ATLANTA (March 19, 2010) – Sen. Preston Smith (R-Rome) is championing the cause to protect Georgia teachers from additional furlough days. He has introduced the Educators Salary Protection Act to prevent school systems with more than 6 percent funding in their reserve accounts from furloughing teachers, when funding is readily available to prevent the furloughs. The state has exhausted a reserve account of almost $1.8 billion over the last two years. Most of the reserve funding went to education spending.
“Teachers should never be furloughed when local school systems have the funds available to pay their salaries. Across the state there is more than $1.2 billion sitting in school system reserve funds, which, when possible, should be spent on supporting Georgia’s teachers,” said Smith. “During this economic downturn, some school systems decided to use their reserve fund to avoid teacher furloughs, but many did not. We must defend educators, who are one of our state’s most vital resources. They can help shape our children into accomplished adults, creating a skilled workforce that gives our state a competitive advantage in the global marketplace.”
Education spending in Georgia increased 34 percent between 2004 and 2010. The FY 2004 budget included $8.59 billion for education spending. The FY 2010 General Budget contained $11.47 billion for education spending.
Senate Bill 515, the Educators Salary Protection Act, has been assigned to the Senate Education Committee.
Sen. Preston Smith serves as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He represents the 52nd Senate District which includes Floyd County and portions of Bartow and Gordon counties. He may be reached by phone at 404.656.0034 or by e-mail at preston.smith@senate.ga.gov.
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
March 19, 2010
For Information Contact:
Raegan Weber, Director
Kallarin Richards, Senior Communications Specialist
kallarin.richards@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028