Mississippi Board of Education Discusses Adequate Funding for Public Schools
It was a long session today for Mississippi superintendents at this month’s state Board of Education meeting.
They were in Biloxi today, working on everything from student intervention policy to making sure all schools are adequately funded, a topic that hits home for both school officials and parents.
News 25’s Laurene Callander has more.
Parents and school leaders are continuing to push for proper funding of Mississippi’s public schools, saying the state should fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. Julia Weaver, a parent and volunteer with ‘Fed up with 50th’, said, “It doesn’t make sense to me to starve all of our schools because of some undefined, ill-defined problem they have with the formula.”
MAEP, a law created in 1997 using a formula to ensure “adequate funding” for public schools across the state, has only been fully funded twice. State Superintendent of Education Carey Wright said “That has been one of the board’s number one priorities for the past several years, is full funding of MAEP, no doubt.”
School leaders say not having enough funding leads to fewer teachers inside the classrooms. Attracting the quality and quantity of teachers needed to educate students takes proper funding.
“Well, the best way to improve education in Mississippi is having the best teachers you can possibly have in front of the classroom, focus on the standards that need to be taught each and every day, and keeping children engaged on an ongoing basis,” said Wright.
Parents have been concerned about the state following their promise to fully fund education, but school officials stress money is not everything. “It’s not the money aspect although that’s critically important, it’s the people aspect of making sure our children are taught by the very best and led by the very best in terms of principals and superintendents,” Wright said.
However in November, voters will be asked if the state should be required to fully fund MAEP.
The U.S. Senate approved the “Every Child Achieves Act” with an 81 to 17 vote. The bill includes Thad Cochran’s amendment to improve and modernize school libraries.
They were in Biloxi today, working on everything from student intervention policy to making sure all schools are adequately funded, a topic that hits home for both school officials and parents.
News 25’s Laurene Callander has more.
Parents and school leaders are continuing to push for proper funding of Mississippi’s public schools, saying the state should fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. Julia Weaver, a parent and volunteer with ‘Fed up with 50th’, said, “It doesn’t make sense to me to starve all of our schools because of some undefined, ill-defined problem they have with the formula.”
MAEP, a law created in 1997 using a formula to ensure “adequate funding” for public schools across the state, has only been fully funded twice. State Superintendent of Education Carey Wright said “That has been one of the board’s number one priorities for the past several years, is full funding of MAEP, no doubt.”
School leaders say not having enough funding leads to fewer teachers inside the classrooms. Attracting the quality and quantity of teachers needed to educate students takes proper funding.
“Well, the best way to improve education in Mississippi is having the best teachers you can possibly have in front of the classroom, focus on the standards that need to be taught each and every day, and keeping children engaged on an ongoing basis,” said Wright.
Parents have been concerned about the state following their promise to fully fund education, but school officials stress money is not everything. “It’s not the money aspect although that’s critically important, it’s the people aspect of making sure our children are taught by the very best and led by the very best in terms of principals and superintendents,” Wright said.
However in November, voters will be asked if the state should be required to fully fund MAEP.
The U.S. Senate approved the “Every Child Achieves Act” with an 81 to 17 vote. The bill includes Thad Cochran’s amendment to improve and modernize school libraries.
Leave a Reply