Democratic nominee for Governor and former House Democratic Leader Stacey Abrams hosted a tele-town hall conversation with educators across Georgia Monday on her comprehensive plans to fund Georgia’s public schools, invest in teachers, and support the state’s children from cradle to career.
“As Georgia’s Public Education Governor, I will not only keep my door open for Georgia’s educators, I will partner with teachers, parents, and administrators in every region of our state to ensure that our schools are fully-funded, our teachers are well-compensated, and our children can thrive no matter their zip code or family income,” Stacey Abrams said. “I am the only candidate in this race with a proven track record of listening to our teachers and fighting for public school resources.”
During her dialogue with teachers, administrators, and other supporters of public education in Georgia, Abrams highlighted her plans to reduce the burden of high-stakes standardized testing, strengthen the Teacher Retirement System, and bring teacher pay up to national standards, among other initiatives to empower educators and enhance Georgia’s public education system.
Throughout her legislative career, she has partnered with educators to fight against efforts to hand public schools over to private interests and away from parents and teachers, and preserved the HOPE scholarship program by preventing requirements that would have disproportionately harmed low-income students and students of color.
“Stacey Abrams has always been a champion for Georgia educators. As House Democratic Leader, she fought alongside us against austerity cuts, the“Opportunity School District” legislation that could have opened our public schools up to private interests, and vouchers that siphoned our resources away.”said Brian Westlake, a former U.S. Marine who teaches law and philosophy at Berkmar High School. “Brian Kemp has a history of ignoring the voices of Georgia teachers, and he can’t hide that record behind desperate, last-minute campaign trail promises. Stacey Abrams is the only candidate with an actual record to stand on and a platform that we teachers can trust to move Georgia’s public education system forward.”
In 2016, Kemp supported the failed Opportunity School District (OSD) initiative to take local control away from schools, an idea that 60 percent of Georgians rejected at the polls. Now, he once again finds himself on the opposite side of Georgia educators, proposing to take $200 million away from our public school system and redirect it to private schools by doubling the ‘Student Scholarship Organizations’ voucher program.
Among her plans as governor, Abrams has pledged to make a historic investment in affordable, high-quality child care for all families through the Bold Start Scholarship Program; fully fund our public schools and protect them from privatization; and prioritize safe schools, wraparound support, and child mental-health services.
Abrams has been endorsed by the Georgia Association of Educators.
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