Walton to Sponsor School Funding Meeting

An informational meeting on education funding issues in Cobb County and the state of Georgia will take place on Nov. 11 at Walton High School. 

The featured guest is Claire Suggs of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, who recently published a report entitled "The Schoolhouse Squeeze." 

The study details the financial shortfalls many state school district have been facing since the recession, especially reductions in property taxes and state education funding (see attached PDFs for a summary and the full report). 

Since 2002, the Georgia General Assembly has imposed austerity cuts across all spending categories, including education. The Cobb County School District estimates it has been deprived of nearly $500 million in state money it is owed under the Quality Basic Education Act. 

The Cobb Board of Education has imposed furloughs, increased classroom sizes, made other cuts and drawn from its reserve fund in recent years to balance budgets. The early fiscal year 2015 forecast is for a $79 million deficit in Cobb.

At the Nov. 11 meeting, Walton principal Judy McNeill also will address how the reduced funding will directly impact the school. The event begins at 7 p.m.