Schools account for a major portion of the $600 million bond package Gov. Brian Kemp is recommending in the $32.5 billion budget proposal the governor released late last week.
More than a third of the package – $217 million – would go toward K-12 school construction projects across the state financed by the Georgia Department of Education.
The rest of the bonds would be divided between the other state agencies, including $113.4 million earmarked for University System of Georgia campuses. Highlights include nearly $30 million for the second phase of a modernization project at the University of Georgia’s Science and Ag Hill, $16.6 million going toward construction of a research tower on the downtown Atlanta campus of Georgia State University, and $13.7 million for an interdisciplinary STEM research building at Kennesaw State University.
The $600 million in bonds Kemp is requesting is well below the $950 million bond package the General Assembly approved last spring for this year, but the price tag could grow; legislators typically add projects to the package as it makes it way through the budget review process.
