Gov. Deal Wants More Education Opportunities For Prisoners

Gov. Nathan Deal says Georgia should use charter schools to help its prison inmates earn high school diplomas.

Deal spoke Thursday afternoon to lawmakers charged with reviewing his $45 billion spending plan. The proposal released Friday narrows spending cuts to public schools, gives state employees a small raise and hires more child welfare employees.

Deal limited his comments Thursday to criminal justice, which has become a signature issue for the Republican.

The governor says education is critical to helping people stay out of trouble when they are released. He also wants to expand the number of alternative courts and hire full-time teachers at state prisons. He says the changes will cost $12.2 million.

Lawmakers have held hearings all week on the proposal and return to the Capitol on Monday.

On Second Thought's Celeste Headlee discussed what the budget tells us about the governor’s priorities with economics professor Greg George at Middle George State College and the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute’s Taifa Butler. Listen to the interview here.

Tags: gov. deal, Governor Nathan Deal, deal wants to give inmates education opportunities, high school diplomas for inmates, charter schools