Why is my school district cutting music/art programs, while other districts seem to be adding more extracurricular activities?

Georgia, like other states, funds its schools with a mixture of state and local taxes. While the state money is spread somewhat fairly across school districts, the amount of local money a district receives looks very different based on the property values of its community. This means poorer communities have less money for schools and wealthier communities have the ability to offer more opportunities for students.

Why are there teacher shortages in my school?

Staffing issues are caused by a number of factors, one of which is teacher pay. Georgia teachers make much less compared to their peers outside the classroom. Until the state allocates more funding to pay teachers fairly, we will continue to see serious staffing shortages.

Why do we have a bus driver shortage?

The state budget for busing kids to and from the school has gone practically unchanged since 2000. In this time, the state has gained hundreds of thousands of students and the cost of buses, labor, and fuel has gone up. When the state doesn’t provide more funding, districts are left to make up the difference themselves. This means districts in wealthier communities can afford new buses, shorter routes, and better paid drivers while others are left with their kids on older, more dangerous buses travelling longer routes.

Why does my child’s school receive less funding than other schools in the same district?

School districts have a lot of power to decide how much money goes to each school, as school boards are responsible for the district budget. Sometimes school PTA’s raise additional cash on top of that. Even with the power that districts hold, they are also often hamstrung by a lack of state funds. The money problems you see could be decisions by the school board to prioritize certain schools over others, and also could be the natural consequence of poor state funding.

Why do teachers seem nervous about teaching kids about racism?

In 2022 Georgia lawmakers passed a bill explicitly banning the teaching of “divisive concepts,” such as the idea that the U.S. is systematically racist. Children deserve an honest and accurate education that enables them to learn from the mistakes of our past to help create a better future. But with this bill, Georgia teachers are understandably nervous about being accused of crossing a line and many students may not be learning about the crucial truths of our nation.

So whose fault is all this?

At Fund Georgia’s Future we advocate for increased funding at the state level because it’s the state’s responsibility to provide public education. Georgia lawmakers are in charge of how schools are funded, but for years they have underfunded our education system. It’s time to hold them accountable for providing  world-class opportunities for all students.