Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announces education and school safety proposals during a press conference at the State Capitol on Monday, January 13, 2025. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)
Natacha Pisarenko / Natacha Pisarenko
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp proposed an additional allocation of $50 million in one-time funds toward school safety grants on Monday amid widespread calls for increased security measures after a school shooting resulted in four deaths in Barrow County last September.
The proposed funds would amount to a one-time fund of $21,635 per school in addition to the $47,125 that each school receives every year for school security. In 2025, schools will be able to access a total of $158.9 million in safety grants, the governor announced at a press conference on the first day of the 2025 Georgia General Assembly.
Following a September shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County that resulted in the deaths of four people, school safety has been a top concern for legislators. When the shooting occurred, the high school was equipped with school resource officers and a Centegix emergency alert system triggered by pressing a button on a staff lanyard.
Kemp credited the existing school safety funding with preventing even more injuries and deaths in the school shooting.
“As all of us remember, the horrific tragedy last year put these investments to test, and had those supports for school security not been made, that fateful day in [September] could have been even more tragic,” Kemp said during Monday’s press conference.
In addition, Kemp’s legislative package includes a proposal for more than $872,000 in the Quality Basic Education program to increase the number of psychologists per student in schools and crisis counseling training with the Southern Regional Education Board for 20 counselors across the state.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones praised Kemp’s legislative package, adding that he will push for Alyssa’s Law, or S.B. 32, which passed the Senate but failed to pass the House last year. It would require silent panic alarms in schools to alert law enforcement of emergencies.
“It came up short last year in the House, but I do feel like that after having a year of educating our friends over in the House, as well as the speaker on that measure, that it will be successful this upcoming year,” Jones said Monday.
Speaker of the House Jon Burns said Monday that he is “proud” to fully support the additional funding for school security. He also said the House will advance measures by requiring that revenue generated from school-zone infractions will go toward funding security cameras.
“Whether a school needs additional security cameras, buildings, safety infrastructure, alert systems or resource officers, these grants will provide the flexibility and discretion needed to fit unique needs for every school in every corner of our state,” said Burns.
He also said the House will work on a measure to create a network of information among schools and law enforcement agencies.
Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns speaks during a press conference hosted by the Governor Kemp’s office about education and school safety proposals on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025.(Matthew Pearson/WABE)
Other legislators and education advocates have also named school safety as a priority. Republican State Rep. Chris Erwin, who chaired the Education Committee in the 2023-2024 session, called for greater mental health services for students and communication between agencies and schools at a Friday symposium hosted by the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education.
The Georgia Department of Education and the Professional Association of Georgia Educators both named school safety as a 2025 legislative priority, both recommending funding a school resource officer at every school. Both bodies are calling for better communication of information about at-risk students among schools and governmental agencies.
The DOE backs a crisis alert system in every school, and PAGE is also recommending increased state funding for mental health professionals at schools.
On Monday, Kemp also proposed an additional $10.3 million for student transportation and $1.25 million in grants for funding technical labs preparing students for “high-demand careers.” Kemp will also propose raising public school employers’ contribution to the state health benefits plan for teachers from $1,760 PMPM to $1,885 PMPM for certified school personnel and $1,580 to $1,885 for classified school personnel, set to go into effect at the start of the fiscal year 2026.
Kemp is also proposing a capital funding package of $212.4 million for facilities, school buses and vocational and agricultural lab equipment.
