Reading is Fundamental

Last week, I celebrated National Literacy Month by reading to students at Springfield Elementary School and Ebenezer Elementary School.  With stories like “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” and “Otter on His Own,” I had a great time sharing these books with the students.

I appreciate their teachers and the school staff who invited me and made this special day possible.  As always, it was a pleasure to see the caring, dedicated professionals who work every day to teach students.

We know that a quality education at an early age is a critical factor to success later in life.  That’s why we continue to devote more resources to our educational system. 

In the State of Georgia, we devote more $15 billion a year to education between our public schools, technical colleges and the university system – that’s approximately half of our entire state budget.

Since Governor Brian Kemp took office in 2019, he has worked shoulder to shoulder with the General Assembly to increase teacher pay by $7,000.  That has brought Georgia’s average teacher pay to $61,000 a year – the highest among states in the southeast.

Thanks to our Georgia Lottery, approximately $1.5 billion a year is contributed to support HOPE scholarships and grants as well as Pre-K education.

We know that if children can’t read that higher learning becomes more and more difficult as they age.

That’s why this past legislative session the Georgia General Assembly passed Senate Bill 211, sponsored by Senator Billy Hickman, creating the Georgia Council on Literacy.

Dayle and I both were proud to speak to the Council in August when it met at Georgia Southern University.

This group made up of legislators, educational professionals, and concerned citizens is working together to increase Georgia’s literacy rates.

In further support of this effort, the Georgia General Assembly passed House Bill 538, the Georgia Early Literacy Act, sponsored by Representative Bethany Ballard.  This measure requires the Department of Early Care and Learning to provide for evidence-based literacy instructing training requirements for certain teachers.

We have a great deal of work ahead to make sure that every child is able to read.  But every student we reach – every student who learns to read – changes a life for the better and opens a world of opportunity to them that would otherwise not be available.

Georgia House of Representatives Internship Program

Each legislative session the Georgia House of Representatives is fortunate to have several college students serve as interns.  These interns work alongside members and staff while learning on the job.

Students must be a junior or senior in a college or university in the State of Georgia at the time of the internship.  I encourage eligible students from Bulloch, Effingham, and Screven counties to apply.  Applications must be submitted by the sponsoring-institution by Tuesday, October 17.  For more information on our internship program, visit https://www.legis.ga.gov/intern-program.

Congratulations to Commissioner Billy Hitchens

On Wednesday, September 27, I joined Governor Brian Kemp for the swearing-in of Colonel Billy Hitchens as the new Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety.

I am proud to congratulate this career public servant, Effingham native, and Statesboro resident on this tremendous honor and responsibility.  Colonel Hitchens has served our state for 28 years as a state trooper and will ably guide our Department of Public Safety as he assumes this new role.

Established in 1937, the Georgia Department of Public Safety, comprised of the Georgia State Patrol, Motor Carrier Compliance Division, and the Capitol Police, is among the premier law enforcement agencies in the nation. We appreciate the service and sacrifice of all those who wear the badge and serve Georgians.