A Great Sign

Safely tucked inside the pages of Georgia’s nearly $21 billion state budget are the first faculty pay increase in more than five years and $9.5 million to construct a new Georgia Southern University Military Science Building. Governor Nathan Deal ceremonially signed the budget bill at the foot of the University’s Marvin Pittman Administration Building on April 28. Georgia Southern was the last stop as Deal criss-crossed the state to announce just a few of the exciting new fiscal year educational spending highlights for 2015, which take effect July 1.

“This year, for the first time since I became governor, we have had additional revenues to allow us to do some extra things that we had not been able to do previously,” said Deal.

With this budget, the state is adding $514.3 million to its Quality Basic Education funding for kindergarten through 12th grade. Exactly what school systems do with it is up to local boards and superintendents, but the governor said the money is being put to good use. “In most instances they are able to eliminate furlough days and restore education to 180 days,” said Deal. HOPE Grants and HOPE Scholarships will increase by three percent for students at both Technical College System and University System schools as well.

The $9.5 million for the Georgia Southern University Military Science Building will also come from state bond sales. The new building, encompassing 30,000 square feet, will replace a 10,000-square-foot temporary facility that the University’s Army-affiliated Reserve Officer Training Corps program has occupied for nearly a decade. Since its inception in 1980, the Georgia Southern ROTC program has repeatedly moved around campus. It has grown by about 60 cadets in the past five years, to a total of 280 today, including 198 on the Southern campus. Other cadets are students of Armstrong Atlantic State University, Savannah State University and the Savannah College of Art and Design.

“To be honest, we’re happy with anything we get but having a first-class facility like the one they plan to build for us really tells us a lot about what they think of ROTC,” said Military Science Instructor Lt. Col. Gary Morea. “It showcases us as a real first-class program and it’s a great accolade for all of the hard work the cadets have put forward up to this point.”

Asked which aspects of the budget are most important for the University, Georgia Southern President Brooks A. Keel, Ph.D., mentioned the military science building, calling it “desperately needed.” But he also noted the state’s first pay increase in about six years for University faculty and staff.

“In a downturned economy like we’ve been through the past three or four years, the confidence I think that the delegation and the governor have in the future, of the economy increasing, is reflected in the budget, so we’re very excited about it, very grateful and feel very positive,” Keel said. “Governor Deal believes that increased college access leads to future success. His support of Georgia Southern has been both strong and steadfast. We look forward to many more years of such support. The governor’s new budget, with its emphasis on Georgia education, serves as a reminder that to whom much is given, much is expected. To all of our deserving students, and dedicated faculty and staff… we will not let you down.”