Published: March 02, 2006 03:59 pm      

House passes pair of education initiatives

ATLANTA (AP) — The House passed a pair of Gov. Sonny Perdue’s education initiatives Thursday, approving legislation that aims to lower class sizes and award high performing school principals a $15,000 bonus.

The proposals will boost the state’s lagging test scores and improve the quality of Georgia’s education, backers said.

Critics questioned the timing of the plans, mocking the governor’s election-year “epiphany.”

Perdue unveiled the bills at the beginning of the legislative session, along with bids to raise teachers’ pay by 4 percent and require 65 percent of education funding be spent in classrooms.

The “truth in class size” proposal, which passed 160-4 and now moves to the Senate, limits class sizes in core courses — math, science, social studies and language arts — from kindergarten through middle school.

First- through third-grade classes in those subjects would be limited to 21 students. Students in classes from fourth to eighth-grade would be restricted to 28 students. And kindergarten classrooms would be capped at 18 students, or 21 if the teacher has a full-time aide.

A 20 percent “fudge factor” is built in to the legislation, which state Rep. Brooks Coleman said gives school systems some flexibility. The plan would be backed by $163 million from the governor’s budget request, which Perdue announced during his State of the State address in January.

“This is a good thing. It’s built for children,” said Republican state Rep. Brooks Coleman, the bill’s sponsor. “Parents want it and teachers want it. And we should pass it.”

The push to reduce class sizes comes after years of delay in class size reforms passed under former Gov. Roy Barnes, a Democrat. Last year, Perdue signed legislation to postpone reductions in maximum class sizes for another two years.

Democrats said his change of heart brings up memories of former Gov. Zell Miller, a Democrat who was chided as Zig Zag Zell long before he spoke up for President Bush at the Republican National Convention.

“I never thought we’d have another one, but this year we have a governor that out zigs and out zags Gov. Miller,” said state Rep. Bob Holmes, D-Atlanta.

Added Minority Leader DuBose Porter, “Whatever reason we had the conversion, I’m glad to see it.”

State Rep. Rich Golick, the governor’s floor leader, said trying to reduce class sizes earlier would have forced counties to raise property tax rates.

“Just when you think we could come together for a moment and do the right thing at the right time, there’s always got to be the injection of partisan politics, the injection of a knife in the back just for sport,” Golick said.

The proposal to award bonuses to principals passed unanimously without debate. It passed the Senate earlier and now must be signed by the governor before it becomes law.

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On the Net:

House Bill 1365 and Senate Bill 468: http://www.legis.state.ga.us