State

Rep. Kathy Cox is preparing for a busy

legislative session starting Monday, Jan. 10 with

an eye on the multifaceted education reforms

expected to be key issues.

"Education,

education, education... that's going to be the

priority issue for the governor. There are so

many aspects of it," said Cox, who

represents Fayette County.

"His

reform commission has dealt with everything from

looking at reformulating Quality Basic Education

funding to the issue of testing, accountability,

vouchers... it's all going to be a huge

undertaking," said the Peachtree City

Republican.

"And

it's not going to be anything that will be very

sudden, so it's not like all of a sudden,

starting in September, [there's a] drastic change

in Georgia," she added. "However, that

doesn't mean the changes he's proposing aren't

significant, but they are going to be more

long-term, [and] there are going to be some short

term things that he's going to do too," Cox

said.

Fayette

County's public school system stands to lose

approximately $4 million if a new proposal to

equalize state school funding is enacted. It's

questionable at this time if legislative action

is necessary to make the revisions.

"The

governor's budget office will make the

recommendations, and he can tinker with that

without even passing laws," said Cox.

The

changes are aimed at making education spending

more even across the state, she said, adding,

"I don't know if it's more even, or it's

actually trying to get money into areas that are

more desperate.

"In

the legislature," she said, "there's

always been this fight between urban and rural

- I think this issue is going to be suburban

versus rural, because suburban, fast growing

counties that have a good tax base are growing at

a pace where they can't keep up with the

building... is it fair and equitable to those

people?

"By

the same token," she added, "in rural

Georgia you can't squeeze blood out of a

turnip... is it really fair? Some of these rural

counties are not at the maximum millage rate. If

you're talking about taking from the haves and

giving to the have nots, you'd better make sure

that the have nots are really the have

nots."

The

issue is muddied further by potential court

battles, she said. In many states, opponents have

attacked the use of property taxes for schools,

saying that the disparity in market values across

a state results in a lack of equal opportunity in

education, said Cox.

"I

think... the governor is trying to avoid... that

court battle," said Cox. "And that's

something we should try to do, we should try and

avoid it, but I'll also try to fight to make sure

we don't get stuck in a hole."

In

regard to testing in the schools, Cox, who is a

social studies teacher at Sandy Creek High

School, on leave for the 40-day legislative

session, expects that there will be more testing.

"I don't have a problem with testing,"

she said, "if the tests are going to measure

what we want them to measure. The problem is, we

spend so much money on tests that don't really

indicate to us what's happening in the classroom;

that's what I'm afraid might happen.

"At

the high school level," she added,

"what I've heard is going to be proposed is

that we move away from the state graduation test,

which they take one time in 11th grade, and we go

to content area - after they have completed

a course, they take a test on that course. And

that would be a statewide test. And that to me

would indicate accountability... I would prefer

to see something like that."

Cox

said she will evaluate proposed testing based on

the question: "Are we going to create tests

that truly measure and reflect the

curriculum?"

Cox

foresees changes in statewide testing being

phased in, along with the ability of schools to

track students. "The ability to track

students in the system - that's the only way

you're going to get people to buy into

accountability. If we can actually have a record

of how a child is progressing in school

throughout the whole lifetime of that child in

Georgia schools... because then you know what

you're dealing with when a student walks into

your room. Is it fair to hold a teacher

accountable if this child walks into my room, you

know, behind?"

Growing

transportation issues also are on the minds of

the county's delegation. Despite increased

traffic and development, the south side's

problems do not merit the same attention as areas

like Gwinnett County, according to Cox.

"Sheer

numbers dictate that they get priority," Cox

said of congested metro areas seeking road

improvements and enhancements. However, local

officials including Fayetteville's former Mayor

Mike Wheat and Peachtree City's Mayor Bob Lenox

have been successful in getting some key projects

bumped up a couple of years by the Atlanta

Regional Commission, Cox noted.

"Fayetteville has been very successful in

getting DOT's [Department of Transportation] help

with a lot of their traffic issues. They have

been very professional. Wayne Shackelford [DOT

commissioner] has complimented them on their

projects and their plans, and the work they have

put into looking at roads," Cox commented.

Other

issues which Cox said will probably come before

the legislature deal with deregulation, water

agreements between states, taxes and prescribing

rights for health care professionals.

Cox

serves on the Industry Committee that will handle

gas deregulation. "We've still got some work

to do on that, and the issue of electrical

[deregulation] is right there on the

horizon," she said.

"Taxes

are going to continue to be an issue. I think

you're going to see a greater push to alleviate

and relieve the income tax burden on people

because of the revenue status of the state... the

revenue is just coming in very quickly. I haven't

heard any exact proposals this year, but I think

you're going to see some people clambering for

some tax relief."

Finally,

water compacts between Georgia and the states of

Florida and Alabama are still being negotiated,

according to Cox. "They haven't come up with

an agreement on how to share these resources

fairly... that's going to affect Atlanta and the

rest of the state with development," she

said.

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