How Far Will Casey Cagle and Brian Kemp Go to Gut Public Education?

GEORGIA – Today, as more revelations surface about the extremist, con-artist nature of both Casey Cagle and Brian Kemp, questions arise about just how far both Republican gubernatorial candidates are willing to go to put politics over children, and to gut our public education system. Under the leadership of Cagle, Kemp, and their Republican allies, Georgia students and teachers have seen billions of dollars cut from public education over the last seven years alone, resulting in a loss of jobs for 9,000 teachers[i] and an increase in class sizes for over 95% of Georgia school districts.[ii]

We’ve heard Casey Cagle’s own admission that he backed a bill, HB 217, that he described as “bad in a thousand different ways” solely for political gain. However, voters didn’t hear that this bill diverted over $100 million dollars from public schools to private schools, further lowering public-school funding in the state of Georgia.

Not to be one-upped by Casey Cagle, Brian Kemp has proposed to DOUBLE the dangerous effects of HB 217.

With both Republican Gubernatorial candidates signaling an all-out assault on public education, the question becomes, just how far are they willing to go to put themselves and their secret donor friends over Georgia teachers and students?

“Both Casey Cagle and Brian Kemp are too dangerous for Georgia teachers, students, and parents,” said Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter. “Right now, Georgia ranks 35th in the nation in spending per public school student.[iii] With Cagle already looting more than $100 million dollars away from our public schools and Kemp threatening to double that absurd number, the only victims in the hostile Republican takeover of our schools are the students and teachers across the state who cannot get their basic educational needs met.”

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