In FY 2024, $62.5 million was allocated for Child Care Services, which included a pay boost for state workers. Without additional state investment, districts with lower property wealth will not be able to offer the opportunities students deserve.Īlongside K-12 public schools, Georgia’s Child Care Services and Pre-Kindergarten programs provide critical support to families and their children. School districts vary greatly in the amount of local taxes that can be collected, leaving a system of haves and have-nots. Periodic raises, for one, have not kept up with the consumer price index, leaving schools to make up the difference with local property tax collection. Rapid inflation in the past year has highlighted a longstanding problem in the state’s allocation for education funding: cost-of-living increases are not built into the state formula. The budget also includes $290 million to provide a $2,000 raise for certified employees starting Septemand $27 million to provide schools with the funds to hire one school counselor for every 450 full-time equivalent students. Individual districts pay this cost today. The state stopped paying the employer portion of health insurance for these positions in 2012. The employer costs for non-certified employees, including bus drivers, paraprofessionals and custodians, will also increase. Seventy-two percent of the additional dollars ($840 million) reflect an increase in the State Health Benefit Plan for certified school employees. The state budget for K-12 public schools is $11.9 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2024, an increase of $1.2 billion from FY 2023. Stephen Owens, Director of Economic Justice Ife Finch Floyd and Education Analyst Ashley Young. This section is co-authored by Director of Education Dr.
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