The Mississippi School Boards Association has announced that 20 Mississippi school districts have been recognized as 2010 Lighthouse School Leaders. This recognition is awarded in three categories to districts that reach the highest levels of student achievement: Beacon Awards, Lantern Awards and Torch Awards. The Beacon Award recognizes school districts with a QDI of 200 or above […]
MSBA Names Lighthouse School Leaders Read More »
The Mississippi Department of Education and the State Board of Education presented to the Legislative Budget Committee K-12 education’s budget request for the coming fiscal year. Each year, the Legislative Budget Committee is tasked with crafting a budget recommendation to be used as the baseline for the legislative budget negotiations that take place during the legislative session.
MDE Budget Request for FY2012 Read More »
On Tuesday, August 31st, Governor Barbour issued a statement saying that the leadership of the House and Senate had agreed with him not to send to school districts the $82-million that had been promised them in HB1059. The money was contingent upon action by the U.S. Congress to give states Medicaid funding relief. Congress did its
A Broken Promise Lawmakers Renege on $82-million in Funding for Schools Read More »
Governor Barbour issued a statement this afternoon indicating that the leadership of both the House and Senate have agreed to carry forward to the next fiscal year, FY2012, the approximately $130-million in state funding that state leaders have estimated will be freed up by the FMAP legislation recently passed by the U.S. Congress. The Mississippi Legislature passed
Federal Legislation Could Result in Additional $180-million for K-12 Education Read More »
The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) issued a report today showing that Mississippi has made significant gains in student achievement on national measures in the past couple of years. Mississippi students have made significant progress in a number of areas, including: Achieving the largest percentage-point increase in the nation in reading at the Basic Level on the National Assessment of
Mississippi Showing Significant Gains in Student Achievement Read More »
Mississippi typically pays about 24 cents on the dollar to cover Medicaid costs for our state. The federal government pays the additional 76 cents of each Medicaid dollar. In order to help states through the recession, the federal government has reduced to 16 cents on the dollar the portion that states are required to pay,
What is the Enhanced Federal Medicaid Match? Read More »
Communities are rallying around their schools in impressive ways to ensure that schools have what they need to get the job done. Each year, state testing (MCT2, SATP, etc.) provides them the perfect opportunity to show their support for their schools and schoolchildren. Here are just a few of the ways that schools, parents and communities have worked
Communities Support Schools at Test Time Read More »
Today Governor Barbour presented his revised budget recommendation for Fiscal Year 2011, the coming fiscal year. He is recommending that the Legislature reduce significantly the funding levels for K-12 education, asking that the House and Senate strip over $160-million from the level of funding that they adopted for the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) just before adjourning
Governor Barbour Announces Revised Budget Recommendation for FY11 Read More »
Schools are facing real challenges as they attempt to provide students a high quality education with greatly reduced revenue. Legislators and school officials are seeking ways to provide school districts some flexibility that will save money but protect instruction, and The Parents’ Campaign supports that effort. The Parents’ Campaign supports allowing school districts to furlough teachers
Governor Barbour has frequently referred to budget cuts as “belt-tightening” for state agencies and school districts. That sounds pretty harmless – until you know what “belt tightening” really looks like in Mississippi schools. 75 – 85% of any school district’s budget is made up of personnel costs: salaries, retirement, and insurance benefits. Teachers are employed
What Belt-Tightening Looks Like in Schools Read More »
