This morning, the Senate voted 26-24 to send the charter school bill to Governor Bryant without any changes. Students in districts rated C, D, and F will now be allowed to cross district lines to attend charter schools, taking your local taxes and their MAEP allocation with them. See how your senator voted.
The close vote is good news – many of your senators stood up for your schools by voting no. It wasn’t quite enough for a win, but be sure to thank them for supporting their constituents, resisting lots of pressure from the powers that be in Jackson. Scroll down for details.
Please now focus your efforts on the MAEP bill. We have been warned that HB 458 will be used to change the MAEP formula to reduce the amount of state money required to fully fund it. That would allow legislators to claim to have “fully funded” the formula without actually increasing funding to schools. Major changes could be made in a conference committee in the next few days behind closed doors, then revealed at the last minute for an up or down vote, bypassing the proper legislative process of committee hearings and full debate.
Ask your legislators to tell leaders in the House and Senate that they will vote NO on any changes to the MAEP formula that reduce the amount required to fully fund our schools.
Find email addresses, social media information, and other ways to reach all legislators in your school district.
Capitol Switchboard: 601.359.3770
Share the same message with:
Lt. Governor Reeves Capitol: 601.359.3200
Speaker Gunn Capitol: 601.359.3300
Mississippi parents have made it clear that they want every child to have the resources needed to excel in school. You won’t want to miss this video of parents across the state explaining why adequate school funding is important to them.
More on the charter school bill debate:
We have already heard from some of you who watched today’s debate and are thrilled with your senators for their “no” votes. They deserve your praise!
Speaking against the bill this morning, Sen. Hob Bryan asked fellow senators some good questions: “Are you having a lot of people back home call you and ask you to vote for charter schools? Or is this proposition being driven by a group of people here in Jackson? Did you come down here to vote for your people back home and what they want, or did you come down here to vote for what the people in Jackson want?”
Some of you might want to pose those same questions in your own conversations with senators.
Thank you for your terrific work on behalf of our children this session. The relationships you are forging with your reps and senators are truly making a difference! Please contact your legislators about the MAEP, and ask others to call, text, email, and message them, too. We have just a few days left in this session, so let’s get this done for our kids!
If you value the efforts of The Parents’ Campaign and would like for our work to continue, please support us with a donation.
