With a demand for public services up due to growth in Georgia and the downturn in the economy a balanced strategy of spending cuts and targeted tax increases is needed to provide vital services. The Newton County Board of Education supports the General Assembly’s developing a state tax policy which addresses the continued erosion of the State Revenue Base. We support measures in the General Assembly to place a moratorium upon subsequent introduction and passage of tax legislation which reduces the state revenue base until such a tax policy can be adopted, which responsibility considers the state’s revenue production potential and the state’s ability to adequately meet its funding obligations to each department of government. A review is needed of tax exemptions from sales and use tax, income tax and other revenue producing state taxes as well as increasing revenues through targeted areas such as alcohol, tobacco, sodas, vehicles and business services. Recommendations for such a tax policy should be based upon sound data and research that supports reform that will bring about a tax system that yields adequate funding, is fair, is stable and is transparent. Until such recommendations are forthcoming, and realizing that the maintenance of a sound tax structure is necessary to ensure adequate revenue generation to support and improve Georgia’s schools, the property tax should continue as the fundamental element in financing education. However, for the QBE funding formula, which is based upon the relative “wealth” of the various school districts, the formula should not only consider average real estate property values, but also the average per capita income, percentage of students on free and reduced meals and the number of taxpayers who live near or below poverty income. In addition, we urge the General Assembly to publish annually a Tax Expenditure Report that lists all exemptions or credits currently authorized and their cost in potential revenues. We do not support the following initiatives which will negatively impact local and state revenue.

• Any resolution to eliminate local ad valorem property taxes for education and replace them with a sales and use tax;
• Efforts which would severely limit the amount of tax revenue that state government could collect and spend and;
• Limits of the rate of increase in the ad valorem tax mill rates and the property value to a certain percentage per year, or to limits to the rate of economic inflation, or to freezing property values at the purchase price.

Given the revenue short fall and their effects for the supplemental budget of 2010 and the budget of 2011, any revenue cuts or furloughs enacted for 2010 need to be made known to school districts by Jan. 28, 2010, so that word calendars can be adjusted to furlough additional word days, if student days of instruction are not reduced.

During this economic downturn which adversely affects state and local funding and thus the operation of the local school district, we support legislation and/or rule changes by State Board of Education which would continue to allow during the 2011-2012 school year the waivers of selected requirements. Waivers of requirements such as: maximum class size requirements for regular education, gifted, remedial education classes and early intervention classes; and instructional extension will ease the adverse effects of loss of revenues on the financial operation of the school district.

We support continued funding at the $200 million level for regular entitlement capital outlay projects and at the $150 million level for projects developed to accommodate “exceptional growth” needs of appropriately qualified Georgia school systems. The “exceptional growth” provision for funding is to sunset, June 30, 2010. In addition, we oppose legislation which would redefine statutory requirements for “capital outlay for educational purposes” to include expenditures for non-educationally related projects such as street, bridge, utility and similar improvements.

We support the authorization of a legislative study committee to examine governance issues in Georgia public education, particularly concerning the impact of recent legislative and administrative changes regarding the status of Georgia’s constitutional requirement that “each school system shall be under the management and control of a board of education…”Further, we do not support any attempts to usurp the authority of local boards to determine how local funds are allocated. We support the repeal of the Classrooms First for Georgia Act that requires 65 percent of federal, state and local funds to be spent on a narrow definition of classroom instruction.

We support funding of QBE formula allocations to cover actual costs for consumable materials and supplies, replacement of instructional equipment, textbooks, media materials and the actual cost of textbooks, including texts and instruction materials online and/or other electronic formats. As an example, in grades one through three for textbooks, $33.26 is allocated per weighted student FTE. Only $3.11 is allocated for equipment-copiers, furniture, instructional equipment and technology, including computers.

We support the increase of funding for maintenance and operation and transportation as part of the total cost of education in order that environments conducive to learning may be provided. There exists a drastic difference in the level of state funding for MOT compared to the actual costs to local school systems. Systems have only recently been notified in late October of furloughs of transportation staff of three days, now a further cut either to be taken by reducing the school for these employees and thus reducing the student year or absorbing the cost of cut by the local BOE by cutting elsewhere. The difference in funding level and actual costs causes increases in local property taxes, the only source of revenue local board have for this purpose.

We support the General Assembly in its efforts to endorse waivers of the State Board of Education Rules outlining minimum acreage requirements for school construction. Action on the part of the General Assembly that will facilitate the approval of waivers is needed for waiver of minimum acreage requirements for school construction, recognizing the value and availability of suitable property for school construction and the systemic growth initiatives in various communities.

We oppose the existence and actions of the Commission on Charter Schools (CCS). During the 2008 legislative session, a statue was approved and signed into law which appears to be in conflict with provisions of the Georgia Constitution regarding the authority of the locally elected board of education to control, manage and raise local funds only for public schools under their change. The Newton County Board of Education believes that the Commission on Charter Schools’ authority and actions are in conflict with the authority of local boards of education. When local boards of education review charters for schools in their area, they may approve or reject the granting of a charter. When rejected locally but approved by CCS, the establishment of that charter school requires the local board of education to relinquish a share of its local revenue received from taxpayers for support of school students now not under its charge. Surrendering local revenue assessed for students not covered by the control and management of the local board appears to be a conflict.

We oppose any additions/amendments to HB 251 that will restrict local control in defining available space in schools for the purpose of granting school choice. The issue of defining available space for the purpose of granting choice is a complex on that must take into consideration the unique facets of each local community/school/LEA and include but not limited to: the rate and population growth in the community, the LEA’s status related to AYP and federal choice and how transient the student population is within the LEA.