NEWS & OPINIONS
Time is Running Out to Expand Tax Credit Scholarships
As Georgia’s 2018 legislative session marches to a close this week, will lawmakers act to expand Georgia’s Tax Credit Scholarship Program? Legislation pending in the state Senate, if passed, would yield huge benefits for families in desperate need of educational...
School Choice Expands the ‘Success Sequence’
According to scholars, America is increasingly becoming a society polarized between higher- and lower-income people. Whereas until recently a majority of Americans were considered middle class, now good jobs for those who only have a high school diploma are rapidly...
Will Georgia continue to be a leader in school choice?
With more than 17,000 students enrolled in scholarship programs, Georgia is a leader in educational opportunity, according to the 2016-2017 School Choice Yearbook put out by the American Federation for Children (AFC). In fact, the Peach State is seventh in the country...
Report: Atlanta’s charter schools are more cost-effective than traditional public schools
Do public charter schools deliver results in a more cost-effective way compared to traditional public schools? That’s the question addressed by a recent research report from the University of Arkansas (PDF download). The answer, it turns out, is unequivocally yes....
Will Georgia become the seventh state to pass Education Savings Accounts?
On Monday, lawmakers in the Georgia House Ways and Means Committee overwhelmingly passed House Bill 482, a measure that would make Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) a reality in the Peach State. Representatives Paul Battles (R- Cartersville), Allen Peake (R- Macon),...
The Marriage Toolbox
It’s National Marriage Week, so it’s a great time to take an inventory of your marriage. Here are some tools to help you more fully engage with your spouse and help strengthen your marriage. Do you know your love language? If not, or it’s been awhile, take the online...
Marriage is the Greatest Weapon of Our Time
Since the 1970s the marriage rate has gone from 80 percent of adults being married down to 52 percent. This rapid decline in marriage has caused an upward spike in the number of single parents living in poverty. How do we as a community combat this negative spiral...
A “bullet-proof” school choice bill
Georgia lawmakers are poised to consider several bills that would make education savings accounts (ESAs) a reality for students in our state. ESAs empower families with the option of leaving their local public school and choosing an educational option that better fits...
Two major school choice bills to keep an eye on for the 2018 legislative session
With much ceremony, the Georgia General Assembly kicked off the 2018 legislative session last week. Thanks to election-year buzz, candidates have fueled talk of big education reforms that could see needed movement. Because this session is expected to fly by, we have...
GCO advice on increasing employment gets hearing in D.C.
In the post below, Executive Vice President Eric Cochling talks about a recent visit with leaders in Washington D.C. and how GCO's work is being noticed on Capitol Hill. I have to admit that last week was a tiring whirlwind of activity, but it turned out to be a...
Another study confirms Georgians want more choice in education
As lawmakers prepare to head back to the Capitol in January, Georgians have now received a glimpse of some issues that might move the needle in the 2018 election cycle. A new study released by the Georgia College Department of Government and Sociology finds that...
Show some love: The Angel Tree program is about more than gifts
The Christmas season is often marked by joy, but for many children with incarcerated parents, the holidays can be a painful reminder of their mom or dad’s absence. The Georgia Center for Opportunity is committed to building healthy family relationships and enabling...
MEDIA MENTIONS
City Of Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County And Impact46 Partner To Fund Lawrenceville Response Center | PATCH LAWRENCEVILLE
The City of Lawrenceville and Gwinnett County partner with Impact46 to provide $525,000 in funding for the Lawrenceville Response Center (LRC). The Lawrenceville City Council unanimously finalized support at a special called meeting on Wednesday, February 10. Gwinnett...
Push to increase foster care adoption tax credits could cost Georgia $4.8M | THE CITIZENS
A measure that would increase foster care adoption tax credits could result in a state revenue loss of $4.8 million over the next five years, according to fiscal researchers. House Bill 114, introduced by Rep. Bert Reeves, R-Marietta, would increase the annual tax...
Push to increase foster care adoption tax credits could cost Georgia $4.8M | TIMES-GEORGIAN
A measure that would increase foster care adoption tax credits could result in a state revenue loss of $4.8 million over the next five years, according to fiscal researchers. House Bill 114, introduced by Rep. Bert Reeves, R-Marietta, would increase the annual tax...
Push to increase foster care adoption tax credits could cost Georgia $4.8M | HENRY HERALD
A measure that would increase foster care adoption tax credits could result in a state revenue loss of $4.8 million over the next five years, according to fiscal researchers. House Bill 114, introduced by Rep. Bert Reeves, R-Marietta, would increase the annual tax...
Lawrenceville organization gets money for coronavirus help | AJC
A Gwinnett County resource to help residents struggling through the coronavirus pandemic just got a boost in funding. The Lawrenceville Response Center, which opened last April, this month received more than half a million dollars in additional funding, including...
CBO: $15 minimum wage would lead to 1.4 million lost jobs | THE HIGHLAND COUNTY PRESS
A $15 minimum wage would result in 1.4 million jobs lost and disproportionately hurt younger workers and those with less education, a new Congressional Budget Office report says. President Joe Biden, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and other Democrats have proposed raising...
New federal budget report boosts $15-an-hour minimum wage | GEORGIA RECORDER
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office in a report Monday found a gradual increase to a $15 federal minimum wage by 2025 would reduce poverty, add $54 billion to the deficit over a decade and increase pay for millions of low-income workers. The report could help...
Broadband expansion gives Gov. Kemp rural toehold | 11ALIVE
Internet access in rural areas has been a problem for years – the pandemic only magnified the challenges. The issue could make or break Kemp's re-election next year... "It's tied directly into economic development," said former state Rep. Buzz Brockway, who now...
