Fe b r u a r y 9 , 2 0 2 3 | A p p e n M e d i a . c o m | A n A p p e n M e d i a G r o u p P u b l i c a t i o n | 5 0 ¢ | Vo l u m e 2 7 , N o . 6
Senate committee to examine funding for public education By CANDY WAYLOCK candy@appenmedia.com
GERALD BURCH/PROVIDED
Conscience of a society
Gerald Burch is one of two artists in the “Souls Grown Deep” exhibition on display at the Johns Creek Arts Center until Feb. 25. While Burch’s mixed media work tends to illustrate visceral images about Black oppression, sculptor Ronald Sullivan’s polished sculptured work is more subdued. Read story, Page 4.
Black residents push for Juneteenth holiday ► PAGE 6
Fly fishing enthusiast buys the company ► PAGE 8
County updates costs for municipal elections ► PAGE 10
ATLANTA — The formula for funding public schools in Georgia dates back to 1985 when the Legislature passed Quality Based Education. It was considered landmark legislation at a time when schools were funded primarily by local taxes. QBE determines the cost to educate a full-time, public school student. It uses that figure to calculate how much a district “earns” each year in state funding. With nearly $11 billion of state revenue budgeted for public schools this year through QBE, getting the formula fully funded and fair is important. “It’s a plurality of the state budget,” said Stephen Owens, education director at the Georgia Policy and Budget Institute. “But it’s in the [Georgia] constitution as a primary obligation to provide an adequate public education free of charge.” In developing the “per pupil” cost each year, QBE considers a variety of factors including grade level, teacher staffing and experience, class size, special services, like special education or gifted classes, student-teacher ratio and other direct and indirect costs of education. While QBE determines how much a school earns in state funding each year, the state’s economy and budget determine how much the school systems actually receive. Since 1985, the QBE has rarely been fully funded,
See FUNDING, Page 5