ATLANTA - A group of parents and 51 mostly rural school systems - including the Commerce and Elbert County systems - are suing the state, arguing that it has left public schools chronically underfunded.
The school systems, allied as the Consortium for Adequate School Funding in Georgia, contend the state has shifted the burden of funding to the school districts, requiring some counties to dip deep into local funds to cover growing deficits.
They contend the state's $6 billion in funding pays for mostly teacher raises and ever-expanding enrollment. While the state picks up about 60 percent of the bill, rural systems like Ben Hill, Brantley, Elbert, Lamar and Murray counties all identified in the lawsuit as examples of the crisis facing Georgia's schools have to rely on small, mostly noncommercial tax bases to pay the bills.
The lawsuit, filed in Fulton County's Superior Court, hopes to prove the state is not fulfilling its constitutional requirement to provide an adequate education to all children, said Joe Martin, the coalition's director.
``We're saying to the court here are the problems, and we show the consequences of the systems,'' Martin said. ``We suspect the court will find a violation to the Georgia Constitution and will call on the Legislature to find a remedy.''
The group said Gov. Sonny Perdue's order for a task force to study the cost of an adequate education is a step in the right direction. ``This is not criticism of the governor,'' Martin said. ``This is a constitutional issue.''
Kathy Cox, the state superintendent, said Perdue is making tough decisions on the state budget and urged lawmakers to cooperate.
``We now need the General Assembly to step up to the plate and work with us,'' Cox said in a statement. ``Georgia's students deserve it.''
Martin said the group brought the suit because underfunding had become so severe and the prospects for a legislative solution had become so remote.
Although the state's revenue figures are up 7.1 percent compared to last year, a budget shortfall forced the state's higher education institutions to consider layoffs and 10 percent tuition hikes. The board that manages government health programs has also said it may cut at least $172.6 million from Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids.
``There's no honest way to dodge the reality that the state doesn't have enough money to meet all these obligations,'' Martin said. ``How the state comes up with the money is not our prerogative. That's their business, not ours.''
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Sunday
May 5th, 2024
4:49PM
