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Week Four Update
The New Budget
This week Governor Nathan Deal unveiled his proposal for the 2016 budget. The $45 billion proposal shows the amount that the state economy has grown since the Great Recession. Deal expects that tax revenue will be up by more than 4 percent by July. Part of this budget is going to be used to fund public school districts, and would give raises to state employees and add more days of school to the calendar year.
Education
Despite this additional funding, public schools are likely to receive about $500 million less than they had been promised under the state funding formulas, which Deal is proposing to offset with an additional $280 million investment. Governor deal also said that he would like to invest an additional $12.2 million dollars into the state to pay for two charter schools in the state prison system. Deal emphasized that education is crucial to help people avoid incarceration. Deal also hopes to increase the number of alternative courts and invest in full time teachers for state prisons.