When the Georgia General Assembly passed the Georgia Promise Scholarship voucher program, it was marketed as a lifeline for struggling students. In reality, it’s a political project that siphons taxpayer dollars from the very schools that need them most.
I’ve spent my life in service – as a U.S. Army colonel, state senator, mayor of Milledgeville, business owner and now as a Georgia state representative. In each role, I’ve worked to strengthen public institutions that serve all people. That’s why I introduced House Bill 436 to repeal this misguided voucher law.
Vouchers drain critical resources from public schools. Georgia ranks 35th in per-pupil spending. Many of our rural and urban schools already operate on thin budgets. When students leave with a voucher, the local school loses funding but still must pay for buses, teacher salaries and special education programs.
Private schools that receive vouchers don’t play by the same rules. They can refuse students based on disability, income or other factors, and they aren’t required to follow state curriculum or testing standards. Georgia taxpayers shouldn’t fund schools that can legally exclude Georgia children.
The evidence is clear: statewide voucher programs in other states have produced some of the largest academic declines on record. And in Georgia, the program’s eligibility expansion from 22,000 to over 400,000 students is a budget disaster waiting to happen.
Leaders should solve problems, not create them. This voucher law creates more problems than it solves by draining resources, deepening inequities and weakening public trust in our schools.
It’s time to repeal the voucher law and reinvest in what works: smaller class sizes, better teacher pay, stronger reading programs and modern learning tools. Public education must mean all children, every child, in every community.
