For Immediate release
January 16, 2020
ATLANTA -- “GAE would like to thank Gov. Kemp for following through on completing his historic pay raise for Georgia's educators,” said Charlotte Booker, president of the Georgia Association of Educators (GAE). Booker was referring to the governor's pledge to give teachers the remaining $2,000 he promised during his campaign.
Booker's "historic" reference was in regards to the House Budget and Research Office report "Educator Pay in Georgia that said last year "the $3,000 was the largest in state history," and that, "The $3,000 pay raise [was] equal to 8.8% of the base salary. In the past, step increases were determined as a percent increase; however, the FY 2020 pay raise added $3,000 to every step on the schedule"
"This shows that the governor understands not only are our teachers deserving, but it is critical that Georgia stay competitive in attracting and retaining quality, trained teachers," said Booker.
GAE also applauds Gov. Kemp for proposing to continue fully funding our state's public schools for the third straight year, thus continuing the positive trend to offset years of underfunding and austerity cuts. Said Booker, "Many school systems are still trying to dig out the hole made by those cuts over the years and this will be very welcome news to them," said Booker.
"We also fully expect vouchers to be introduced again this year," said Booker. "The Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) has long supported the sole use of taxpayer funds being reserved exclusively for public school expenditures, period. The majority of Georgia’s children attend public schools, approximately 1.6 million. GAE has long encouraged the adequate and equitable funding that is necessary so that Georgia’s public schools can meet the demands of their continually growing population. This goes hand in hand with contributing toward increasing student achievement and guaranteeing that Georgia’s children can compete in the 21st century global marketplace. Vouchers are clearly divergent to that vision.”
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