CINS Meeting Calls For Change In Tax Allocations

The Council of Intown Neighborhoods and Schools held its annual Legislative meeting Wednesday night at Springdale Park Elementary School.

More than 50 people – including members of the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education – attended the event to hear discussions on this year's theme: 2011 Legislative Agenda for Education.

CINS, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering schools in the Grady High School cluster, gathered a group of state representatives, civic leaders, and policy experts to participate in a roundtable discussion about current issues affecting education in Georgia.

Former president of the Atlanta Board of Education and current business and civic leader Joe Martin insisted that the state needs to contribute more toward education.

According to Martin's calculations, Georgia currently spends 39.1 percent of its total state funds on education. Local school systems receive their share of these funds through calculations under the Quality Based Education formula.

The problem is the QBE formula is “seriously outdated and unrealistic,” Martin said. Additionally, the state often decreases its calculated contribution, a process known as implementing austerity cuts.

As a result, local governments have had to contribute more funds and rely on federal stimulus money to meet educational needs, he said.

But, “stimulus funds are running out,” Martin cautioned. When coupled with the deep cuts proposed for the 2012 budget and the fact that local governments are not experiencing a surge in property tax revenue, “we have a critical problem here in Georgia," he said. "Whatever the problems were in 2011, they'll be worse in 2012."

Budget cuts are implemented across the board; education is not the only area significantly affected by decreased funding. As such, the solution is not simply decreasing another department's allotment and putting it toward education.

“Unless we change the tax structure so that it increases . . . revenue is not going to come in,” said Alan Essig, the executive director of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.

He also stressed that tax changes are critical and must not be thwarted for political reasons. “Everyone is not going to agree on everything. But, there is a way to do it, if [we] choose,” he said.

The CINS meeting was certainly informative for Cathy Robinson, a Mary Lin Elementary parent and PTA member, who gained a “basic understanding of the funding formula for education and for the state.”

Robinson said she plans on attending the next CINS legislative meeting. In the meantime, she will focus on “encourag[ing] my neighbors to be more involved in our state funding.”

Representative Kathy Ashe encouraged parents and community leaders to also focus on discovering new ways to help students learn, especially by using modern technological advances. “The time has come for your creative minds to figure out how we [should] do it differently,” she said.

Ultimate success in reforming education, though, will be determined by the strength of those who demand change. Presence, said State Sen. Jason Carter, is key. “We want to see you at the Capitol. Don't just come to see the people you know. Go all over the place and be heard.”