Education Finance
Data Snapshot
In “The Economic Impact of Head Start in Georgia,” researcher Nicholas Warner details how $208 million of HS funding in Georgia supports $415 million of total economic output.
The Georgia Department of Education divides the state into 16 regional educational service agencies (RESAs) to improve the effectiveness of educational resources. Table 1 shows the combined Head Start and Early Head Start funding by RESA. Map 3 shows Head Start grant funding by RESA for 2015.
Approximately $58 million of the $208 million in Head Start funding in Georgia goes to Head Start locations within the Atlanta Metro RESA, representing 27 percent of the total and by far the largest amount for any region.
Economic Impact by RESAs in Millions
(Top 5)
Notable Research
Economic Impact of Head Start in Georgia
For more than 50 years, the federal Head Start program has produced short- and long-term economic impacts in the state of Georgia, serving approximately 1 million Georgians since its inception. This brief highlights the short-term impacts, including the increased access to early education in rural Georgia and the overall economic effect that Head Start funding has in these communities. Author: Nicholas Warner
The Effect of Start-up Charter Schools on Nearby Property Values
This is the second in a three-part series of studies commissioned by the State Charter Schools Commission and performed by the Center for State and Local Finance that analyze the economic impact of start-up charter schools on the communities they serve and on the state of Georgia as a whole. This second report examines the effect that start-up charter schools have on property values of nearby homes. Authors: Peter Bluestone, David Sjoquist and Nick Warner
Publications
Lifetime Costs to Educate Georgia Students and Related Tax Revenues
CSLF Brief, Publication No. 45, September 6, 2018, Nicholas Warner and Emily Franklin
While educational attainment usually leads to higher pay, each additional year of schooling also represents additional public dollars spent to educate that student and increased tax revenues realized over time. This brief and accompanying visualization examine 12 typical paths through Georgia’s public education into the workforce. The report provides the cost to educate each student, the year at which each student’s taxes paid become equivalent to the amount to educate them, and the amount of taxes paid by age 65 above and beyond the cost of their public education. These estimates represent long-run fiscal impacts for the 2 specific and representative paths.
The Effects of Start-Up Charter Schools on Academic Milestones
CSLF Report, Publication No. 39, April 18, 2018, Peter Bluestone and Nicholas Warner
This report examines whether there is a causal relationship between attending a Georgia start-up charter school as a ninth-grader and achieving critical academic milestones, such as high graduation, college attendance, and degree attainment. The study uses Georgia’s Academic and Workforce Analysis and Research Data System, or GA AWARDS, to analyze outcomes for students from 2007-2016. The report was commissioned by the State Charter Schools Commission.
Economic Impact of Head Start in Georgia
CSLF Brief, Publication No. 36, Nov. 21, 2017, Nicholas Warner
For more than 50 years, the federal Head Start program has produced short- and long-term economic impacts in the state of Georgia, serving approximately 1 million Georgians since its inception. This brief highlights the short-term impacts, including the increased access to early education in rural Georgia and the overall economic effect that Head Start funding has in these communities.
Georgia's Equalization Grant
CSLF Report, Publication No. 35. May 23, 2017, Nicholas Warner
This report looks at Georgia's Equalization Grant, which was introduced as part of the Quality Basic Education Act in 1985 and first funded in 1987. It examines the basics of the grant calculation, as well as discusses the grant’s ability to close the funding gap between low and high property wealth districts and how reliant these school districts have been on the equalization grant. Legislative changes to the equalization grant calculation and their effect on funding levels also are outlined.
The Effect of Start-up Charter Schools on Nearby Property Values
CSLF Report, Publication No. 34. May 5, 2017, Peter Bluestone, David Sjoquist and Nick Warner
This is the second in a three-part series of studies commissioned by the State Charter Schools Commission and performed by the Center for State and Local Finance that analyze the economic impact of start-up charter schools on the communities they serve and on the state of Georgia as a whole. This second report examines the effect that start-up charter schools have on property values of nearby homes.
Georgia’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for Education: Review of Trends and Policy Implications
CSLF Report, Publication No. 31. Feb. 7, 2017, Ross Rubenstein and Nick Warner
ESPLOST, or special purpose local option sales tax for education, provides a unique way for districts to substitute current revenues (via a penny sales tax) for debt financing. The authors examine this funding tool in school districts throughout Georgia, outlining trends and policy considerations.
Post-Recession School District Property Tax Revenues in Georgia
CSLF Report, Publication No. 21, Dec. 15, 2015, Nicholas Warner
Although median home values began growing in FY 2013, school districts have just begun feeling the positive effects: The statewide per student property tax digest increased by 1.6 percent in FY 2015. This growth comes after five consecutive years of declines. This brief provides an update to “The Great Recession and School District Property Tax Revenues in Georgia” by examining recent changes in districts’ per student digests during FY 2015.
Financing Georgia's Schools
CSLF Report, Publication No. 19, Oct. 20, 2015, Elton Davis and Isabel Ruthotto
This report begins with a review of Georgia's traditional K-12 public school system structure, including the legal framework, local system organization, and an overview of funding sources. Then, state, local and federal sources used to finance K-12 education are explained. Charter school funding is also included in the report.
Willing to Pay: Charter Schools' Impact on Georgia Property Values
FRC Report, Publication No. 271, Aug. 18, 2015, Carlianne Patrick
This report looks at whether homebuyers are willing to pay a premium for access to charter schools in Georgia. The research looks at 13 charter schools with enrollment priority zones, and it finds that on average home sale prices are 7 to 13 percent higher in the zone with the greatest chance for enrollment. The report also gives an overview of features and structure of charter schools in Georgia.
The Great Recession and School District Property Tax Revenues in Georgia
CSLF Policy Brief , Publication No. 9, Feb. 10, 2015, Nicholas Warner
The author outlines how declines in property values post-recession have greatly affected Georgia school districts, most especially those located in metro Atlanta.
Student Loan Debt: Comparing Trends in Georgia to a National Sample
CSLF Report, Publication No. 8, Jan. 27, 2015, Fred Brooks
This report compares student loan borrowers in Georgia to those across the nation, and it finds that borrowers here have been more influenced by the Great Recession.
Georgia's Tax Credit Scholarship Program
FRC Report, Publication No. 268, November 2014, Robert Buschman, David Sjoquist
This report examines the cost of the tax credit relative to the savings to state and local governments when students enroll in private rather than public schools.
School District Education Expenditures in Response to the Great Recession
FRC Report 265, January 10, 2014, Carolyn Bourdeaux, Nicholas Warner
This report examines the structure of school district expenditures between 2001 and 2012 with a particular focus on changes in instructional expenditures during the recession.
Trends in Georgia School Staffing 2001-2012
FRC Brief 266, January 10, 2014, Nicholas Warner
This brief examines the changes in teacher and administrator education, experience, and compensation over the last 10 years with a focus on the possible effect of the Great Recession.