Schools establish future for all of us

 

By Michael Thurmond

Sunday, June 21, 2009

The Great Recession is reaping a bitter harvest of job losses and deep budget cuts throughout Georgia’s public education and training system. Although federal stimulus dollars are providing some temporary relief, more than $1 billion in state funding has been slashed from Georgia’s K-12 and post-secondary education budgets.

Budget shortfalls have forced educational leaders to institute furloughs and lay-offs. “Non-essential” classes in music and foreign languages are disappearing. As Georgia’s budget crisis deepens, economists are making dire predictions of continuing declines in state revenues. Absent a quicker-than-expected rebound, additional federal stimulus or new sources of revenue, more draconian budget cuts are inevitable.

Georgia’s public education and training system is standing at the crossroads between continued progress or a return to mediocrity. Further reductions will cripple the development of Georgia’s 21st century workforce. Now is not the time to drastically reduce investments in our children’s future.

Ironically, this severe economic downturn presents Georgia with an unprecedented opportunity to increase our competitive advantage by improving the quality of our most valuable economic development resource — our work force.

A thorough debate must be had regarding the potential impact of additional budget cuts to Georgia’s public education and training system. A critical question is: Should Georgia’s political, educational and business leaders support accessing alternative or new funding streams to protect and improve the quality of public education in our state? The result of this critical and long-delayed debate will shape and define Georgia’s economic future.

I am convinced that Georgia’s return to economic growth and prosperity will be dependent on the expansion of state education and training opportunities. Despite the downturn, strategic investments in cost-effective programs will assure the development of a skilled and productive work force. I offer three examples where increased funding will pay huge dividends:

? Expand parental involvement initiatives. Fledgling school-based parent involvement programs are critical to the long-term development of our children and educational system. Students whose parents are involved in their education have higher high school and college graduation rates, regardless of their socioeconomic status.

? Promote increased respect for school-to-work initiatives. Georgia’s high school co-enrollment programs, apprenticeships, internships, technical, career and agricultural programs are important tools in preparing students for the work force. Programs such as the Georgia Department of Labor’s Jobs for Georgia Graduates (JGG) help reduce the dropout rate. JGG provides “at risk” students with pre-employment and job development training. In the 2008 school year, 95 percent of JGG’s 794 seniors earned a high school diploma.

? Strengthen Georgia’s technical and two-year colleges. They are solid options for high school graduates not interested in or ready to enter a four-year college. These institutions are academically sound, less expensive and graduates start their careers sooner than four-year college graduates. These schools also aid adults seeking a career change or new skills.

Michael Thurmond is Georgia Commissioner of Labor