Georgia lawmakers need to stay out of the classroom, unless they also happen to be educators.

The most important thing state senators and representatives can do is fund our schools, address disparities and get out of the way.

Let teachers teach.

Don’t use the purse strings to advance political agendas.

Tying school funding to a social agenda harms our schools and thereby harms our children.

The Georgia General Assembly should fully fund our schools, no strings attached.

Of course, lawmakers can speak their minds and even pass laws the majority favors but withholding money from schools serves no good purpose.

It is no surprise that conservative lawmakers have a conservative agenda. That’s fine but keep the agenda and school funding separate.

Now that Crossover Day has come and gone, fully fund Georgia’s Quality Basic Education K-12 student funding formula, without caveats.

We are not saying the funding formula is adequate, but for now it is the formula we have and should be funded.

Beyond that, James Wilson of the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition said updating the QBE formula could help meet the needs of minority, disabled and low-income students, which make up the majority of Georgia’s public schools, and we agree.

Beyond funding the current Georgia Quality Basic Education K-12 student funding formula without conditions — which should be viewed as the bare minimum — it is time for Georgia to factor poverty and average income levels when allocating state funds to school systems and individual schools across the state.

Poverty is a key indicator for academic success and Georgia should allocate resources where those resources are needed the most — the poorest communities and schools in the state.

The General Assembly should take a hard look at disparities that exist across the state.

It is more than a little ironic that a large swath of the General Assembly wants to allocate more money for private school vouchers but somehow can’t seem to find another dime for our poorest schools.

It is time for the General Assembly to get its priorities straight.