Georgia legislators passed a budget that fully funded education for the state. District 5 seat on the Carroll County Board of Education and veteran teacher, Donald Nixon was a guest on WLBBÂ’s Community Voice program to discuss what this could mean for Carroll County.
“We will definitely be using some of that money to target areas that have been hurt as we come into the budget,” said Nixon. “The idea is if it was going to be consistent year after year, we could pass a lower millage to get it back down for the tax payers.”
The Georgia Department of Education determines funding need by the Quality Basic Education Act formula, or QBE. It has not been fully funded since 2002. Nixon said the board will have to be cautious about hiring new employees. If the state does not fully fund next year, it could mean letting go of newly hired employees after less than a year of work.
During the program, Nixon also discussed current security measures for Carroll County schools.
“We put over $102 million into all of our schools. That goes toward security cameras and security lock down systems and we will continue to cover all of them in the next year.” Nixon said he believes this issue of safety extends pass the school doors, ” We have to change the mindset of the parents and the community around that child at home and not just call it the schools responsibility.”
Nixon will seek re-election in an upcoming election on May 22nd.
