Yesterday we defined what a PRO-public education agenda looks like (see that here). Today we’ll show you what an ANTI-public education agenda might entail. You can find both lists on our web site – use them to let your legislators know how you expect them to vote on bills that affect our children and our public schools.
ANTI-public education bills will:
• Revise the school funding formula to DECREASE the amount that state law requires our legislators to provide public school students – a ruse designed to get legislators off the hook for denying Mississippi students a shot at a decent future. Our kids deserve resources similar to those other states provide their students.
– See a graph showing how Mississippi underfunds public schools by three different measures and a spreadsheet showing how much your schools are shortchanged this year. Changing the law to reduce the funding the state owes our schools will set our children back even further.
• Take away the right of local school boards to increase local school funding to pay for local programs in your community’s schools.
• Take tax dollars away from public schools and send them to private academies (vouchers and tax credit scholarships).
• Change the way school board members are selected, setting the stage for out-of-state privatizers to take over your local school board.
• Decrease the standards charter schools are required to meet in order to open a school.
• Allow charter schools to locate in school districts rated A, B, and C, weakening thriving communities.
• Increase testing and add administrative responsibilities and unfunded mandates at the local level.
• Transfer authority to make decisions about our children’s education from professional educators to politicians.
• Retaliate against or attempt to silence citizens, including educators, who speak up against anti-public school bills.
We have developed a RED ALERT system to notify you when ANTI-public education bills are introduced or advanced, and your legislators’ votes will be posted on our Ed Report pages. Throughout the session, please share these notifications broadly.
Ask your legislators to vote FOR PRO-public education bills and AGAINST ANTI-public education bills. Will they give you their word?
Click here to find all of the legislators who represent your school district.
Capitol Switchboard: 601.359.3770
Click here to contact your legislators through social media.
Share the same message with Lt. Governor Reeves and Speaker Gunn:
Lt. Governor Reeves Capitol: 601.359.3200
Speaker Gunn Capitol: 601.359.3300
Will your legislators’ votes strengthen your local public schools or weaken them?
Please help us lift up the many legislators who stand on conviction and vote to support our children and their public schools. And get to work finding candidates to replace those who vote for an anti-public school agenda. That’s the way our representative republic is intended to work. Besides, our kids are counting on us. And, together, we’ve got this.
