Time for an Upgrade
A lot has changed since 1986. Cars. Clothing. Phones. But not Georgia’s school funding system. That’s right. The formula and system that dictates how Georgia’s 1.8 million public school students receive funding has remained largely unchanged for the last 30 years! Can you imagine if you had to live in today’s world with the tools and technology of the 1980s? It’s time for Georgia to upgrade education with Student Based Funding.
Current: Education Funding from the 1980s
Georgia’s current funding system, Quality Based Education (QBE) is school- or program-based, meaning funding follows programs, classes or staff positions – not students. This makes it is difficult to know if students are truly getting the services they need for academic success.
Complicated
QBE is so complicated that only a few experts can make sense of it. In fact, the Georgia Department of Education’s own website sends you to ‘Financing Georgia’s Schools: A Primer’ – a 54 page document last updated in 2003 – to learn about the current funding system.
Districts receive money based on specific academic programs using a model designed 30 years ago. Money cannot be moved around to provide services based on student needs.
Teachers who have advanced degrees and have worked more years are paid more, despite evidence that neither of these factors significantly impacts student achievement.
Upgraded: 21st Century Funding
Student-based funding is balanced, transparent, efficient, effective and flexible because the money is based on students and what they need to be successful. Districts 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.
A simple, transparent formula clearly shows the amount of funding that students receive, as well as the reasons why.
Districts receive actual dollars and can choose how best to allocate them to design instruction that meets the needs of students in the 21st century.
Districts choose how to structure teacher compensation and are able to reward the best teachers for helping Georgia students achieve.
The following organizations are working to make Student Based Funding a reality in Georgia
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