Enough is enough! This morning, the House Appropriations Committee passed HB 1476, the K-12 funding bill, and once again, schools are massively underfunded. HB 1476 contains no increase in the MAEP beyond a $25-million allocation for the first half-year of a proposed teacher pay raise. This bill underfunds the MAEP by $265-million. The economy has recovered.In […]
HB 1476 – MAEP Grossly Underfunded Again Read More »
We made some progress, but we still have a lot of work to do. The good news is that, of the 38 troublesome bills that we told you about a few weeks ago, 35 are now dead, and one of those still alive is not subject to today’s deadline, so it hasn’t been considered. Your conversations with your legislators are
We are Making Progress! Read More »
HB 502 is proposed as an alternative to the New Start law that is set to take effect next fall. (The existing New Start law requires the immediate takeover of all schools that are rated F for the third consecutive year – and the notification of all school employees the of their possible termination the year prior – when ratings are released
HB 502 – Mississippi Achievement School District Read More »
The teacher pay raise, HB 504, passed the House of Representatives today on a vote of 86 to 26. See that vote here. Please join me in thanking the House of Representatives for this effort to move teacher compensation to a more competitive level. The bill now will go to the Senate where its fate is uncertain. Click here for a description of
Teacher Pay Raise Passes House Read More »
Vouchers are part of the scheme to privatize and “profitize” public education – to funnel taxpayer dollars to unregulated, unaccountable private and/or for-profit schools. Public schools operate under the most stringent standards of government accountability and transparency; private schools are completely unaccountable to taxpayers for the public dollars that go into their coffers. Vouchers have been shown to be ineffective in
Voucher Bills Designed to Divert Dollars from Public to Private Schools Read More »
Three voucher bills have passed out of committee and are headed to the floor for a vote. These bills funnel taxpayer dollars to private, virtual, and other non-public schools to pay the cost of tuition, activities, etc. Unlike public schools, the private entities receiving vouchers are not held accountable to taxpayers. HB 831 – Speech-Language Therapy Scholarship. HB
Voucher Bills Pass Committee, Head to Floor for Vote Read More »
The House Education Committee has passed a bill that gives teachers a pay increase of up to $4,250 over four years. Here’s how the plan works… Teachers with fewer than 5 years of teaching experience automatically get increases as follows: $1,000 increase January 1, 2015 $500 increase July 1, 2015 $1,350 increase July 1, 2016, contingent
House Education Committee Passes Teacher Pay Raise Bill Read More »
Numerous bills have been filed that address school funding, open enrollment (crossing district lines), vouchers, charter schools, school standards, and how school boards are selected. Most of these bills have not yet been taken up in committee, but this is a heads-up just in case they make it out of committee and onto the calendar
Vouchers, Tax Credit Scholarships, Opportunity Scholarships, and More The following bills have been introduced in the 2014 Legislative Session; all are designed to divert taxpayer dollars from public schools to private schools. Public schools operate under the most stringent standards of government accountability and transparency; private schools are completely unaccountable to taxpayers for the public dollars
Voucher Bills Filed This Session Read More »
We are watching carefully as bills are introduced on the legislative website, and among the things we’ll be watching for is anything that smacks of a voucher. Warning: a voucher by any other name is still a voucher. And it’s a bad deal for public school children. Vouchers divert taxpayer dollars from public schools to private
Watching for Vouchers Read More »
