Georgia school system

From Sunshine Review

Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

The Georgia public school system (prekindergarten-grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards members and superintendents.

The Georgia state constitution requires that the state general assembly provide a "free public education prior to college or postsecondary level." Additionally, the state constitution notes that the required education shall be supported through taxation.[1]

[edit] School revenues, expenditures and budget

See also: Georgia state budget
Georgia's education costs are 58% of the state budget

The total FY 2010 budget is approximately $18.57 billion. Education accounts for approximately $10.79 billion of the total budget, 58.10%. This includes the state department of education, early care, teacher retirement system, the technical college system of Georgia and the university system. The state department of education is appropriated approximately $7.39 billion of the total education budget.[2] [3] The start of FY 2010 (July 1, 2009) did not bring relief from declining revenues and corresponding appropriation revisions as Gov. Sonny Perdue (agreed by legislative leaders to avoid a special session) on July 21, 2009 called on 128,000 teachers to take 3 unpaid furlough days while ordering 3% cuts in Medicaid and education budgets. Most other state agencies were ordered to take 5% cuts and their state personnel to also take 3 unpaid furlough days to cover the new $900 million deficit.[4]

[edit] Personnel salaries

The chart below details the average salary for teachers with 0 to 20 years experience at the lowest diploma/certificate requirements. The statistics cover school years 2002-2003 through 2009-2010. In the 2009-2010 school year, the average salary for a teacher who met the minimum requirements at 0 years experience received $31,586 per year, whereas a teacher who met the minimum requirements with 20 years experience received $45,033 per year.[5]

School year 0 years 5 years 10 years 15 years 20 years
2002-2003[6] $27,650 $30,214 $34,006 $37,159 $39,422
2003-2004[7] $27,650 $30,214 $34,006 $37,159 $39,422
2004-2005[8] $27,650 $30,214 $34,006 $37,159 $39,422
2005-2006[9] $28,767 $31,435 $35,379 $38,659 $41,014
2006-2007[10] $29,918 $32,692 $36,795 $40,207 $42,655
2007-2008[11] $30,816 $33,673 $37,899 $41,413 $43,935
2008-2009[12] $31,586 $34,515 $38,847 $42,448 $45,033
2009-2010[5] $31,586 $34,515 $38,847 $42,448 $45,033

[edit] Role of unions

The main unions related to the Georgia school system are Georgia Association of Educators (GAE), an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA). GAE is the largest education association in the state. For the 2003 tax period GEA had: $8.26 million in total revenue, $8.46 million in total expenses and $4.16 million in total assets.[13] The second largest union is Georgia Federation of Teachers (GFT), an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. For the 2003 tax period GFT had: $ 263,069 in total revenue, $ 288,518 in total expenses and $ 25,521 in total assets.[14]

List of local Georgia school unions:[15]

[edit] Role of school boards

The State Board of Education is responsible for developing educational policies and programs and creating an "opportunity for each public school student to be successful."[16] The board consists of one member from each congressional district in the state - 10 members. All board members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. Board members serve terms of seven years.[17]

Additionally, the board of education is accompanied by a State School Superintendent, also known as the executive officer of the board. The superintendent is elected at the same time as the governor and serves the same term. However, no member of the state board of education is eligible for election as superintendent during the term for which they have been appointed.[18]

[edit] Taxpayer-funded lobbying

See also: Georgia taxpayer-funded lobbying

The main education taxpayer-funded lobbying organization is the Georgia School Boards Association. Another taxpayer-funded lobbying organization is Georgia Association of School Personnel Administrators.

[edit] Transparency

See also: Georgia transparency headlines

The state of Georgia's official spending transparency database, mandated by the Transparency in Government Act of May 2008, was launched in January 2009. The site is available here. However, for education spending the Georgia Public Policy Foundation launched the website - the Georgia Report Card for Parents. The site was first created in 1996. It allows citizens to compare schools in every county in the state on a wealth of factors, including rankings and spending.

[edit] Reports

A 2009 study, Leaders and Laggards, conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for a Competitive Workplace, Frederick M. Hess of the conservative American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, and the Center for American Progress, gave Georgia: "D" in academic achievement; "D" in truth in advertising about student proficiency; "B" in rigor of standards; "D" in post-secondary and workforce readiness; "A" in for its teacher workforce policies; "A" in data quality.[19]

[edit] Academic performance

The chart below details the number of schools that made and did not make the (Adequate Yearly Progress) AYP for school years 2002 through 2009. AYP is used by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) program to determine the academic performance of schools. In the 2008-2009 school year 1,867 schools, approximately 86%, met the federal AYP requirements. However, 374 schools did not meet the standards. Georgia had a total of 2,172 registered schools for the 2008-2009 school year.[20]

School year Met AYP (%) Did not meet AYP (%) Total schools
2002-2003[21] 1,274 63.7% 725 36.3% 1,999
2003-2004[22] 1,614 79.5% 416 20.5% 2,030
2004-2005[23] 1,670 81.9% 370 18.1% 2,040
2005-2006[24] 1,642 79.3% 429 20.7% 2,071
2006-2007[25] 1,726 82.2% 374 17.8% 2,100
2007-2008[26] 1,721 79.9% 432 20.1% 2,153
2008-2009[20] 1,867 86.0% 305 14.0% 2,172

[edit] School choice

School choice options include:

  • Charter schools: in the state of Georgia, the first charter school was established in 1995.[27] Charter schools are public schools that operate independently. However, all charter schools operate on a contract or charter that is approved by the local board of education and the State Board of Education. Although the charter school operate independently, the school must still meet performance-based objectives.[28]
  • Public school open enrollment: the state of Georgia has three open enrollment policies: inter-district (mandatory) and intra-district (both mandatory and voluntary). In other words, students are permitted to enroll in any school within their neighborhood school district or in any alternative district in the state.[29]
  • Online learning: Georgia has a state-led virtual school called the Georgia Virtual School (GAVS).[30] GAVS is a fully accredited program that offers high school level courses and limited middle school courses.[31]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ↑ Georgia State Constitution,"Article VIII, Section 1," retrieved November 16, 2009
  2. ↑ Governor's Office of Planning and Budget,"FY 2010 — AFY 2009 budget," retrieved November 16, 2009
  3. ↑ Georgia Budget & Policy Institute, “Analysis of the FY 2010 Budget: Closing One Year’s Shortfall and Planning for Another,” June 2009 (Updated 7/13/2009)
  4. ↑ Savannah Morning News, "Gov. Perdue calls for furloughs, more budget cuts," July 21, 2009
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Georgia Department of Education,"Teacher Salaries 2009-2010," retrieved November 12, 2009
  6. ↑ Georgia Department of Education,"Teacher Salaries 2002-2003," retrieved November 12, 2009
  7. ↑ Georgia Department of Education,"Teacher Salaries 2003-2004," retrieved November 12, 2009
  8. ↑ Georgia Department of Education,"Teacher Salaries 2004-2005," retrieved November 12, 2009
  9. ↑ Georgia Department of Education,"Teacher Salaries 2005-2006," retrieved November 12, 2009
  10. ↑ Georgia Department of Education,"Teacher Salaries 2006-2007," retrieved November 12, 2009
  11. ↑ Georgia Department of Education,"Teacher Salaries 2007-2008," retrieved November 12, 2009
  12. ↑ Georgia Department of Education,"Teacher Salaries 2008-2009," retrieved November 12, 2009
  13. ↑ Center for Union Facts,"Georgia Association of Educators," retrieved November 12, 2009
  14. ↑ Center for Union Facts,"Georgia Federation of Teachers," retrieved November 12, 2009
  15. ↑ Center for Union Facts,"Georgia teachers unions," retrieved November 12, 2009
  16. ↑ Georgia Department of Education,"State Board of Education," retrieved November 12, 2009
  17. ↑ Georgia Constitution,"Article VIII, Section 2," retrieved November 12, 2009
  18. ↑ Georgia State Constitution,"Article VIII, Section 3," retrieved November 16, 2009
  19. ↑ U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute,"Georgia Education Report Card," retrieved November 16, 2009
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Georgia Department of Education,"FY 2009 AYP report," retrieved November 16, 2009
  21. ↑ Georgia Department of Education,"FY 2003 AYP report," retrieved November 16, 2009
  22. ↑ Georgia Department of Education,"FY 2004 AYP report," retrieved November 16, 2009
  23. ↑ Georgia Department of Education,"FY 2005 AYP report," retrieved November 16, 2009
  24. ↑ Georgia Department of Education,"FY 2006 AYP report," retrieved November 16, 2009
  25. ↑ Georgia Department of Education,"FY 2007 AYP report," retrieved November 16, 2009
  26. ↑ Georgia Department of Education,"FY 2008 AYP report," retrieved November 16, 2009
  27. ↑ Georgia Department of Education,"Georgia Charter History since 1995," retrieved November 12, 2009
  28. ↑ Georgia Department of Education,"About Charter Schools," retrieved November 12, 2009
  29. ↑ Education Commission of the States,"Open Enrollment: 50-State Report," retrieved November 12, 2009
  30. ↑ The Heritage Foundation,"School Choice in Georgia," retrieved November 12, 2009
  31. ↑ Georgia Virtual School,"About," retrieved November 12, 2009
v • d • e
Georgia school system
Retrieved from "http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Georgia_school_system"