Kathy Cox announced to superintendents on this morning that the Governor had decided to use the federal stimulus funds only in the FY2010 and FY2011 budgets. Concern over the negative impact of such a decision has already been shared with legislative leaders, and readers of this site who also question this decision are urged to contact lawmakers to make their opinions known.
Over on the House side of the Capitol, approval was given to HB 400, the BRIDGE bill calling for graduation plans for all students and for increased technical and career-focused education for schools and systems that apply for and receive “reform grants” (for which there is no money in the budgets). The House did agree with the Senate on a new calendar for their legislative work, this version having them finished with their 40th day on Friday, April 3. Capitol-watchers only hope that they stick to that schedule!!
Committee meetings are popping up all over the place these days, as both the Senate and the House scramble to get bills heard and approved by committees so that they at least have a chance to get onto a chamber calendar. [Editor’s note: This is the time of a session when that old metaphor of “watching sausage get made” kicks in, and sometimes it is not pretty!] Early on this particular morning, Rep. Tom Dickson (R-Cohutta) convened his Academic Support Subcommittee of the House Education Committee to hear testimony and act on four bills. HB 547 (would give tenth-grade students the option of having the state pay for the PLAN test in lieu of the PSAT) received a unanimous “do pass” from the subcommittee; HB 336 (seeks an extension of the testing window for state testing) was moved forward to the full committee without a recommendation; and, HB 524 (deals with attendance and truancy issues) and HB 503 (the “Teacher Access to Resources Act) were held for future meetings of the subcommittee.
In the afternoon, the Charter Schools Subcommittee of the House Education Committee held a brief meeting to continue discussion on HB 555, with a particular focus on a part of the bill that had sparked the most discussion in a previous meeting: section (h). Ultimately, a compromise was reached, and language acceptable to charter supporters and advocates of local systems was agreed upon. The bill moved forward with a unanimous “do pass” recommendation.
Later, the full House Education Committee convened, and “do pass” recommendations were given to the following:
• HB 547 – the bill giving students the PSAT/PLAN option
• HB 555 – the charter school facilities use bill
• HB 455 – would extend the certified employee contract deadline date for 2008-09 until May 15
• HB 243 – ends the supplements for teachers earning National Board certification, but only after “grandfathering” in current certificate holders. [Editor’s note: Provisions of this bill make it abundantly clear that the supplements are “subject to appropriation by the General Assembly.”]
Action on HB 336 was postponed until the committee’s next meeting.
This report would not be complete without some comment on the conference call held this morning between Superintendent Kathy Cox, her staff, and local system personnel. The focus of the two-hour conference call was the use of funds associated with the federal stimulus package, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). To no one’s surprise, since details are still emerging from Washington, there were probably more questions than answers. It does appear, however, that the funds that will come to systems through Title I and IDEA allocations will not be used to provide “relief” so much as they will be made available for additional spending on those programs. Questions abounded about supplanting issues, proper and improper uses of the funds, length of time over which the funds should be allocated, etc., etc., etc. As answers to these and other questions come, additional communications should be expected from DOE. Stay tuned!
The General Assembly will gather for Day # 28 on Monday, March 9. That day is also the GSBA/GSSA Day at the Capitol, a time during which local system leaders can corner their representatives and senators in Atlanta to express opinions, make cases, etc. Senator Eric Johnson, the legislature’s chief voucher advocate, will address the group. It should be an interesting day! |