Governor Deal: Smaller Govt., No Teacher Furloughs

Governor Nathan Deal warned of tough decisions ahead.  But one of those decisions, won’t be to furlough teachers or shorten the shool year.

In his first State of the State Address, the governor pledged to use 1 percent of the state’s rainy day fund towards K-12 education.  Funding for the HOPE scholarship will not increase under the governor’s plan.

Deal’s budget – outlined in a speech to a joint session of
the state Legislature on Wednesday – would provide $46 million in
borrowing for new reservoirs and $32 million to deepen the port in
Savannah.

State Democrats applauded the governor’s focus on education, but questioned his bond proposal plan for new reservoirs.  

“He also acknowledged that our state has grown by 18.3 percent,” Senator Brown said.  “You’re gonna reduce your services to those persons? I don’t think that’s gonna work.”

State Senate Minority Leader, Robert Brown, held a news conference immediately following the speech.· He also opposed the 14,000 government positions that will be eliminated under the governor’s plan.  He gave Governor Deal’s speech a “C” grade.