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For the first time, Georgia budget proposes spending more on students from low-income backgrounds
House Appropriations Chairman Matt Hatchett
House Appropriations Chairman Matt Hatchett speaks about the State's 2026 budget at the Georgia State Capitol on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 in Atlanta. (Natrice Miller/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
ATLANTA — Georgia could allocate extra money to educate poor public school students for the first time under a House budget approved on an 171-4 vote Tuesday. However, the $28 million proposed is far less than what advocates argue is necessary. House Bill 68, which would spend $37.7 billion in state money and $73.1 billion overall in the year beginning July 1, advances to the Senate for more debate. It would further boost spending on prisons, provide another bonus payment for some state retirees and raise judges' salaries. Georgia's 40-year-old K-12 school funding system provides extra money to school districts with low property wealth that can't collect much in property taxes. But Democrats and others argue that the state needs to spend more on poor students themselves.
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