When people talk about improving public education, the focus is usually on spending more money. Less attention is paid to how existing funds are used, or if resources are reaching the students and communities who need them most.
Georgia’s Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula for public school funding was designed to do just that, by reducing local funding disparities in Georgia’s public schools, which are mainly caused by the variances in revenue from property taxes. The state’s portion of the funding for school districts is then adjusted using factors like full-time equivalent students, instructional programs, teacher experience and local property tax revenues. However, the current QBE formula fails to adequately account for individual student poverty levels, which leads to an ongoing divide between wealthy and impoverished districts. Despite greater educational challenges in high-poverty areas, the data show that per-pupil expenditures are not higher in these areas compared to low-poverty areas, indicating a budgetary shortcoming in the program’s design.
As QBE reaches its 40th anniversary this year, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation is publishing a series of essays that examine the current program and ways to improve how the state distributes public education funds moving forward. The history of the Quality Basic Education (QBE) Act and previous attempts at reform was published in August.
This week features a review of how effective the current QBE formula is at accounting for unequal funding across school districts in Georgia by Dr. Nathan Gray, Professor of Business and Public Policy at Young Harris College, and Madison Dorris.
Have a great weekend,
– Kyle Wingfield
Friday’s Freshest 🗞️
If you’ve followed the conversation even casually, you’ve heard the claim: Large institutional investors are buying up homes, driving prices sky-high and locking families out of the market. But like most stories that sound that simple, this one has more layers. And it’s worth separating the easy headlines from what’s actually happening on the ground.
Every Halloween, we brace ourselves for the things that go bump in the night. Ghosts, goblins, vampires; the usual suspects. But as it turns out, the most frightening forces in Georgia aren’t hiding under beds or behind masks.
Despite the federal public health emergency ending over two years ago, ‘temporary’ Affordable Care Act subsidies that removed the income cap have remained in place. They have become the source of political theater in Washington, even though the expiring subsidies are not the driving force behind rising premiums.
Here is a simple proposition: If a Georgia public school has an open seat, any Georgia student should be able to take it. This idea isn’t fringe or partisan and shouldn’t require a superintendent’s blessing.
Atlanta is in the middle of consolidating and reorganizing schools, with tens of thousands of open seats across the district. Still, consolidation is rarely easy, even when it’s the practical or financially sound thing to do.
Peach Picks 🍑
President Trump has signed a bill to fund the government, bringing a close to the longest government shutdown in history. The bill passed Wednesday night despite Republicans’ narrow margin in the House.
Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced that electrical component and system manufacturer Socomec will invest nearly $10 million in a new facility in Suwanee, creating 300 new jobs in Gwinnett County.
A South Korean solar company says it will temporarily reduce pay and working hours for about 1,000 of its 3,000 employees in Georgia because U.S. customs officials have been detaining imported components needed to make solar panels.
Georgia’s high school graduation rates rose 1.5 percentage points to 87.2%, according to the results of the 2025 College and Career Ready Performance Index released Wednesday. The index also shows improvements in content mastery, which includes scores in English Language Arts, mathematics, science and social studies, among elementary, middle and high school students.
A mandatory cellphone ban could be coming for all public high schools in Georgia after the positive outcomes reported by schools that have already implemented such policies. A new state law will require every public elementary and middle school in the state to lock up students’ phones and other personal devices starting next fall, but many already have such policies in place, including at high schools.
Quotes Of Note 🌟
“Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.” – George Washington
“To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child” – Cicero
“The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.” – Albert Einstein
One More Fact 💡
A new analysis from the Reason Foundation finds that state and local governments across the country had a combined $6.1 trillion in total liabilities at the end of 2023—a reminder that the true cost of government is far larger than annual budgets alone suggest.
The report examines every state’s balance sheet using the latest audited financial statements. According to the report, Georgia’s state and local governments together carried more than $132.47 billion in long-term obligations, including bonded debt, pension liabilities and post-employment benefits. While Georgia is better positioned than most states—thanks to a constitutional debt limit and a history of fiscal restraint—the data shows how quickly liabilities can accumulate when state governments rely on borrowing or push costs into the future.
Reason’s database highlights a simple truth: Transparency matters. Understanding the full picture of state and local finances is essential for taxpayers and lawmakers alike. And in an era of rising interest rates and tight budgets, honest accounting is more important than ever.