Henry County Board of Education Shares 2025 Legislative Priorities

Dec 10 2024

HENRY COUNTY, GA – Around 20 government and industry officials joined the Henry County Board of Education on Nov. 19 for its annual Legislative Breakfast and presentation of its 2025 Legislative Priorities.

The district’s 29th and newest elementary school, Birch Creek Elementary, served as host for dignitaries, including Henry County Commission Chair Carlotta Harrell, Henry County Commissioners Neat Robinson (Dist. 2), Dee Anglyn III (Dist. 3), and Michael Price (Dist. 4), Mayor of Stockbridge Anthony S. Ford, Mayor of Locust Grove Carlos Greer, Piedmont Henry Hospital CEO David Kent, and Southern Crescent Technical College President Dr. Irvin Clark.

Also in attendance were Henry County Schools Superintendent Dr. John Pace III, Board Chair Sophe Pope (Dist. 4), Board Vice Chair Annette Edwards (Dist. 2), Board Members Dr. Pam Nutt (Dist. 1), Holly Cobb (Dist. 3), and Makenzie McDaniel (Dist. 5), Birch Creek Elementary School Principal Quavious Wright, and other district leaders and staff.

“It is so inspiring to see the community unite around what’s best for kids,” said Board Chair Sophe Pope. “We’re excited to partner with our local representatives and grateful for their willingness to help ensure every Henry County Schools student and staff member feels empowered to realize their greatest potential.”

The event provided the district’s city and county partners with an overview of board action aimed at sustaining a high-performing learning and working environment.

“These legislative priorities are fundamental to our vision to ensure a high-quality, world-class education and mission to empower every student with exceptional opportunities,” Dr. Pace said. “We are grateful to our local representatives and civic leaders for dedicating time to learn how they can help advance the community’s hopes, dreams, and aspirations for their children and county.”

The board developed the legislative priorities throughout September and October, approving them during its Nov. 11 study session in anticipation of the spring 2025 Legislative Session, which begins on Jan. 13.

Dr. Pace underscored the board’s commitment to student and staff success by highlighting continued investment in a range of supports enabled by Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (E-SPLOST) and other locally generated funds.

The board’s actual and projected safety and security expenditures for FY23, FY24, and FY25 significantly surpass state contributions, particularly with no state funding in this category in 2023.

The state provided $2.5 million ($58.21 per student) in FY24, while HCS allocated more than $11 million to safety and security costs ($258.21 per student), which included hiring 29 Campus Safety Monitors across all elementary schools, complementing those already in place at all the district’s middle and high schools. These investments, which also include funding the district’s School Resources Officer unit in partnership with the Henry County Police Department, have increased substantially over the FY23 expenditure of nearly $4 million ($85.44 per student).

The state’s budget of almost $2.4 million ($54.30 per student) for security upgrades for FY25 represents a decrease of $143,800 or 5.8% from 2024 and is approximately $8.5 million less than the district’s budgeted $10.9 million ($250.60 per student).

Similarly, the district’s investments in compensating mental health and wellness staff continue to exceed state funding levels. The totals for actual and projected salaries were nearly $17.6 million ($408.18 per student), $19.7 million ($459.54 per student), and $23.6 million ($543.38 per student) for FY23, FY24, and FY25, respectively.

Although the state’s provisions for these salaries have increased, they remain well below the district’s at approximately $6.5 million ($150.11 per student), $7.5 million ($174.30 per student), and $7.9 million ($183.16 per student) for the equivalent periods.

Superintendent Pace expressed the critical need for mental health and wellness professionals while highlighting the considerable difference between state funding and district investment.

Using a similar state funding ratio of 1:2,475 for both social workers and psychologists, Dr. Pace emphasized the disparity in funding and the subsequent impact on the student-to-personnel ratio while stressing the considerable need for wellness professionals.

Technology infrastructure, which receives no state funding, is a significant component of the district’s safety and security initiatives. HCS continues to prioritize and enhance its technology infrastructure operating costs, projecting expenditures of approximately $15 million ($345.70 per student) for FY25.

The superintendent outlined challenges to fully realizing the district’s goals despite substantial board investment, presenting a case for legislators to lobby for additional support to close funding gaps.

HCS leaders and Birch Creek Elementary staff also shared the district’s accomplishments and aspirations, reflected in the following board-specified priorities:

Safety and Security

Revise the Quality Basic Education (QBE) allotment to fund school safety personnel at each school (i.e., Campus Safety Monitors, School Resource Officers, and School Crossing Guards)
Increase funding that enables districts to invest in and sustain enhanced technologies to monitor and prevent cybersecurity threats
Increase funding that enables districts to invest in and sustain enhanced technologies to increase school safety measures, such as campus alert systems, weapons detection technology, and structural reinforcements
Develop policies and resources that support timely and effective interagency communications between school systems, behavioral health professionals, and law enforcement

Mental Health and Wellness

Revise the QBE allotment formula to fund a professional in every school for the purpose of student and staff mental health and wellness supports
Revise the QBE allotment formula to fund critical positions for student supports at every school to include social workers, counselors, psychologists, and nurses.
Expand state initiatives that incentivize collaboration with local health care providers for school-based mental health services.

Educator Compensation and Teacher Pipeline Development

Increase the QBE allotment to advance competitive teacher and support staff compensation
Increase the state’s contribution within the bus driver funding formula; increase bus driver compensation and ensure a more competitive retirement incentive
Expand return-to-work options for retirees in Georgia House Bill 385 by extending the applicable effective date indefinitely, lowering the 30-year retirement requirement to 25 years without penalty, removing the eligibility requirement of one (1) full year of retirement, and allowing all instructional areas (not just high-need areas such as Math, Science, and Special Education)
Incentivize teacher pipeline development initiatives to include paraprofessional-to-teacher programs, create an apprentice certificate for aspiring educators, and provide funding to support certification for non-traditional teachers
Increase funding to provide pay incentives at low-performing schools

Financial Sustainability

Support efforts to fully fund and modernize the QBE Act to more accurately reflect the cost of public education, inflation, and limitations of local funding
Support districts in offsetting the increasing costs of the employer portion of non-certified employee health insurance
Provide funding for high-cost special education program needs

Learning and Accountability

Permit dual enrollment program expansion by increasing the allowable credits from 30 to 60 and adding courses aligned to critical workforce fields (e.g., educator preparation, nursing, and public safety)
Promote local control and ensure school choice proposals include comparable accountability, reporting requirements, enrollment requirements, Code of Conduct processes, and do not remove funding from public schools
Refrain from reducing funding at the local level in efforts to fund school choice initiatives

These five priorities build on the four focus areas shared during the 2024 Legislative Breakfast, and the district has made significant headway in the past year in advancing many of these objectives. Including financial sustainability among the 2025 legislative priorities creates a more comprehensive approach to optimizing education and employee welfare across the district.

Small group discussions centered on the five priorities enhanced understanding of the district’s agenda and offered participants valuable insights for advocating on the district’s behalf.

“Henry County Schools’ Legislative Breakfast was a fantastic event to inform the community stakeholders of their objectives, goals, and necessary funding needed to enhance the educational environment for our children’s future,” said Mayor Ford.

Birch Creek Elementary student ambassadors guided groups to classrooms where they observed class sessions and learned about school- and district-level efforts to advance literacy, mental health and wellness, safety and security, and STEM.

“We maximize our students’ opportunities for success well beyond Henry County Schools when we provide relevant supports and safeguards,” said Board Vice Chair Annette Edwards. “Just as important are the investments we devote to employing and retaining highly qualified staff. We thank our legislative delegation and industry partners for their support over the years in helping us provide a rich learning environment, and we look forward to further collaboration to advance public education in Henry County.”

About Henry County Schools

Henry County Schools (HCS) is the eighth-largest school district in Georgia, consisting of 53 schools and located about 20 minutes south of Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Over the past two decades, our community has grown in population from 113,000 residents to over 244,000 residents. Since 1999, student enrollment has grown from 21,000 to 43,000 students, and our number of employees has grown from 3,000 to 6,000.

HCS is “In Pursuit of Exceptional,” taking action to advance opportunities, access, and outcomes so that every student in our school district has Exceptional Support, Exceptional Access, and an Exceptional Future. In 2020, our Board of Education adopted our 2021-2026 Community-Inspired Strategic Plan and laid out a clear vision and mission for Henry County Schools. Our vision is to ensure a high-quality, world-class education for every student, and our mission is to empower all students with exceptional opportunities and access that lead to success in a global society.

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