Georgia Charter Schools Association makes every effort to keep its members informed on key state legislation and policy matters that affect your charter school. As a result, we would like to share additional guidance and information from the Georgia Department of Education on the one-time school safety grants, teacher pay raises and facilities funding grants approved by the Georgia legislature and recently signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp. Please review the following information below to ensure your school receives beneficial facilities funding championed by GCSA, one-time school safety grants and to understand the latest regarding educator pay raises.
Charter School Facility Grants:
- In FY 2020, The Georgia General Assembly included $3.4 million in the Georgia Department of Education’s budget to administer facility grants to all eligible charter schools.
- This amount provides for approximately $40,000 per school on a non-competitive basis in FY 2020.
- All charter schools that submit an annual audit report and own or lease (with a lease term of three years or longer) their own school building are eligible to participate in the FY 2020 facilities grant program.
- The State Board of Education plans to approve the allocation of these funds at the June SBOE meeting.
- Following that meeting, schools will be able to access directions on GaDOE’s website about how to apply for the grant.
*Note: the grant information on the website has not yet been updated with FY 2020 details.
School Safety Grants:
- All Georgia public charter schools are entitled to the $30,000 one-time school safety grants.
- To receive the grants: schools must notify their districts NOW to be sure they are included in the budgets the districts submit through the Consolidated Application.
- The grants are reimbursable so schools MUST spend the money before they receive the grant funds.
- Do NOT spend the money until you hear from your local district that your budget has been approved.
Teacher & Staff Pay Raises:
The Georgia Department of Education has informed us that the intent of the legislation is to increase teacher and staff pay raises by $3,000. However, the GaDOE has issued no official guidance in regards to pay raises. The GaDOE says it’s currently in the process of surveying individual school districts to see how they plan to allocate the funds. Please contact your local district for more information.
If you have any additional questions or concerns about the implementation of this recently approved legislation, you can reach out to Bonnie Holliday, GCSA’s Executive Vice President of Policy and External Relations, at bholliday@gacharters.org or 770-378-4993. You can also contact RaShaun Holliman, GCSA’s Sr. Vice President of Advocacy and Government Relations, at rholliman@gacharters.org or 614-778-9160.
