Republican Gov. Nathan Deal has upped his estimate of how much tax money Georgia will take in next year and directed lawmakers to close the funding gap in K-12 education.
Deal's latest budget recommendation includes an additional $167 million for K-12 education. That money will allow lawmakers to fully fund the state's Quality Basic Education formula after over a decade of cuts, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The funding is included in a $26 billion state budget for fiscal year 2019, beginning July 1.
The new budget includes $100 million in borrowing for transit projects and $360 million toward the teacher retirement pension system. It also calls for about $16 million in funding for improved school safety in the wake of the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida.