Following yesterday's surprise House subcommittee approval of a school start date bill (HB 1027), Capitol-watchers eagerly anticipated a full House Education Committee hearing on the bill on this, the twenty-fourth day of the 2010 session of the Georgia General Assembly.  And, that day's wait did make a difference.  But, more on that later.....

Late on this afternoon, Governor Perdue held a press conference to officially do what many had anticipated:  revise downward his revenue estimate for the FY2011 Budget.  News reports of a continuing fall in state revenue made this announcement rather anticlimactic, and the true devil of the new cuts is in the details.  To no one's surprise, Governor Perdue will cover additional cuts to the FY2010 Amended Budget by pulling ARRA funds that had been set aside for use in FY2011 back into this year's budget, creating in itself a bigger hole in the education budget (and, others) in FY2011.  In addition, a new cut of some $300 million to the FY2011 Budget will be shared by K-12 education, with a bottom line deduction that is still to be determined.  The Governor outlined his recommended cuts in a letter to Representative Ben Harbin and Senator Jack Hill (the respective chairs of the appropriations committees), and a copy of that letter has been sent to local superintendents.  It is filled with numbers that cannot be deciphered without a more complete look at how those figures line up with already-recommended cuts, so a more detailed analysis of how the new cuts will affect K-12 education must wait until next week.

Now, back to the action at the Capitol.  Since the Senate and House did not convene until the afternoon of this twenty-fourth day, committee meetings held sway during the morning hours.  The scene of one of those meetings was in Room 506 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building (known as "CLOB") where Chairman Brooks Coleman (R-Duluth) convened the House Education Committee to act on several bills.  Acted upon were:

• A substitute to HB 936, allowing local school systems to use bus replacement funds to refurbish buses already in their fleets.  This bill received a unanimous "do pass" recommendation from the committee and now goes to the House Rules Committee to be considered for placement on a future House debate calendar.
• A substitute to HB 1100, now "stripped down" from its original form to do two things:  (1) eliminate first and second grade CRCT's, and (2) allow the DOE to waive the administration of certain tests in years when the General Assembly fails to appropriate enough funds to pay for those tests.  This bill received a "do pass" recommendation by a vote of 14-5
• A substitute to HB 1130 which, in addition to providing expenditure control relief, seeks to provide class size relief by allowing one additional student to be added to classes in grades K-5 and two in grades 6-12.  [Editor's note:  The impassioned debate over these tiny class size increases is a continuing sign that lawmakers still do not realize the true impact of the massive budget cuts that are on the horizon.  The class sizes in this bill will work, but only if the school year is reduced to about 160 days!  Arithmetic, not calculus.]  This bill finally received a 14-5 "do pass" vote, but a "minority report" will be filed in protest.
• HB 1307, which would eliminate the 10 PLU recertification requirements for professional educators for a five-year period (amended to included the elimination of the computer skills competency test), received a unanimous "do pass."
• HR 1485, a resolution urging the Professional Standards Commission to create a task force to review the effectiveness of recertification requirements, received a unanimous "do pass."
• HB 1097, the third-week-of-August school start date bill, was discussed and debated in the last part of the meeting, and the rhetoric became heated and somewhat contentious.  In the end, the House Education Committee defeated a "do pass" motion by a vote of 18-3, thus failing to advance this bill past the committee level.

In the Senate on this afternoon, a long-anticipated bill seeking to make the property tax assessment and appeal process more user-friendly was presented (SB 346) by its sponsor, Majority Leader Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock).  The "debate" felt more like a "lovefest," and the bill ultimately passed the Senate by a 54-0 vote.  It now moves across the hall to the House for their consideration and possible action.

Over in the House, which held a lengthier session, three bills of interest to education-watchers were on the docket.  Passing the House were two of them:  HB 1013 (would require local boards of education to make annual reports of SPLOST expenditures in a manner identical to that required of cities and counties) and HB 1079 (requires the Professional Standards Commission to accept credit and debit cards as methods of payment for certification fees charged to teachers).  A more contentious debate surrounded HB 927, which was intended by its author to "tighten" definitions contained in bullying statutes, but as the argument heated up, the bill was tabled.  [Editor's note:  This bill, though one that directly affects schools and children, was argued in the Judiciary-Non Civil Committee of the House.  Observers wondered if it might have been better assigned to the House Education Committee where its full effect could have been analyzed by legislators more familiar with the world of public education.]

The General Assembly continues to string out the 2010 session, and they will now be in recess until Tuesday, March 16, when they will convene for their twenty-fifth day.  They will be in session for only three days that week.  Stay tuned.