ATLANTA | Gov. Nathan Deal said Tuesday he’s not forgetting about education reform even though he postponed for a year the legislative consideration of proposals from his Education Reform Commission.
“We’re going to continue to push forward on education reform,” he said. “I believe that it is the key to improving quality of life for our state, certainly the quality of life for all of us, and especially for our children and grandchildren.”
His comments came during a visit with civic and government leaders from Effingham County visiting the Capitol for two days. He was one of 10 state offers or agency heads addressing the group organized by the Effingham Chamber of Commerce.
Deal had surprised some lawmakers and observers in his State of the State Address the first week of the General Assembly session when he said he wanted to wait until 2017 to consider the legislative changes the Reform Commission is recommending.
Various theories have floated around the Capitol as to why the governor hit the “pause” button. One claims his wife warned him of the political risks from teacher opposition to the merit-pay recommendation in an election year based on her frequent visits to elementary schools. However, nearly every local district already can institute merit-pay if the local board wants. Another theory is that Deal is waiting until he passes legislation this year to increase the size of the state Supreme Court so that a majority of Republican appointees can prevent the recommendations from being struck down as unconstitutional if challenged.
Deal only says that the recommendations are lengthy and complicated and deserve plenty of time for consideration. He has also appointed a panel of teachers to offer their input, addressing criticism of the commission which didn’t include any active, classroom teachers among the administrators and lawmakers he handpicked.
He told the Effingham crowd the reforms are vital.
“It’s important to make sure that the children have the skills they need to take the jobs that are coming to Georgia,” he said.
Deal also made a pitch for a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would allow state takeover of schools that fail three years in a row to meet state standards.
It’s another Deal initiative that education organizations oppose. But he linked it to a more popular program of his, criminal justice reform, which has passed the legislature almost without objection in three phases.
State takeover of chronically failing schools is necessary, he said.
“If we don’t, we’re never going to have the kind of criminal-justice reform that all of us want. We’re now trying to education those in our prison system who dropped out of school. That’s almost seven out of every 10,” he said.
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle also had education on his mind when he spoke to the group. He praised the county for establishing a career academy, a high school devoted to job training.
“Education drives the economy,” he said, noting that Dublin learned this week that its career academy was a major factor in attracting an employer with 400 jobs. The German company was so impressed that it committed to donate $1 million to the local career academy.
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