Jasperse honored to represent state’s teachers and students as new chairman
Since being named chairman of the Georgia House Education Committee, Rep. Jasperse is ready to give teachers raises and make education a good experience for all.
State Rep. Rick Jasperse, R-Jasper, who was named the chairman of the House Education Committee earlier this month, is honored to be a leader on this significant committee that he believes will influence everyone.
At the beginning of February, the Georgia House Committee on Assignments named Jasperse the chairman of the House Education Committee, electing him to take the place of Rep. Brooks Coleman, who retired at the end of the last legislative session.
Jasperse previously served as the chairman of House Study Committee on School Security, which held its first meeting in May 2018 and met again over the summer.
Following his selection by the Committee on Assignments, Jasperse commented that he felt honored to have been chosen by the committee and Speaker Ralston. And a few weeks into the role, Jasperse comments that he is most excited to work toward giving Georgia teachers raises.
At the beginning of the 2019 legislative session, Gov. Brian Kemp proposed a budget that would raise teachers’ salaries by $3,000. And though this increase would be contributed by state-allocated funds, Jasperse did say that local districts would have to meet certain requirements to receive the pay increase.
“For Gordon County Schools and Calhoun City Schools, we live in an area that’s growing and has funds to (meet those requirements),” Jasperse said. “But we do have a complex funding formula that kicks in to help the
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poorer schools in the state.”
Jasperse said Georgia’s teachers are some of the highest paid in the southeast corner of the country, and he plans to keep it that way, incentivizing teachers to stay in the education field.
Some of the other things on Jasperse’s agenda regarding the committee, which will likely be discussed during the committee’s summer meetings, include discussing home school/charter school students’ participation in public schools’ extracurricular activities, taking excessive responsibilities off of local districts and listening to the requests and concerns of the state’s educators.
And though he’s been on the committee for some time, and has experience with making effective changes, he is weary of making any sharp or spontaneous decisions.
“John Meadows taught me many important things, but one of them was this: if you’re going to do something, make sure it’s effective and that it does what you want it to do,” Jasperse said, reminiscing on his old mentor who unexpectedly died in November.
“He told me to take the time to do something right the first time and make sure everyone else agrees it’s the right thing,” Jasperse said.
Jasperse said though he’s been surrounded by educa-
tors his entire life, he never saw himself being the chairman on the House Education Committee.
“I sure am glad I’ve paid attention to teachers I know and listened and learned from them because it’s coming in handy right now,” he said. “Public safety and education, they both touch all of us every day in every imaginable way. I’m very fortunate to be on both of those committees and be a leader in education.”
Jasperse said on behalf of the committee that they are committed to students and teachers of Georgia and are focusing on making education a great experience.
“Education comes in a lot of different forms — higher education, private schools, public schools, charter schools, etc.,” Jasperse said. “And you’ll see us work hard to do what’s best for the students.”
In addition to serving on the education committee, Jasperse also serves as a member on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education, Health, Human Relations & Aging, Public Safety & Homeland Security, Regulated Industries, Higher Education and Agriculture committees.
As the District 11 representative, Jasperse represents residents of Gordon, Murray and Pickens counties. He was first elected to the House in 2010, and recently won re-election over Democratic challenger Lee Shiver in November.