Tomorrow, the Legislature will zip into Jackson to raid the Rainy Day Fund (RDF) again, using one-time-money to erase the remaining state budget deficit before Thursday’s year-end. Earlier this year, Governor Bryant withdrew a chunk from the fund and cut agency budgets (taking $9.7-million from the MAEP), hoping to stop the bleeding. It wasn’t enough. State coffers […]
Legislature Returning to Jackson to Plug Budget Hole Read More »
Among the worst forms of government are those that use fear and intimidation to control the people and suppress opposition. House Appropriations Chairman Herb Frierson has now admitted to the Associated Press and the Daily Journal that Mississippi’s elected leadership drafted laws to retaliate against citizens – including educators – who advocated for a constitutional amendment that would have required adequate
Leadership Admits Retaliation for Initiative 42 Read More »
Politicians boast about providing “level funding” to schools, but that term is deceiving. All school districts are going into an ever-deeper budget hole, as flat state appropriations do not cover legislatively mandated cost increases that occur each year, such as the “step” salary increase state law provides teachers for each additional year of service. When each
Ed Funding Bill Creates Budget Hole for Local School Districts Read More »
This afternoon, Governor Bryant chose yet another huge tax break for big business over adequate funding for public schools, mental health, and other vital state services. Despite legislative leaders having just announced that they passed an unbalanced budget – in violation of the state constitution – and despite being unable to pay the state’s bills, requiring deep cuts
Bryant Chooses Corporate Tax Cuts over MS School Children Read More »
The legislatively-induced state budget chaos continues… Today, Lt. Governor Reeves and Speaker Gunn announced that the state budget they rammed through the Legislature in the waning hours of the session was based on faulty numbers. It turns out that we can anticipate even less state funding than legislators were told when they blindly voted on budget-slashing appropriations bills and
Reeves, Gunn Admit Budget Error, Less Revenue Anticipated for FY2017 Read More »
As budget and tax-cut bills await Governor Bryant’s signature, a growing, bi-partisan chorus is warning of a looming budget crisis rivaling that seen during the Great Recession – a crisis manufactured by our Legislature through years of corporate tax cuts that the state cannot afford. Leaders who pushed through the tax cuts defend them as a way to “reduce the
Elected Officials Warn of Looming Budget Crisis Read More »
Want to know how much corporate tax cuts are costing your school district? See how much your school district is getting for the coming school year (and how much it has been underfunded since 2008). In recent years, lawmakers have said they were doing the very best they could to make good on the Legislature’s decades-old promise
See Your School District’s Funding for 2016-2017 Read More »
Last week, Governor Bryant announced that he is cutting public school budgets for the current year. Other state agency budgets are being reduced, as well. You can see here how much your school district will lose due to the cuts – all of which will be deducted from your district’s MAEP payments for May and June, the last
Your School District’s Budget Cut Read More »
It’s crunch time! In the next four days, six legislators will decide whether or not to change the law that requires adequate funding for our children’s schools. HB 458, the average daily membership (ADM) bill, is reportedly being used as a vehicle to make changes to the MAEP, ostensibly to reduce the amount required by the
Help Us Protect School Funding Read More »
The Senate has adjourned the 2016 session; the House must return tomorrow to dispose of a motion to reconsider before it adjourns sine die. You can see here the results of all the bills that we tracked this session. Governor Bryant announced today that he will make additional cuts to current-year budgets, including public schools, as revenue is
Governor Bryant Announces More Budget Cuts; Senate Adjourns Sine Die Read More »
