Goode discussed his Public Education Reinvestment Bill, which would shift more money to the school district - without raising the property tax.
"The bill is slated for a hearing on April 30 or May 1, when we generally authorize the taxes for the school district," said Goode, who pointed out that he attended city public schools.
"I'm hopeful that around that week, it will be voted out of committee unanimously and the bill passes the next week.
"As it's written, it would be effective for the next fiscal year."
According to PCCY, Goode's bill will shift $97 million in property taxes from the city to the district. The schools now get 58 percent of the tax, and the city the remaining 42 percent.
The bill would give the district 2 percent more, creating a 60-40 split.
Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown supported Goode's bill, and Andy Toy, a Democrat running for an at-large Council seat, said it's imperative that the city and state find the funds needed for the survival of the city's public schools.
"I have a personal stake in this. I have two children in public schools and my mother was a schoolteacher for 30 years, and we value education as the cornerstone of everything that we're talking about," said Toy.
"The drug problem, the crime problem, teenage pregnancy, poverty, it's all connected to the fact that our educational system is underfunded and possibly mismanged," Toy said.
"Really, the funding issue is what City Council and the city can help with." *
