Gov. Nathan Deal asked Georgia lawmakers on Wednesday to support a new plan to fix low-performing schools after voters last fall rejected a proposal for the state to take over public schools that consistently struggle.
Keeping a focus on education in his State of the State speech to the Legislature, Deal said the number of students enrolled in failing schools meaning they posted failing scores on standardized tests at least three years in a row rose from about 68,000 in 2015 to nearly 89,000 last year.
``It should be abundantly clear to everyone, including those in the education community who so staunchly support the status quo, that this is unacceptable,'' Deal said. ``If this pattern of escalation in the number of failing schools does not change, its devastating effects on our state will grow with each passing school year.''
The Republican governor, who is midway through his final term, pushed hard last year for a constitutional amendment allowing the state to take control of low-performing schools. Teacher unions and parent-teacher associations fought that plan, saying it usurped control from local school boards. Voters resoundingly defeated the amendment in November, with nearly 60 percent opposing it.
Deal offered no specifics Wednesday of what the new plan might include. But he told lawmakers he's working closely with House Speaker David Ralston, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and other House and Senate leaders to present a bill during a the 40-day session that opened Monday.
``I think Georgians do expect us to make education a priority,'' Ralston said at a news conference last week. But he also gave no specifics on what new prescription lawmakers might offer for struggling schools.
Sid Chapman, president of the Georgia Association of Educators, said his group hopes to work with lawmakers on that final plan. He said it's not fair to label schools as failing based on test scores alone, and said factors such as poverty and hunger among students need to be considered.
``It's not about the teachers not being good educators,'' Chapman said. ``We're not at all about being status quo. We're on the front lines every day.''
Deal said his budget for the upcoming 2018 fiscal year will include a proposed 2 percent pay increase for teachers.
He's pushing bigger raises of 20 percent for state law enforcement officers such as state troopers and Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents and raises averaging 19 percent for caseworkers with the state Division of Family and Children Services.
Deal's priorities also include devoting millions of dollars to guarding Georgia agencies and businesses against hackers and other computer criminals.
The governor wants lawmakers to approve $50 million for a state-run Georgia Cyber Innovation and Technology Center. The center would specialize in cybersecurity training and research and would be based in Augusta, where the Army is moving its cyber command headquarters to Fort Gordon.
``This invaluable resource will put Georgia at the pinnacle of efforts to enhance American cybersecurity in the public and private arenas with a resource unlike any other in the country,'' Deal said.
Follow this link for the full content of Gov. Deal's speech.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2017/1/489534/state-of-state-deal-proposes-legislation-to-fix-under-performing-schools