Caught on tape: Georgia lieutenant governor says he backed ‘bad’ school bill to hurt governor’s race rival

By Valerie Strauss
June 9 at 10:00 AM

Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who is running to be governor, was caught on tape saying that a bill providing public funding to private schools was “bad public policy” but that he helped it become law to stop a rival from getting millions of dollars from a foundation, according to two news reports.

The secret recording was obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB-TV, both of which reported that Cagle said: “Is it bad public policy? Between you and me, it is. And I can tell you how it is [in] a thousand different ways.”

The recording was made by Clay Tippins, a Republican businessman and former Navy SEAL who lost to Cagle in the May Republican gubernatorial primary. Tippins gave it to journalists, who quoted him as saying he did so to provide “a window into Casey Cagle’s character.”

Tippins and Cagle were talking about whether Tippins would support the lieutenant governor in a June 24 runoff, and Tippins said he secretly recorded the conversation on an iPhone in his coat pocket.

Cagle can be heard talking about an education tax credit he helped push through as head of the Georgia Senate. The legislation raised the cap on tax credits from $58 million to $100 million in a program that allows eligible citizens and corporations in Georgia to receive the credits for donating money to “student scholarship organizations.” Those programs help students pay for tuition at private and religious schools.

Such programs are highly controversial, with critics saying they drain critical resources from traditional public school districts. They also say private schools that benefit are not subject to the same anti-discrimination laws and other regulations that apply to public schools. U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is a big supporter of these programs.

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