Since neither the House nor the Senate spent a great deal of time in session on this third day of the 2012 session of the Georgia General Assembly, and since the State Board of Education spent a lengthy amount of time in executive session, a little time was available for Capitol-watchers to look at Governor Deal's budget proposals for the FY12 Amended Budget and for the FY13 Budget.  There still isn't much money to go around, so that perusal didn't require a great deal of time.  Here are the highlights/lowlights:

• As most veteran Capitol-watchers had thought, the Governor's statement that there would be "no reductions in QBE or in equalization grants" simply meant that there would be no ADDITIONAL reductions in those two items.  The austerity cuts that have become a way of life since 2003 will continue, and the amount allotted to equalization grants for FY2013 will remain the SAME DOLLAR AMOUNT as was allotted in FY2012.  For information, the amount used as the local five mill share will remain unchanged for FY2013, also, and it still exceeds the "no more than 20% of QBE" amount mandated in law.
• The $55.8 million included in the FY2013 Budget for teacher training and experience IS NOT, as some media outlets have reported, an across-the-board raise for teachers.  That amount is simply what is needed to fund increased levels of training and experience on the teacher salary schedule.
• Some areas saw additions, such $8.7 million for state special charter schools and $3.7 million for the school nurse program.  In addition, $3 million was included in the FY13 Budget to continue paying early-career math and science teachers according to HB280, and the Governor announced $1.6 million for a "reading mentor" program for children in early grades (For reasons that are not clear, this initiative was included in the budget of the Governor's Office of Student Achievement.).
• The 2% cuts to pupil transportation, nurses, and school nutrition that are included in the FY2012 Amended Budget simply reflect the 2% hold back of those funds that has been occurring since the beginning of this fiscal year.
• There are 2% cuts to many other programs, including Ag Education, charter schools, GYSTC, and even RESA's.
• The strangest change of all is in the FY2013 Budget, where funds for school nutrition ($15.8 million), pupil transportation ($127.7 million), and school nurses ($30.1 million) were "zeroed out" as separate line items and transferred to the QBE program.  [Editor's note:  When pressed for an explanation for this transfer, staff of the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget said that this would provide more "flexibility" for systems to use this money as they best saw fit.  It was pointed out to them that the aforementioned "flexibility" on these funds already existed, since there were no expenditure controls on these funds in their present form.  OPB staff persisted and maintained that putting these items into the formula, while still calculating them the same way and while even maintaining them as separate, identifiable lines on the QBE allotment sheets, would provide more "flexibility" for systems.  Perhaps, over time, it will become clearer how this will provide additional flexibility.]

Well, so much for the budget.  As is customary at this time of any session, a virtual avalanche of new legislation is being introduced.  It often seems that virtually every legislator has a pet education issue that he/she wants to address through legislation, and 2012 is certainly no exception.  As interesting as the legislation can be, it is often just as educational to pay attention to just which legislator is sponsoring a bill or bills.  So, summarized by GSSA today (Click on the bill number to read GSSA's summary of the bill and/or to read the full text of the legislation and see the names of the sponsors of the bill.) are:

• Sponsored by the well-known Senate Majority Leader, Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock), SB 289 (would require all students to complete at least one on-line course and would impose a number of technology-related requirements on schools and systems), SB 38 (already passed the General Assembly and gives the state superintendent hiring and firing power at DOE), SR 646 (a resolution dealing with the digital learning opportunities addressed in SB289), and SR 663 (a resolution urging support for something known as the "Reading for Learning" program).
• Sponsored by Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Jack Hill (R-Reidsville), SB 291 would transfer funding responsibility for the pre-K program from the lottery to the general budget of the state.
• House Retirement Committee chairman Howard Maxwell (R-Dallas) sponsors HB 651, which seeks to repeal the part of the statute that gives charter systems extra funds (approximately $100 per student).
• Representative Ed Setzler (R-Acworth) sponsors HB 654 (but, pay close attention to the co-signers on the bill!), which would "permit" local boards of education to provide "grants" from local taxes to pay for students to attend private schools [Editor's note:  Does the private school stuff ever cease????].
• HB 662, co-sponsored (once again) by Rep. Judy Manning (R-Marietta) and Rep. Barbara Massey Reece (D-Menlo), reprises their earlier attempts to have enacted the "Blind Literacy and Educational Rights" bill.
• Rep. Keith Heard (D-Athens) wants to see HB 661 enacted, which would require that charter school teachers meet the same certification requirements as teachers in regular public schools.
• HB 692, sponsored by Rep. Billy Mitchell (D-Stone Mountain), seeks to require that educators return any bonuses earned via student test scores if those scores are found to have been obtained through cheating.
• Rep. Billy Horne (R-Sharpsburg), through HB 692, seeks to have it made legal for former school board members (those who have served 12 years or more) to still be eligible for health insurance through the local board.

Based on the sponsors and the issues involved, make your own decisions about which of these are viable bills as the 2012 session moves forward.  Day four is set for Thursday, January 12.