Before the Georgia Senate passed a $32.4 billion budget, several GOP senators tried to make a not-so-subtle point about their decision to slash funding to the higher education system by $66 million.
The Republicans peppered state Sen. Blake Tillery, the chief Senate budget negotiator, with a spree of questions about other funding in the spending plan that benefits Georgia’s colleges and universities.
State Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, contended that overall higher education spending amounts to more than $4.5 billion. Others highlighted the construction of new buildings on campuses around the state and a significant boost to HOPE scholarship funding.
The cuts were orchestrated by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and his allies in part to object to a $105 million item approved earlier this year to upgrade the records system that could benefit Wellstar Health System.
