After pay raise led Kemp's 2018 bid, he offers new K-12 plan

STATHAM, Ga. (AP) — Republican Gov. Brian Kemp said Monday that he wants Georgia to provide grants to school districts to help students catch up on what they might have missed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, expand the number of school counselors, encourage teacher aides to become full-fledged teachers and pass a law requiring school lockdown drills.

Kemp unveiled a relatively modest set of K-12 education proposals as part of his second-term reelection effort at an elementary school in Oconee County, the same school where one of his daughters was a teacher last year.

“We have more work to do to address pandemic learning loss, bring more educators and counselors into our schools, and keep our students and staff safe,” Kemp said at Dove Creek Elementary School in Statham, just outside Athens.

Kemp made a $5,000 pay raise for teachers a centerpiece of his agenda when he was running in 2018 and delivered the final chunk of the money this year, but he didn't propose a pay raise for his second term on Monday, although in response to reporter questions, he said he would “continue to work support all state employees to make the pay scale competitive in the future.”