Lawmakers, Education Officials Supporting Education Funding Mandate
Lawmakers, parents and members of Mississippi’s education community are coming out in support of a constitutional amendment that will guarantee adequate funding for the state’s public school system. MPB’s Paul Boger reports.
When state lawmakers passed the Mississippi Adequate Education Formula in 1997, it was part of an effort to ensure that every child in the state gets a decent education. However, since it’s adoption, the state has only fully funded the program twice. State Representative Cecil Brown was chair of the House Education Committee in 2008 — the last time MAEP received full funding.
“I think the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, the basic funding formula for K-12, funding that [and] catching up on the funding of that over time is one of the most important things we can do in this state.” said Brown. “It seems to me when we ask our teachers to educate our kids, to perform well in the classroom, without giving them adequate resources; it’s like asking somebody to dig a ditch, but you don’t give them a pick or a shovel.”
MPB News
4/28/14