Education and health services big losers in final 2014 GA budget

By Bette Holland

State Senator Gooch recently wrote about the final budget for Georgia for fiscal year 2014 in two local papers. He mentioned a few increases in some areas of education, including about $250 million total for the HOPE scholarship program.  He also mentioned increases in some areas of health and human services, including Medicaid.  What he didn’t mention was that these increases do not begin to erase the 10 years of cuts to the education and health and human services budgets since Sony Perdue became Governor and Nathan Deal continued down the same road.

The 2014 budget beginning July 1 cuts an additional $1 billion from the Quality Basic Education (QBE) program, the primary mechanism for distributing state funds to school districts. This means that most districts will continue to cut days from the school calendar, maintain larger classrooms and place more teachers on furlough—practices they have been driven to after years of QBE cuts. New funding has been added to the QBE program, but this only covers new students entering public schools, as well as salary adjustments for teachers. It doesn’t restore the funds that have been eliminated. Since 2003, education funding has been cut by a whopping $6.7 Billion.

Areas like teacher training and agricultural education–which have suffered severe cuts over the years–get a small increase, but their budgets have been cut by 33% since 2009. Technical schools received a budget cut of another $19 million. This means that the struggle to provide the necessary training for Georgians seeking technical jobs will continue.

Since 2009 the Department of Health and Human Services has been cut 21.2 percent. In this year’s budget, child welfare services are cut by $1.5 million. Support services for the elderly are cut by another $2.7 million.  A total of another $5 million will be cut this year. These cuts have put a heavy burden on case workers throughout the state and on the Georgian’s who will no longer receive services.

Georgia’s limited adult eligibility for Medicaid (less than $200 a month income compared to Connecticut with a $650 or less monthly income requirement) prevents most working-poor adults from accessing Medicaid and contributes significantly to Georgia’s high number of adults who lack health insurance (19% of the population).  Although Senator Gooch pointed out that funds were provided through the hospital bed tax to continue Medicaid benefits, he didn’t point out that the funding falls far short of providing services for those who need it.  

So cuts in education and Health and Human Services continue to undermine the state economic development.  Businesses don’t want to come to a state that has poor programs in both these areas.  As Alan Essig of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute has stated, “There is a better alternative. Comprehensive tax reform that increases revenue will improve Georgia’s economic competitiveness. Reforms can be designed to cut many Georgian’s taxes and still pay for investments that fuel the state’s prosperity, good schools . . . [and] healthy workers.”  

Isn’t it interesting that we have money to raise the scholarship amount for private schools, but still cut funding for public schools? And that we can afford to give money to the Falcons for a new stadium, but we can’t afford to help our citizens get needed help with medical care?  Maybe that is why our representatives don’t tell us the full story when they send out flyers or write columns in the paperabout the budget!

Bette Holland is the chair of the Dawson County Democratic Committee