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"This injustice is especially acute when, as great senior teachers in high-poverty schools have told me with passion, many of their long-serving colleagues are just going through the motions, hanging on until generous pensions click in."

"A group of advocates for the poor and elderly, including AARP, on Tuesday called on Gov. Sonny Perdue to veto legislation that would eliminate income tax rebates of $26 to $52 that go to low-income Georgians."

"Unions have long rejected teacher evaluations based on student achievement because so many factors beyond the teacher's control, such as poverty or lack of parental support, affect a student's performance."

"Under the latest legislation, schools with a higher percentage of impoverished students - defined by those receiving low-cost or free lunches - would receive more funding for summer school."

"No significant performance difference was found between the half-day and full-day Head Start programs for girls or Hispanic, low-income and English-language-learning groups of students. "

"Another $104 million will be directed for instruction in high-poverty schools and special-education programs. But in 2011-12, those federal funds will come to an end."

"At the recent hearing on the proposed Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools budget,... Janet Brinkley expressed the League's concerns about the effect the proposed budget would have on the opportunities available to low-income students and students at high-poverty schools."

"Take full-day kindergarten, for example. CPS does not budget for it at all schools. Buildings that serve low-income students receive more federal and state funding, which some principals tap to upgrade the half-day kindergarten to full-day."

"'You have the funding for one year and then what?' says Dan Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators. He warns fundraising will widen the opportunity gap between affluent and low-income children."

"Federal grants that brought in millions to the programs are gone. The county money that fills the gap is shrinking. The extensive - and expensive - busing system that makes magnets accessible to low-income families is a prime target for budget cuts."

"The program, known as the low-income subsidy, covers all or part of what seniors pay for drug coverage, from monthly premiums of their drug plans to annual deductibles to drug co-payments."

"They are also required to create data driven systems for monitoring student progress and evaluating teachers -- and to ensure that low-income and minority children are no longer disproportionately taught by unqualified teachers."