State School Superintendent Kathy Cox speaks to more than 100 education leaders from across the state at a conference in Atlanta earlier this month sponsored by the College of Education and its Education Policy and Evaluation Center (EPEC).

UGA economic expert: K-12 education in Georgia likely to face more cuts More than 120 education leaders from across Georgia heard several experts speak on education and the economy at the first annual Education in Georgia: State of the State Report hosted by the UGA College of Education and the college's Educational Policy and Evaluation Center. Cindy Schnably, MA '09 | Oct 17, 2008

Jeff Humphreys is director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth in UGA's Terry College of Business.

While Gov. Sonny Perdue has spared K-12 education from the worst of the cuts in state funding, Georgia schools will likely face more cuts next year as many local governments will be forced to wield their own budget axes, according to a University of Georgia economic expert.

So far, the Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula funding had been cut by only 2 percent while most other state departments had been cut by 6 percent, but in FY10, the QBE cut will rise from 2 to 3 percent, said Jeff Humphreys, director of the Simon S. Selig, Jr. Center for Economic Growth in UGA's Terry College of Business.

"Realistically, that's not too bad an outcome for the State Board of Education's budget given what's happening to state revenues," he said. "Unfortunately, it looks like those are not the only cuts that public K-12 education will have to absorb. Many local governments will soon face having to make budget cuts of their own because of the flattening of property tax digest plus reduced collections from local option sales taxes."

So what lies in store for K-12 education funding in Georgia?

Recent history can provide some insight into what impact the recession will have on government funding of K-12 education, Humphreys told more than 100 education leaders from across the state at a conference in Atlanta earlier this month sponsored by UGA's College of Education and its Education Policy and Evaluation Center (EPEC).

In Georgia, inflation-adjusted spending by state government on a per student basis was 9.1 percent lower in 2004 than it was in 2001. Using similar metrics, spending by local government was 1.5 percent higher. In combination, spending was down by 4.2 percent. So, in the wake of the last recession, higher spending by local government partially offset the cutbacks in state spending, he said.

"Unfortunately, I doubt that a similar offset will occur this time. The main reason why local governments were able to ramp up spending in the wake of the last recession is that housing sailed through the 2001 recession, soared through the recovery, and then literally boomed," said Humphreys.

In many school districts, property digests soared, making it relatively easy to boost spending on public K-12 education without increasing millage rates. And, since much of the growth was due to the increased number of properties rather than substantially higher existing home prices, the burden on long-term residents did not rise too much. Thus, politically, it was easy for local governments to spend more on their schools, he said.

"But, the prospects for housing in the wake of the current recession are not too promising. So, absent increases in millage rates, local governments will not be able to offset the cutbacks in state spending to any great extent," Humphreys said. "Substantial cuts in public funding for K-12 education have implications for the actual, as well as the perceived, value of public versus private education."

In the short-term, budget reductions will not have a noticeable impact on the share of children that attend public schools. That's because households will be under a lot of financial stress and can ill afford to send their children to a private school, he said.

Matthew Springer is a research assistant professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College.

"But, as households' finances improve, private schools will take market share from public schools," he said.

In addition to Humphreys' economic forecast, two other keynote speakers provided research-based information on two controversial topics facing education policy makers in Georgia: teacher compensation reform and school efficiency/effectiveness.

Matthew Springer, research assistant professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College, discussed the highly debated topic of teacher compensation reform in Georgia by presenting research from across the globe on improving the quality of teachers through monetary compensation.

"Teacher quality is the driving force behind student learning, making it important to hire quality teachers in Georgia schools," said Springer. However, he noted that teacher compensation reform as a possible solution requires more research before a definitive answer on its effectiveness can be concluded.

Eric Houck is an assistant professor in lifelong education, administration, and policy.

The final keynote speaker, Eric Houck, assistant professor at UGA's College of Education, presented research on school district efficiency in Georgia. Houck discussed past studies as well as his current research examining whether money matters in relation to effective and efficient schools.

Houck said his current research suggests that many factors impacting the effectiveness and efficiency of school districts are uncontrollable through policy. "It is kind of distressing in the sense that very few of these (variables such as a student's household income) are directly attributable to policy factors," he said.

However, his research did show that the percentage of funding allocated for instruction is positively associated with greater school district efficiency, providing school leaders at least one policy factor that can be used to impact their district's effectiveness.

In Georgia, "77 percent of districts produced results on par with their input level," Houck said. In addition, his research suggests "there were no persistently ineffective or inefficient districts over all five outcome measures."

Together, the keynote speakers focused on important and timely issues affecting Georgia educators and policymakers. Following their presentations, UGA College of Education faculty led breakout discussions on other major topics affecting Georgia school leaders to conclude the conference.

Links to video, powerpoints and text of presentations from Education in Georgia: First Annual State of the State Report can be found at: www.coe.uga.edu/dean/stateofthestate/index.html

© 2006 University of Georgia