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- Even with the issues with the new platform, MDE said Friday that $760,445 in EEF monies have been spent since they were made available on July 15.
The Mississippi Department of Education says for the first time, Education Enhancement Fund (EEF) funds are being provided to teachers across the state through the digital platform ClassWallet.
EEF funds are dollars appropriated for teachers to supply their classrooms each year. The allotment this year was $748 per teacher, which equates to roughly $25 million in Mississippi’s K-12 schools.
Concerns with the new process emerged almost as soon as educators were notified of the change. Frustrations have thus far ranged from restrictions on purchases to the inability to use the platform at many locally owned businesses to the time-consuming nature of using the online platform.
To access the funds, teachers were required to sign up for an online training. Yet, when some teachers attempted to log in, they were told the room was full. This resulted in additional training and rescheduling.
Only five Mississippi business are currently listed on the initial approved vendor list, per MDE.
State Auditor Shad White has received numerous complaints from teachers and businesses this week. His office issued statements on the concerns on social media.
“The new program makes it much more difficult for teachers to spend the funds and makes it impossible to shop locally, from what we’re hearing,” the State Auditor’s office said in one post. “Commonly used places to buy supplies like Wal-Mart and Teachers Pay Teachers are not on the approved vendor list, based on what has been reported to us.”
However, MDE states that purchases at Wal-Mart and Teachers Pay Teachers are allowable. But to use the EEF funds at these businesses, teachers must pay upfront and seek reimbursement through the system.
It was also noted that in order to purchase certain items, additional administrative approval is required, leading to delays in acquiring supplies as start of school nears.
“We trust our teachers with students for eight hours a day, five days a week,” another post by the State Auditor said. “We should be able to trust them to buy classroom supplies.”
MDE confirmed the complaints in a release on Friday, stating that efforts are underway to rectify the problems.
“The MDE acknowledges concerns voiced by some Mississippi business owners and educators regarding the implementation of the new program. We are committed to addressing and resolving all issues. Our goal is to ensure teachers can access the resources they need for classroom instruction,” State Superintendent Dr. Lance Evans said.
MDE said the approved vendor list is being updated weekly, and teachers can make requests for additions through their EEF card administrator or business manager.
Local vendors can make requests for inclusion to the approved list via email at MDETeacherSupplyFund@mdek12.org.
Even with the issues with the change, MDE said Friday that $760,445 in EEF monies have been spent since they were made available on July 15.
“Having the new digital platform has allowed teachers to have much earlier access to EEF funds than in previous years,” Evans added.
ClassWallet has a one-year contract with MDE for nearly $570,000.
