NASHVILLE — Berrien County School System officials demand equality when it comes to education funding in the Peach State.

The Nashville-based school system recently joined 50 other small-town, rural systems to form the Consortium for Adequate School Funding in Georgia. Dedicated to ensuring every Georgia child receives a proper and sufficient education, the group filed suit against Georgia leaders in the Fulton County Superior Court demanding increased funding.

“We want our students to have access to the same opportunities as those in the larger metropolitan areas of Georgia,” said Berrien County School System Superintendent Bobby Griffin. “We want our students to have the same chance to be successful.”

With more money, he said, school systems can provide additional resources. He said budget cuts have caused small towns to place an undue hardship on property owners, forcing them to pay higher taxes each year.

“It’s not fair for the state to force us to place the increased burden on local tax payers,” Griffin added. “The state needs to step up to the plate and find the funding. They are killing us locally. We have a reached the point where property owners cannot do any more.”

The lawsuit argues that Georgia has consistently underfunded schools. According to the Georgia Constitution, the state has a clear and conditional obligation to provide an adequate education for all students.

The Quality Basic Education Act was implemented to fulfill this obligation. However, the formula used to determine the cost of educating Georgia’s children is unrealistic, according to Consortium members who believe it does even provide enough funding to meet the most basic state requirements.

Consortium members believe the financial crisis for Georgia’s schools has become so severe and the prospects for a legislative remedy are so remote that the only way to resolve the matter is through litigation. They also believe that the inadequate funding has resulted in lower standardized test scores and high school completion rates in rural areas.

The lawsuit states that “The harm caused by the failure of Georgia’s school funding system is enduring and will persist for students throughout their lifetimes, injuring their ability to find productive work that will permit them to support themselves, to avoid economic dependency, and to participate productively in the economic life of Georgia and the United States.”

Consortium members believe the method of financing Georgia’s schools is not based on a direct connection between the desired educational outcomes and the resources needed to achieve these outcomes. They want the state leaders to conduct an objective and comprehensive study of the cost of providing an adequate education.

Rep. Jay Shaw, D-Lakeland, said, “A child in South Georgia has just as much right to education dollars as a child in Fulton, Gwinett or Dekalb counties. It’s not fair that the big metro areas spend twice as much per child as the rural areas of Georgia. In order for the rural systems to survive, they had to do something.”

The Lanier County School System, Clinch County School System, Brooks County School System, and Echols County School System are also members of the Consortium for Adequate School Funding in Georgia



To contact reporter Jessica Pope, please call (229) 244-3400, ext. 255.