Georgia

Georgia governor aims to get down to business with school voucher legislation this year – Georgia Recorder

Published

2 years ago

January 12, 2024

Georgia governor aims to get down to business with school voucher legislation this year – Georgia Recorder

Gov. Brian Kemp gave a full-throated shoutout to school vouchers in a major speech Thursday, boosting the odds of action on the controversial measure.

“As a small business owner for almost forty years now, I believe – like many of you – that competition and the free market drive innovation and, at the end of the day, result in a better product for the consumer,” Kemp said. “When it comes to education, the same principles hold true.”

School vouchers give what would be publicly shared money to parents to withdraw their children from public school and send them to private school or homeschool them.

Proponents say because the amount of money sent to participating parents equals the state’s portion of the cost to educate the child and the amount of local tax dollars schools receive does not change, public schools break even or benefit when a child uses such a program.

Opponents say that’s not the case, and vouchers simply funnel cash from public schools to private institutions with fewer accountability requirements. That’s because they say many education costs are fixed, such as teacher salaries, building maintenance and transportation, so having one less student to care for does not reduce these costs proportionally.

A voucher bill passed the Senate last year but faltered in the House at the last minute when a handful of Republicans joined nearly all Democrats in opposing it. Kemp’s explicit endorsement during his annual State of the State Address puts additional pressure on those GOP holdouts to get in line after years of disappointment for conservative education activists.

“This week, as we begin the second year of another biennial of the General Assembly, I believe we have run out of ‘next years,’ he said. “I firmly believe we can take an all-of-the-above approach to education… whether it’s public, private, homeschooling, charter, or otherwise.”

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who has listed vouchers as a top priority, praised the governor’s words.

“I am especially thankful for the Governor’s support of school choice,” Jones said in a statement. “The Senate and I are leading this initiative because we are committed to supporting parents and giving them the right to choose what is best for their children.”

State School Superintendent Richard Woods was less effusive.

Speaking to the Recorder after the speech, Woods had kind words for most of Kemp’s planned education agenda – including raises for teachers and other state employees, $205 million in state funds to help districts with transportation, $104 million to bolster safety measures and funding for new literacy training.

When it comes to vouchers, he said he’ll reserve judgment until he sees the final proposal, but he’ll have questions for lawmakers about public school funding.

“Right now it’s just unknown,” he said. “I’ve got to have more specifics that come out of that bill. I think the old adage, ‘we’ve got to pass it to find out what’s in it,’ that’s bad government in my assertion. So I think that we’ll just have to look at that bill, but as of now, I do have concerns.”

Lisa Morgan, president of the Georgia Association of Educators and a teacher, said the Georgia constitution requires the state to provide an adequate public education, and expanding vouchers would not serve that duty.

“It also concerned me that the governor used the business model to describe public education,” she said. “As an educator, I do not have a product. I have students that I am working for them to be the very best they can be. We do not have consumers. If he is referring to our parents in that message, parents are our partners in education, not consumers.”

Source link

Georgia

Georgia football predicted to be dethroned in SEC championship

Published

1 hour ago

July 4, 2026

Press Room

Georgia football predicted to be dethroned in SEC championship

The Georgia Bulldogs are expected among the nation’s top teams and are looking to win a third consecutive SEC championship in 2026. CBS Sports analyst Brad Crawford predicts that Georgia will go 11-1 and finish SEC play with a record of 8-1. The 2026 season marks the first time SEC teams will play nine conference games during the regular season.

Crawford has Georgia suffering a surprising loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks, who he describes as an unpredictable team. South Carolina has plenty of talent and Georgia has to face the Gamecocks on the road, but it would be a bit of a shocker to see South Carolina upset Georgia especially after the Gamecocks went 4-8 in 2025 with only two wins over Power Four opponents.

Georgia last lost to South Carolina in 2019. The Gamecocks have the pieces to make some noise in the SEC and Crawford thinks South Carolina will do just that. He predicts South Carolina will go 7-5 (4-5 in SEC) and earn a trip to the Texas Bowl. Crawford predicts South Carolina will pick up notable wins over Tennessee, Clemson and Georgia.

Losing to South Carolina would not be the end of the world for Georgia, but it would be shocking to see Georgia start the season 10-0 before falling to South Carolina. The Bulldogs still advance to play the Texas Longhorns in the SEC championship in Crawford’s predictions.

Crawford has Georgia earning impressive wins over Ole Miss, Alabama and Oklahoma, which would go a long way for Georgia’s College Football Playoff and SEC championship positioning. Speaking of the conference title game, Crawford has the Longhorns and quarterback Arch Manning finally beating Georgia in the SEC championship to secure a bye as the No. 2 seed in the playoff. Georgia is predicted to receive the No. 5 seed in the playoff, which would result in Georgia likely playing the top-ranked Group of Five conference champion.

We think Georgia’s schedule sets up well for the Bulldogs to return to both the SEC championship and the playoff. However, playing in the SEC championship game may not be that beneficial for making a playoff run as Georgia learned in 2025.

Follow UGA Wire on Instagram, Facebook, X, or Threads for more Georgia football coverage!

Source link

Georgia

Georgia baseball has nation’s No. 1 transfer class

Published

11 hours ago

July 4, 2026

Press Room

Georgia baseball has nation’s No. 1 transfer class

The Georgia Bulldogs baseball team had a historic season in 2026. The Dawgs ended the year with an overall record of 53-14 (23-7 SEC). Georgia made the College World Series and won the SEC championship. This offseason, Georgia has reloaded in authoritative fashion through the transfer portal.

Georgia baseball currently holds the top-ranked transfer class in the nation, per 64Analytics. The Bulldogs have landed 12 total commitments over the first month of the offseason, and Georgia appears to be on track to dominate on the diamond once again in 2027. The Dawgs earned a commitment from former FSU star Hunter Carns, while WCC player of the year Mikey Bell has landed at Georgia.

Georgia most recently landed two major power hitters in Jake Hanley and Naulivou Lauaki Jr. Hanley was a star with the Indiana Hoosiers last season, while Lauaki flashed his power on numerous occasions during his time with the Oregon Ducks. Riley Goodman will look to bounce back on the mound in 2027 after transferring from South Carolina to UGA. Georgia has added an excellent mix of talent at a handful of different positions from the transfer portal.

Georgia may emerge as a top candidate for a couple more players who remain available in the transfer portal. The Bulldogs were widely regarded as the best team in college baseball throughout the majority of the 2026 season, and Georgia and manager Wes Johnson have dominated over the first month of the offseason.

College baseball transfer portal rankings

Georgia
Tennessee
Arkansas
Mississippi State
LSU

Georgia baseball transfer portal additions as of July 4

Naulivou Lauaki Jr. (DH, Oregon)
Hunter Carns (C, Florida State)
Mikey Bell (INF, Gonzaga)
Jake Hanley (INF, Indiana)
Casey McCoy (INF, Louisiana Tech)
Matthew Cuccias (RHP, Wichita State)
Luke Howe (RHP, Long Beach State)
Cooper Walls (RHP, Florida)
Cristofer Cespedes (RHP, Maryland)
Mathew Farmer (INF, North Florida)
Jet Gilliam (OF, Utah)
Riley Goodman (RHP, South Carolina)

Source link

Georgia

Comparing Mark Richt’s NFL Georgia stars since 2006 to Kirby Smart’s

Published

22 hours ago

July 3, 2026

Press Room

Comparing Mark Richt’s NFL Georgia stars since 2006 to Kirby Smart’s

ATHENS — Georgia football has been churning out elite NFL players for decades, and the past 10 years have been no different under the direction of Coach Kirby Smart.

The Bulldogs have produced 84 NFL Draft picks under Smart, including an eye-popping 21 first-round selections.

Georgia was churning out NFL Draft picks before Smart took over following the 2015 season, too, with College Football Hall of Fame coach Mark Richt recruiting and developing some of the best players in the nation.

Richt’s tenure (2001-2015) is understandably more heavily represented than Smart’s in a recent Pro Football Focus (PFF) feature on each NFL franchise’s best players over the past 20 years.

Richt-coached players from Georgia have had more time to make an impact in the NFL than Smart’s, many of whom are just beginning to reach elite levels in the pro ranks.

One thing for certain, Smart’s NFL players are curreently drawing bigger paychecks than those who played for Richt, with the exception of all-time NFL earner Matthew Stafford.

Here’s a look at former Georgia players that PFF has selected from among the best with the years they played with each team:, including two former UGA stars who are regarded as the best at their position for two different teams in the past 20 years:

(players recruited by Richt in boldface type)

QB Matthew Stafford (2009-2020), Detroit

QB Matthew Stafford (2021-2025), L.A. Rams

SLB Leonard Floyd (2016-2019), Chicago

SLB Leonard Floyd (2020-2022), LA. Rams

LT Andrew Thomas (2020-2025), N.Y. Giants

DL Jalen Carter (2023-2025), Philadelphia

C David Andrews (2015-2024), New England

WR A.J. Green (2011-2020), Cincinnati

DL Gino Atkins (2010-2020), Cincinnati

RB Nick Chubb (2018-2024), Cleveland

CB Champ Bailey (2006-2013), Denver

DL Richard Seymour (2009-2012), Las Vegas

DE Justin Houston (2011-2018), Kansas City

DE Charles Johnson (2007-2017), Carolina

LB Thomas Davis Sr. (2006-2016), Carolina

There’s no doubt that in time many of Smart’s players will ascend to such heights, as their experiences and contributions in the NFL grow.

Las Vegas tight end Brock Bowers, just two years into NFL play, serves as perhaps the best example of a Georgia player recruited and coached by Smart who might soon be considered the best tight end in his franchise’s history.

Jordan Davis, a former first-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles, is another player who could become the best at his position with the franchise.

Buffalo’s James Cook led the NFL in rushing last season, and linebackers Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker are now in Las Vegas and emerging.

Indeed, the majority of Smart’s NFL draft picks have come over the past six years, with 63 Bulldogs selected:

• 2021 -9 draft picks

First round: Eric Stokes (29th)

• 2022 -15 draft picks*

First Round: Travon Walker (1st); Jordan Davis (13th); Quay Walker (22nd); Devonte Wyatt (28th); Lewis Cine (32nd)

• 2023 – 10 draft picks

First Round: Jalen Carter (9th); Broderick Jones (14th); Nolan Smith (30th)

• 2024 – 8 draft picks

First Round: Brock Bowers (13th); Amarius Mims (18th)

• 2025 -13 draft picks