EDUCATION REFORM
COMMISSION
Governor’s Office of Planning and
Budget
Susan C. Andrews, Ed. D.
Director of Special Projects
 In
January, 2015, Governor Deal appointed a new
Education Reform Commission to move Georgia’s
reform efforts to a new level.
 35 Members of Commission
 Sub-committees
to address five areas:
 Funding
 Early
Childhood
 Teacher
 Move
Recruitment, Retention, and Compensation
on When Ready
 Expanding
Educational Options
EDUCATION REFORM COMMISSION
 My
charge to you as a reform commission is to
study and make recommendations focused on
how our educational system can more
effectively prepare today and tomorrow’s
students for success in postsecondary programs
and the workforce. This kind of preparation will
ensure Georgia remains the best place in the
nation to live and raise a family.
GOVERNOR’S CHARGE TO FULL
COMMISSION
 Preliminary
Consensus – An interim
decision subject to change!
DEFINITION OF THE DAY
Develop a formula that is based on student need
and where funding truly follows the student.
Allow for as much control and flexibility as possible
at the school and district level. The leaders who
know the students best should be allowed to make
decisions about the educational programs that will
most effectively meet the needs of those students,
and they should have appropriate financial support
from the state to do so.
CHARGE TO FUNDING COMMITTEE
CURRENT SYSTEMS APPROACH
QBE
18 Weighted
Programs Indirect
Costs
• Categorical
Grants
•
•
•
•
State Controls
Class Size
Requirements
Expenditure
Controls
Position Controls
65% Rule
Accountability
IE2
• CCRPI
Contracts
Charter
Systems
Contracts
State
Charters
PRELIMINARY NEW SYSTEMS APPROACH
Student-Based
Funding
•
•
•
Base Amount
Weighted
Student
Characteristics
Grants
INPUTS
Accountability
District
Flexibility
TRANSFORMATION
•
•
•
•
CCRPI
IE2 Contracts
Charter System
Contracts
State Charters
OUTCOMES
 If
the funds had been earned in QBE the following
items would be in the base:
 Direct
T
and Indirect Instructional dollars minus
&E
 State
 TRS
Health Benefits
Contribution
WHAT IS PROPOSED IN THE BASE?
 K-3
 9-12
 Career
(CTAE)
Technical Agriculture Education
 Students
 English
(ESOL)
With Disabilities (SWD)
Speakers of Other Languages
 Economically
Disadvantaged
 Gifted
WHAT STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS
MAY BE WEIGHTED?
 Category
A 30-360 Minutes of Service Per
 Category
B 361-900 Minutes of Service Per
 Category
C 901-1800 Minutes of Service Per
 Category
D 1801-3600 Minutes of Service Per
 Category
E More than 3600 Minutes of Service
Week
Week
Week
Week
Per Week
PROPOSED NEW CATEGORIES
FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES


Equalization

No change in current calculation

Average Equalization Over Four Years
Local Five Mill Share


Use same data to calculate Five Mill Share
Sparsity

Change name to Low Enrollment/Low Density Grants

District Enrollment less than 2300

Fewer than 6 students per square mile

If only one criteria is met, district not eligible

If both criteria are met, fund both
SPECIALIZED GRANT FUNDING

Continue to fund T & E for all current teachers
until they phase out of the system;

All districts must develop/adopt new
compensation models using effectiveness as
one indicator;

Pay districts for salaries based on state
average teacher salary for new teachers.
PROPOSED COMPENSATION CHANGES

Hold Harmless for T & E

Hold Harmless for Earnings below current QBE Earnings

Hold Harmless for Districts currently earning Sparsity Grants
that will no longer qualify under new formula
HOLD HARMLESS

Charter Systems

State-Commissioned Charter Schools

State-Commissioned Virtual Charter Schools

RESAs

Special Needs Scholarship

State Schools for Blind and Deaf

Residential Treatment Facilities

Preschool Handicapped

Department of Juvenile Justice Schools
OTHER ISSUES

There are currently 32 approved charter systems

There are an additional 15 in the pipeline.

Current Methodology:


Multiply each charter system’s FTE segments by 3.785% of the
base QBE per FTE funding amount (Grades 9-12)

Cap each charter system’s earnings at $4.5 million.

Apply the current austerity percentage to each charter
system’s earnings.
Proposed Methodology

Fund each charter system’s enrollment count at 4.033% of
the student base funding amount (Grades 4-8).

Cap each charter system’s earnings at $4.5 million.
CHARTER SYSTEMS GRANT
 Susan
Andrews, Governor’s Office of
Planning and Budget
 Director
of Special Projects

Susan.Andrews@opb.georgia.gov

404-463-4445 (office)

404-275-1954 (cell)
CONTACT INFORMATION
 Study
and make recommendations for the
expansion of early educational options,
including expanding Pre-K in Georgia and
increasing access to quality-rated
programs for all kids, from birth to age five.
 Consider
all options, including tax credits.
CHARGE TO EARLY CHILDHOOD
COMMITTEE

Reducing class size to 20;

Increasing salary of lead teacher;

Increasing salary of teaching assistant;

Increasing Pre-K Start-up funds; and

Providing tax credits for providers, parents, and
employees in Quality-Rated Pre-Ks
PROPOSED ENHANCEMENTS TO
EARLY LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

We must find a way to help restore the public respect
that the teaching profession deserves and to help
educators experience the joy of teaching in a
supportive and professional working environment.

I charge those of you working on teacher recruitment,
retention, and pay to:
Explore innovative, flexible methods.
 Make recommendations on the best ways to attain
these goals for our teachers.

CHARGE TO TEACHER COMMITTEE

Provide Service Cancellable Loans for USG graduates who
teach in Georgia;

Replace student teaching with a full year of clinical
practice;

Compensate teachers for supervising college interns;

Refund the cost of GACE;

Increase entry level salary of teachers;

Provide signing bonuses for teachers in difficult to place
fields; and

Adopt/continue strong induction programs.
PROPOSED RECRUITMENT ENHANCEMENTS
 Implement
consistent and continued
induction program for new teachers;
 Protect
 Return
cycle;
teacher planning time;
to “normal” on curricula change
 Slowdown/stop
“new things” piled onto
teachers legislatively or by SBOE rule; and
 Repeal
burdensome items; place sunset on
any new requirements to requires a timely
review.
PROPOSED IDEAS FOR RETAINING TEACHERS
 Increase
beginning teacher pay;
 Value
teachers through compensation by moving
away from T &E model to tiered model with
flexibility for districts’
 Grandfather
 Allow
in current teachers to T & E model
faster ramp to median salary;
 Weight
compensation for high needs schools or
difficult to fill subject areas; and
 Compensate
teachers for extra duties and
responsibilities
PROPOSED IDEAS AROUND COMPENSATION

It is common knowledge among educators and parents alike that
all students do not learn in the same way or on the same
schedule.

Georgia’s educational systems need to break new ground in
providing as many opportunities as possible for students to “Move
on When Ready,” based on demonstrated mastery of skills and
required competencies. Explore and make recommendations for
the most efficient and effective methods to accomplish this goal.

You have a rare opportunity to think outside the traditional
lockstep of graded progression in public education, from
kindergarten through postsecondary, and propose a new vision
for academic advancement in Georgia.
CHARGE TO MOVE ON WHEN READY
 Reading
for All;
 Competency
 Extend
 Add
Based Learning K-12;
Postsecondary Options;
Multiple Graduation Pathways; and
 Provide
flexible testing calendars
PROPOSED FIVE GOALS
 Cross-grade
level;
 Provide
more opportunities for students to learn:
 Before
 After
grouping according to reading
school
school
 Holidays
 Summer
READING FOR ALL PROPOSALS
 More
opportunity for students to explore career
and college options;
 Accelerated
opportunity for students to earn
advanced credentials and associate degrees in
varied settings; and
 Identify
foundational literacy and math skills
students need to be ready for postsecondary
education and training programs
PROPOSED TO EXTEND POSTSECONDARY
OPTIONS
 Tests
to assess degree of learning, such as
Milestones exams, should be available
when students are proficient with
competencies, rather than at the end of
the year; and
 Teachers
assess skills or concepts in
multiple contexts and ways
PROPOSED FLEXIBLE TESTING MODEL

Finally, but perhaps closest to my heart, is the need to
provide students and parents who are trapped in a failing
Georgia school with better options for K-12 education.

You may consider expanding public school choice, charter
options, tax credits, educational savings accounts, student
scholarships, and other innovative approaches to provide
choices and support parents in making the best decisions
about their children’s education.
CHARGE TO EXPANDING EDUCATIONAL
OPTIONS

Recommendations being developed
PROPOSAL FOR SUPPORTING CHOICE

Teacher Input Sessions

GSSA Board of Directors

GSBA Board of Directors

Charter School Foundations

Governor’s Advisory Councils

Public Comments at Every Meeting

GAEL Board of Directors

Early Childhood Stakeholders Committee

Deans of Colleges of Education – both public and private
INPUT SESSIONS
 Tuesday
 10:00
– 12:00
 Sloppy
 Oak
September 24, 2015
Floyd Office Building, East Tower
Conference Room, Suite 854
NEXT MEETING OF FULL
COMMISSION

http://gov.georgia.gov/education-reform-commission

ERC@opb.georgia.gov
WEB-SITE AND E-MAIL ADDRESS