During Wednesday’s State of the State address from Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, the governor outlined his plan to “set Georgia on a path of greatness for generations to come,” saying that his administration would raise pay for teachers, incentivize economic progress, and increase scholarship opportunities.
“This session, we will not only build on the monumental achievements of the past four years, we will set Georgia on a path of greatness for generations to come,” the Republican governor said. “We are putting precious state dollars where our priorities are, including every level of education to grow a generation of highly skilled workers. In fact, between both budgets we will devote an additional $1.9 billion to education and fully fund the [Quality Basic Education] Formula.”
“We are expanding and reinforcing the workforce pipeline at every level, including where it begins – in our K-12 classrooms,” Kemp said. “To keep our best and brightest in the classroom, when I first ran for governor, I promised to raise teacher pay by $5,000. With your help, we fully delivered on that pledge. To reward those who continue to serve after the hardships of the pandemic, my FY 2024 budget proposes yet another $2,000 pay raise for teachers.”
“In total, we will have given hardworking educators a $7,000 pay raise in just five years,” he continued. “No other General Assembly or governor will have raised teacher pay by so much, so quickly, in state history! With the passage of this budget, the average teacher salary in Georgia will also now be over $7,000 higher than the Southeast regional average.”
“We also know the workforce pipeline extends into our world-class universities and technical colleges,” Kemp added. “That is why, for the first time in over a decade – and in the 30th year of both this program and the Georgia Lottery – we are once again fulfilling Governor Zell Miller’s vision and returning HOPE Scholarship and Grant awards to 100% of tuition!”
Kemp’s speech comes a few weeks after he approved grants totaling $6 million for the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) to establish two new College and Career Academies, which are Georgia’s top resource for skilled workers.
As explained on the TCSG website, the organization oversees Georgia’s “technical colleges, adult literacy programs, and a host of economic and workforce development programs.” It also provides all adult Georgians with “a unified system of technical education, adult education, and customized business and industry training.”
