Georgia’s school funding model is stuck in the 80s. And it’s time for an update.

Georgia last updated their education funding model the same year the first disposable camera hit market. The Peach State needs another dose of visionary change to address the realities of today’s modern classrooms.

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Georgia last updated their education funding model the same year the first disposable camera hit market: 1986. The Peach State needs another dose of visionary change to address the realities of today’s modern classrooms.

That’s the message ExcelinEd CEO Patricia Levesque shared last week in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In her piece, Levesque explained how Georgia’s current funding formula, Quality Basic Education, is an indecipherable, rigid and outdated system. But a new transparent, flexible and efficient student-based formula is in the works.

This new formula has the potential to bring Georgia into the 21st century and help develop an education system that equips every student for success. Read the excerpt below, or check out the complete article here.

…Tellingly, at least 10 other states are already achieving better results for their students with the same amount or even fewer dollars per student – including neighbors like Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee.­

The new student-based funding approach recommended by Gov. Deal’s Commission provides a guidebook for how Georgia can upgrade its strategic investments in students. The new formula replaces an indecipherable, rigid and outdated system with one that is transparent, flexible and efficient.

The current formula, called Quality Basic Education, is school- or program-based, meaning funding follows programs, classes or staff positions – not students. This makes it difficult to know if students are truly getting the services they need for academic success.

Under the proposed formula, districts would receive a base funding amount for all students, with additional funds provided for students who require more educational services than others to be successful, such as disabled or economically disadvantaged students.

Georgians overwhelmingly support providing extra funding for students in need. For example, our poll showed that 77 percent favor extra funding for children living in poverty…

Read the complete article over at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

 

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