Georgia’s healthiest budget since the recession will set aside more money for school construction and teacher raises.
The $20.8 billion budget, which includes an additional $600 million in spending, provides millions for the construction of K-12 and higher-education buildings throughout the state, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed the budget on Monday.
House Speaker David Ralston, a republican from Blue Ridge, Ga., told the AJC that funding was allocated for a satellite campus of the University of North Georgia in Blue Ridge. Other projects have not yet been announced.
The spending increase will also fund scholarships, bonds for technology upgrades and enrollment growth, as well as reduce teacher furloughs and restore class days that were cut during the recession.
Critics, however, have noted that the increase would not counteract the austerity cuts from previous years.
