The Georgia Association of Educators stands against draconian budget cuts due to business closures and declining tax revenues. Every budget is a statement of priorities. That includes locally, where it is imperative that members engage with their local district’s budget debate priorities. We believe the children of Georgia should be that priority.

There are already many concerns among educators about children falling behind in their studies. Efforts to assess and move our students to where they should be would be severely hampered by harsh budget cuts. We must remember that our public schools, unfortunately, did not have the fortune of being fully-funded for many years before Gov. Nathan Deal, in his last year, pushed for and passed a fully-funded QBE, that has been continued by Gov. Brian Kemp over his first two years. However, these efforts, while wholly appreciated, are just a mere start to recovering what our schools lost during the ten-plus years of underfunding.