As Georgia legislators prepare to debate plans to modernize the school funding formula, the Foundation for Excellence in Education this month will provide parents throughout the state with information on the advantages of a new, student-based approach to school funding. In the foundation’s poll of voters, support for this change went up significantly when Georgians learned that the state hasn’t updated its funding formula since the mid-1980s.
“We’re making sure Georgia families have the facts about a new system that treats children like individuals, not numbers, and improves student achievement,” said ExcelinEd Southeast Regional Advocacy Director Ryan Mahoney. “Georgians deserve an education funding system that meets the needs of today’s students. We would never settle for 1980s-era TVs, computers, phones or cars; our kids should not have to settle for an approach to our schools that is just as out of date.”
The attached mail pieces will go to 160,000 parents of school-age children in every region of Georgia. Also attached is the radio ad that will run on various radio stations.
“In the final recommendations released today, the Education Reform Commission charted a new course for Georgia’s children, moving our education system to one that is student-focused and away from one that is school-based,” Mahoney said. “These reforms reflect the fact that it’s not just how much we spend but also how we spend that matters for student progress. Student-based funding gives educators more flexibility to target individual student needs, while giving parents and taxpayers more transparency. Student-based funding tells us exactly where and why each dollar is allocated.
“We aren’t supporting changes just because the formula is old; we’re supporting changes because every study shows there’s a better, more effective way to deliver education to the youngest generation of Americans.”