Cox: Fund Schools for Excellence

There are now counties in Georgia who simply do not have the necessary tax-base to fund their public schools, and when state and federal mandates, that are largely unfunded, are heaped atop their already strained budgets, they face a situation without an easy resolution.

A number of Georgia counties have sued the state over the current funding formula, an illustration of the crisis in funding we face. Mark Taylor's solution is to give schools more money, but he is not clear about where that money would come from. Unless schools are to become a :"capitalist enterprise" as Bill Bolten proposes or get rich from ads on the sides of school buses as Carlotta Harrell proposes, then we have to be open to discussion of new ideas.

Cathy Cox is open to that discussion, and Mark Taylor is not. Today, in the debate, he accused her of wanting to fund schools with sales tax dollars rather than property tax dollars. That is not what she proposes. I have heard her talk about this several times, and the goal is to look for a combination of funding for schools that is both stable and provides enough money to reach for excellence rather than mediocrity in our schools. She is open to the idea of re-vamping how we fund our schools, not to take money from our schools, but instead to provide more. Taylor criticizes her for being open to this discussion and with his words twists her position. What's his Big Idea? More of the same?

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