INTRODUCTION

Georgia has 1.7 million students in 207 school districts and we employ over 100 thousand teachers. Yet out school’s report card show up performing below a desired performance ranking 18 nationally.

As a leader, Lisa Noel Babbage will:

1. Work with community stakeholders and Safe Schools initiative to prioritize the safety of our children in schools all over the state
   
2. Work with local school districts and Boards to reduce class size
   
3. Increase the number of lottery funded pre-k facilities by decreased the amount of prerequisites needed to open pre-k centers
   
4. Offer pay incentives for educators who demonstrate longevity of service
   
5. Request federal funding for Title 1 schools in compromised communities to alleviate the imbalance caused by economic disparages
   
6. Work with local school boards to strength professional development practices for educators in all schools
   
   
   

Georgia currently ranks 18th according the US News and World Report 2017 ranking of high schools nationwide. However, in a more comprehensive rating of K-12 (#35) and higher education (#22), Georgia ranks 31, according to the same source. Public Funding program includes:

• State 3% pay increase for all rural county employees with satisfactory review in consecutive past twenty-four months, and /or an additional 3% base pay increase for all positions.
  
• State incentive for all counties to extend school year by fifteen calendar days (formula to follow)
  
• Continuation of HOPE Grant for technical schools
  
• Continuation of HOPE Scholarship
  
• Initiation of HOPE PLUS Grant for students with special needs
  
  

Public elementary schools

• Expand Georgia Lottery funded Pre-K program to include K3 classrooms in private facilities
  
• Double the number of Pre-K classrooms in all metro counties, both publicly and privately
  
• Eliminate mandatory EOG retention at grade 3
  
• Incentivize pay for performance stipends for all general education teachers (based on class averages)
  
• Fund Summer ESOL programs for K-3 students
  
  

Public secondary schools (middle and high)

• Increased joint enrollment opportunities, especially in rural counties, for juniors and seniors
  
• Mandatory EOG retention requirements for general education students in grades 9-12
  
• Private school vouchers for middle school students within 15 mile radius
  
  

Higher Education

• Continuation of the HOPE Scholarship Merit Program
  
• Continuation of the HOPE Grant for Technical College students
  
• Development of the HOPE PLUS Grant Program for students with disabilities.
  
  

Manufacturing

Of the top ten careers leading into the 2026 job market, seven have ties to manufacturing, and all rely on advanced critical thinking and decision making, oral and written expression skills in order to maintain employment in these fields. The 2019 forecast predicts an increase in jobs in related fields, however the ability to maintain employment in these fields are limited not only to the number of positions available, but the pool of qualified candidates to fill those positions.

While statisticians and research analysts crunch numbers, there has been no proposal to close the gap between job stability and workplace qualifications. K-12 schools have fallen short of producing a pool of work-ready candidates to draw industry. Therefore, the creation of a career readiness programs that provides career-pathways through specific training programs giving both blue collar workers and millenials exiting high school at college the opportunity to earn a living wage, legally. Implementing policies that provide equivocal opportunity to every Georgian willing to work is the only way to ensure the safety of our families.

Tax Incentives

Tax incentives toward the film industry have brought $9.5 billion in revenues in 2017. However, a Babbage administration has plans to double that figure opening up infrastructure that facilitates increased involvement from the industry so that the edge is not permanently lost to Canada. While other industries will also benefit from tax incentives, the administration will primarily focus on increasing the quality tax credit within 18 months by attracting industry through the vocational training programs the state will put in public schools and vocational schools in rural areas that need the biggest boost in economic development, as well as in areas of gross disenfranchisement.

Pay Incentives

The administrations will provide pay incentives by working with the Georgia Department of Public Health’s (18) local public health districts throughout the state to provide technical assistance and training on developing and implementing policy, systems, and environmental changes to communities within their jurisdictions to:

• Promote physical activity and nutrition.
  
• Reduce tobacco use and exposure.
  
• Foster improved and increased access to quality care.
  
• Help eliminate racial, ethnic, and socio-economic health disparities.
  
• Reduce complications from and incidence of chronic diseases.
  
• Build capacity for communities to perform this work.
  
• Improve population health.
  
  

These incentives affect the education sector, technical and labor based industries, as well as the health sector. Communities outside of the metropolitan perimeter will benefit greatly by having an increased access to changes in their communities that contribute to suburban economic growth as well as improved quality of life.

The administration will also create a review panel to work with Georgia’s top companies for the Governor’s Progress Award to will evaluate pay differentials within the organization and offer incentives for performance that significantly decreased pay disparages within their organization. The review panel will also cite organizations who blatantly discriminate against protected groups either in pay, promotion, or other economic means.

District Councils

The Administration will develop District Councils by joining with current and emerging social service organizations to meet the needs of communities at-large. Constituents throughout Georgia deserve the right to not only be heard, but also taken seriously. To achieve this goal, District Councils will filter questions, comments, and concerns that would typically go unaddressed. These offices, jointly facilitated by local congressional members, help Georgians participate in solution-based government, not political rhetoric and empty promises.

District councils could help facilitate the maintenance of road or other public utilities in an area, complaints against local school boards, or zoning and development in a particular district. These councils give voters a chance to have their voice heard on the other 364 days of the year, not just voting day.