This is a pretty bad projection, even for the government: a program that cost $100,000 in Fiscal 2000 is expected to cost $15.6 million next year. The program, of course, is an annual 10 percent bonus for all National Board certified teachers in Georgia. While Georgia, like virtually every other state, is going through a painful budget cutting process, the State Board of Education is going to have to ask for an additional $13 million over the next year and a half if it is going to meet its obligation to Board-certified teachers. Some legislators were shocked; they thought that the extra pay was a lump sum rather than a recurring expense.

In the September 19, 2003 TQB, we wrote about how the state of North Carolina is also struggling to pay its teacher bonuses.