Court Opinion

ID: 9584433
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:48:13.106904+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:07:48.520605
License: Public Domain

Jordan, Chief Justice,
concurring.
I agree with the holding of the opinion which (1) affirms the trial court’s judgment that the existing method of school funding in this State does not violate the constitutional provision which provides “that an adequate education for the citizens shall be a primary obligation of the State of Georgia, the expense of which shall be provided for by taxation” and (2) which reverses the judgment of the tried court which held that public school financing system in Georgia is unconstitutional in that it violates the equal protection clause of the Georgia Constitution.
It is an uncontroverted and unassailable fact developed by the record in this case that every child in Georgia does not have an “equal *660educational opportunity.” The evidence authorizes the conclusion of the learned trial judge that “The educational opportunities being provided in poor districts are not equal to those being provided in wealthy districts.” However, after an exhaustive study of our Constitution and our system of school funding, we have come to the conclusion that the public school financing system does not violate the state equal protection provision.
While seeking to provide an equal educational opportunity for each child in Georgia is a laudable goal, and the apparent intent of the appellees in this case, several drastic actions would be required, in my opinion, to bring about even the theoretical achievement of that goal. Among those actions would be:
(1) The abolition of the independent school districts;
(2) 100% financing of the schools by the State;
(3) A prohibition against any local supplement to education, and,
(4) A revision of the tax structure of the State, including the abolition of the system of ad valorem taxation.
The appellees suggest that these actions are not necessary, but offer no alternative solutions in their advocacy of equal educational opportunity.
As to (1) above, it is indisputable that the independent school districts in this State offer educational opportunities superior to their “country cousins” simply because these systems have a higher tax base per pupil upon which to levy taxes. Indeed, this litigation had its genesis because the Whitfield County system recognized the disparities which existed between it and the City of Dalton independent system. These independent systems came into being when the State funds were nil or meager and the local effort contributed almost entirely to the operation of the schools. While this trend has almost completely reversed itself, the operation now being mostly state funded, (and as was evident in 1945), the writers of the 1945 Constitution could not muster the political courage to abolish the independent systems. However, recognizing the apparent evil generated by the educational disparities between independent and county systems, that Constitution did prohibit the creation of any additional independent systems.
As to (2) above, we are fast approaching the point when the “need” of each school district as determined under the APEG formula will be almost completely met by State funds. This is true because the cost of education is spiraling with inflation, yet the required local effort (RLE) is pegged at a total of $ 78,600,000. The State is now funding APEG at a level of almost $ 800,000,000 in fiscal 1981, or slightly above 90% of the total needed under the APEG *661formula. One-hundred percent state financing for public education is not a new idea. Indeed, it was embedded in our very first Constitution in 1777 which provided that “schools shall be erected in each county and supported at the general expense of the State.” We have come almost full circle back to that principle after more than 200 years.
As to (3) above, it is the “fly in the ointment.” To achieve the result prayed for by the appellees, i.e., an equal educational opportunity for each child in Georgia, there can be no local supplement to APEG funds. Yet, it is apparent that all of the 187 school systems in Georgia are contributing to the operation of the system in amounts over the RLE, some substantially more than others. As long as this situation exists, the wealthier districts will continue to expend more money per pupil, with all its attendant benefits, than the poorer districts.
As to (4) above, if the State provides total funding for education in Georgia a drastic revision of the tax structure would be required. Such a revision should include the abolition of the ad valorem system of taxation. Ad valorem taxation is antiquated, outmoded; unfair and violates equal protection. It places an undue burden on the property owner as opposed to those who own intangible assets. As an example, one person owns $100,000 in Georgia Power Company stock or some other domestic corporation. He pays no taxes on this capital. Another person has $100,000 in cash in a bank. He pays an intangible tax of $10.00. Another person owns a house or farmland worth $100,000. He pays several thousand dollars or more per year in ad valorem taxes, depending upon the county in which he lives. Yet each of these persons owns property of equal value and each has the same “net worth” on a financial statement. The unfairness is apparent. Ad valorem taxation has been practically abandoned at the State level. It should be abandoned at the local level in favor of the more equitable sales, income, and use taxes.
I am heartily in favor of equal educational opportunities for every child in Georgia and regret that the tremendous amount of money expended on education in this State has not achieved this result. Whether or not it can ever be done lies, at least for the present, with the General Assembly and not with this Court.