Under the Gold Dome: 2003 Legislative Report
By Pat Pickard
The 2003 Georgia General Assembly session was the longest (40 session days plus 35 days of working recess) since 1889 and perhaps the most contentious session on record with the changes in leadership and party control. Education issues were among the most debated with many feeling that the new administration was out to “ditch” former Governor Barnes’ A+ Educational Reform Act of 2000 or H. B. 1187. Complete reversal was not the case, but several changes will affect library media center programs during the 2003-04 school year. Look for more discussion and perhaps changes next year as the Republican leadership attempts to give more local control of decision-making and state funds to the local school systems.
GLMA’s “Restore the Funds” campaign was successful in that we were heard. However, the declining state economy caused further education budget cuts. The good news is that library media center allotments were not among them. Therefore, the allotment remains at $9.77 per FTE for 2003-04. As the state budget and supplemental budget are adopted each year by the General Assembly, this amount is not fixed for more than one year. An upswing in the economy between now and January could result in additional money in the supplemental budget toward the end of the school year, but with current conditions, do not look for this to happen.
Our supporters in the Georgia House of Representatives and on the House Education Committee are to be thanked for assuring that part of the former expenditure controls of HB 1187 was not completely voted out. HB 1187 gave 100% of the funding for library media centers to media center costs with 90% given to the school where earned. In short, this meant that school systems had to spend the media allotment, which was $19.54 per FTE (an enrollment term meaning Full Time Equivalent) for the first three school years of Gov. Barnes’ term and cut in half in his last year in office, on the media center program in the school with the reporting FTE count. Governor Perdue’s revision of HB 1187, SB 249, was finally passed with all site expenditure controls removed. During 2003-04 direct instruction funds are to be spent on direct instruction. Funds for areas not under direct instruction can be spent in other areas EXCEPT for media center funds. For 2003-04, 100% of media funds, “including materials” must be spent on media costs with no site expenditure controls. The expenditure control will be audited at the system level. Each system will determine how they will spend the media funds on media costs. It does leave the door open for growing systems to spend the funding on opening new school library media centers, as was a committee meeting discussion at one point during the session. It is hoped that the funds will be spread on an FTE basis to all schools in the system, but that is left up to the system.
I know this all sounds like bad news to many, but it could have been worse. We could have lost all media funding to other areas as seen fit by the local system. We were also heard when we showed that even under HB 1187 many schools were not getting the funding for library/instructional materials but that these funds were being used for salaries. The wording in SB 249 is as follows:
“Each local school system shall spend 100 percent of the funds designated for media center costs for such costs at the system level, and 100 percent of the funds designated for media materials for media materials at the system level.”
The 2003 session is history. It is time to begin working toward the 2004 session by contacting your local legislators and inviting them into your media center during the school day. Show them how you are a vital part of instruction in your school and how media center funding is needed to keep current instructional resources and good appropriate reading materials in the hands of your students. Show them that increased student academic achievement is our bottom line.
We also need parental support and for parents to contact their legislators with their concerns about media center funding. When the foreign language program in the elementary schools was threaten with lost of funding, the parents’ efforts played a vital role in communicating the need and saving the program. Work through your PTA and parent volunteer group for their support. Legislators want to know the concerns of their constituents.
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