Despite being underfunded by more than $1.6-billion in the last six years, schools have seen their standards rise significantly and their administrative duties spike upward due to mandates by the State Legislature and policy requirements at the state and federal levels. Incredibly, as the Legislature has continued to pile on the administrative functions required of districts, they have […]
Governor Bryant has signed into law HB 504, giving Mississippi teachers an across-the-board pay raise for the next two years. Teachers will see a well-deserved $1,500 bump in salary on July 1 of this year and another $1,000 increase on July 1, 2015. Increasing teacher salaries will improve the likelihood that top-tier students will consider a career in education, and attracting
Governor Signs Teacher Pay Raise & Ed Funding Bills Read More »
The teacher pay raise conference report (HB 504 CR) was filed on 3/31/14 and passed by both the House and Senate on 4/1/14. It provides for: $1,500 across-the-board raise in 2014-2015 $1,000 across-the-board raise in 2015-2016 A School Recognition Program will be implemented beginning in 2016-2017. It: Requires financial awards to be shared by teachers
Teacher Pay Raise Conference Report Passed Read More »
Voucher Bill Pushed by Florida For-Profit/Virtual Charter School LobbyistThere have been plenty of clues that the voucher bill being pushed in the Mississippi Legislature is not really about helping children with special needs (as it has been framed). Yesterday, voucher supporters tipped their hand further when a tweet from the Florida lobbyists who were in our state last year pushing virtual and
More Money Available for MAEP, FL Charter Lobbyist Backing Voucher Bill Read More »
The original version of HB 1476 underfunds the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) for the coming school year by $265-million dollars. If the Legislature passes pay-raise legislation that mandates $65-million more in teacher salaries for the coming year, that will bring the total amount of increased funding needed to meet the salary increase and fully fund the MAEP
Funding for the Teacher Pay Raise Does Not Count Toward Full Funding of the MAEP Read More »
The Senate this week passed its own version of a teacher pay raise bill, differing from the previously passed House bill by providing higher increases up front and eliminating the benchmark requirements. The Senate plan also provides for a performance-based stipend available to teachers beginning in 2016. Lt. Governor Reeves and Senate Education Chair Gray Tollison
Senate Passes Teacher Pay Raise Bill Read More »
Privatizing and “profitizing” public education? That is exactly what the voucher bills debated in the 2014 Legislative Session were intended to do – and they had “disingenuous” and “unintended consequences” written all over them. House Bill 765, defeated by the House of Representatives on the last day of the session, was very broad, allowing private
Privatization Agenda: Starving Public Schools, Pushing Private School Vouchers Read More »
We will have another chance to amend HB 1476, the K-12 funding bill, to increase the funding for the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP).Phone calls to legislators from Mississippi parents and educators about the education funding bill are having an effect – we need to keep it up!There is reason to believe that an amendment to increase MAEP funding will
Another Chance to Amend K-12 Funding Bill, Increase MAEP Read More »
At the Mississippi Economic Council’s 2014 Capital Day event, Speaker Philip Gunn was unequivocal about his support for an across-the-board teacher pay raise and said it will be on the agenda in the House of Representatives this session. While he supports merit pay, Speaker Gunn was clear that he also supports an increase in the
Mississippi Teachers Deserve a Pay Raise Read More »
Lately, the airwaves have been abuzz with talk of funding the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP), the state law that promises our children resources sufficient for an adequate education.Here’s the bottom line: the recession is over. State revenue is back to 2008 levels, which was the last year that the MAEP was fully funded. It’s time for the Legislature
It’s Time to Fund a Decent Education for Our Kids Read More »
