Memorandum from Mary Kay Murphy
Mary Kay Murphy, Ph.D. District 3  School Board Member marykaymurphy@aol.com

January 11, 2006

   After appointing an Education Funding Task Force for Public Schools in Georgia over a year ago, Governor Sonny Perdue advanced his support of statewide public education early in this session of the Georgia General Assembly with proposals that we will want to follow carefully. The following are highlights of Governor Perdue’s key education proposals:

   • $217 million for a 4 percent teacher pay raise. In addition, the State will pay the entire increase in health care with no employee premium increases, a cost of $138 million.
   • $163 million for K-8 class size reductions; funds are to cover the associated costs. A “Truth in Class Size” initiative will require that there be no more than the following in each class:
- 18 in kindergarten (down 2 from 20)
- 21 in 1-3 (down 2 from 23)
- 28 in 4-6 (down 4 from 32)
- 28 in 6-8 (down 4 from 32)
   • $383 million in bonds for school construction, $50 million more for school buses, and an additional $14 million for new technical and vocational equipment.
   • $21 million for “Graduate Georgia,” a plan to place one high school completion counselor in every high school to guide the way to graduation for at-risk students.
   • $3.2 million in middle school remediation (a Georgia School Board Association priority both last year and this year.)

   Governor Perdue promised that his proposed budget for FY 07 will include 72 percent of the expected $1.24 billion increased in revenue dedicated to K-12 education. In addition, the Governor addressed his proposed “65%” solution initiative, HB 969 that has been introduced to implement this new approach to accountability. The law would require that school systems spend a minimum of 65% of all operating funds on direct classroom expenditures. 

   HB 969 lists salaries and benefits for teachers and paraprofessionals, costs for instructional materials and supplies, costs associated with classroom related activities, such as field trips, athletics, music, and arts; and tuition paid to out-of-state school districts and private institutions for special needs students as examples of direct classroom expenditures. 

   Seventy-two percent of expected revenue growth invested in education is significant. According to the Georgia School Board Association Capitol Watch, local school boards will be asked for greater financial effort. The following are possible consequences of the Governor’s proposed initiative:

   • Teacher pay raises mean increased benefit efforts for such programs as Social Security in some systems; all systems employ teachers beyond state earnings, and this total cost must be addressed.
   • Class size reductions may cause special hardships as some systems scramble to find the newly needed space, including trailers. 
   • Construction funding for badly needed classrooms falls far short of cost, in
some cases requiring as much as a dollar-for-dollar match.
   • The 65% solution may cause some systems to decide to put more local funding into such areas as salaries, or cutting back on so-called “administrative overhead” such as media personnel, counselors, teacher training, 

   Several states have already adopted the 65% solution initiative. These include Texas where Governor Rick Perry has issued an executive order making the 65% solution state policy. Also the Louisiana Legislature in June 2005 approved a resolution urging the State Department of Education to adopt the standard as a statewide requirement. The Kansas Legislature adopted it as a policy goal in July 2005, although there is no penalty for districts that do not comply. 

   According to Alan Finder reporting in the New York Times on January 4, 2006, what supporters see as a common-sense proposal is viewed by critics as misguided and misleading. The National School Boards Association, for example, notes that schools have different needs and different spending habits and that there is no evidence that spending 65% of the school budget on classroom spending will produce higher student academic achievement. 

   A key component for understanding the proposal is defining “classroom instruction.” As reported by Alan Finder, under guidelines created by the National Center for Education Statistics, a branch of the federal Department of Education, athletics is considered a classroom activity, including coaches; salaries, but librarians, guidance counselors, food service workers, and school bus drivers are not included.

   Again, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, nationally 61.3% of school operating budgets are spend in the classroom, with only New York and Maine exceeding the 65% standard.

   During the current session of the Georgia General Assembly, it will be important for us to watch closely as the 65% solution is debated and considered. As the District III School Board member, I will carefully track this legislation and look forward to hearing from our District III constituents about your views related to the proposal HB 969. 


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