<p>Pay for Georgia's public school teachers will be a closely watched issue when the Georgia legislature convenes in January:</p><p>_TOUGH TIMES: Georgia's 100,000 public school teachers say they've been stretched thin by school budget cuts and are ready for a significant pay raise after a couple of lean years.</p><p>_PAYDAY: A tight budget during a recession left no room for teacher pay increases in 2003 and a 2-percent raise approved in 2004 won't appear in teachers' paychecks until January, after nearly half this school year is over.</p><p>_NO PAYBACK?: Teachers alienated by former Gov. Roy Barnes's education reforms were widely credited as one of the groups that helped Gov. Sonny Perdue become Georgia's first Republican governor in more than two centuries.</p><p>_NO HINTS: Perdue says education will be a top priority when the legislature convenes. But he's not indicating what plans he may have on the teacher pay issue.</p>
