Education

Georgia Teachers Begin Hunger Strike For Education Funding

August 14th, 2018

Hungry for Education is asking the Georgia gubernatorial candidates to commit to fully funding public education. Gov. Nathan Deal fully funded public education in Georgia this year, for the first time in 16 years.

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Gwinnett County teacher Alex Robson says he won’t be eating for the next two weeks.

He’s among about 40 teachers and community members across Georgia who are participating in a hunger strike led by a group called Hungry for Education.

Not all of them will be going completely without food for two weeks. Some teachers have said they will be following a “dawn to dusk” plan, while others said they’ll be sticking to lemon juice and tea.

But they all have the same goal.

The group is asking the gubernatorial candidates to commit to fully funding public education. Gov. Nathan Deal fully funded public education in Georgia this year, for the first time in 16 years.

Meanwhile, both gubernatorial candidates have expressed support for fully funded public education.

Republican candidate Brian Kemp released a statement Monday saying as governor he would be a “strong supporter” of public education.

As Georgia House minority leader, Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams “advocated for fully-funded quality public education that promotes excellence, demanded comprehensive support for struggling schools and opposed attempts to privatize our public schools,” according to her website.

Robson said these promises have been motivating, but he wants to make sure that the candidates keep their promise.

He said he’s been preparing for a while now.

“Before this, I got down to about 500 calories a day. So I’m doing OK,” Robson said before adding,”… This is actually one of the happier protests I’ve ever seen. We’re celebrating this success and just asking lawmakers to ‘keep going.’”